Beautiful Day on the Land and Water of Acadia

We awoke to another beautiful morning in Maine.  We had a wonderful pancake breakfast at the campground and then set out to see more of the island called Mt. Desert (pronounced dessert).  We took a drive down the peninsula toward the town of Northeast Harbor.  It was a lovely drive along the Somes Sound.  Northeast Harbor is a small town surrounded by large summer "cottages" hidden from view by  fences or the forest.  The harbor is very nice, and this Sunday morning, very quiet.

Somes Sound

Northeast Harbor

From Northeast Harbor we drove a few more miles to Seal Harbor.  It was low tide as you can see from where the swimming raft is located-high and dry.

Low tide at Seal Harbor

From there we are back on the loop road in the park.  We stopped again at Jordan Pond House to take a short walk on the Carriage Road.  John D Rockefeller built 45 miles of crushed stone roads that wander throughout the park.  Hiking, biking, horseback riding or horse drawn wagons or carriages are allowed.  Today, by late morning, most of the parking areas that access the carriage roads were full.  Lots of folks biking and hiking.  There are gates that guard the carriage roads, along with gatehouses.

Carriage Gate near Jordon Pond House

In the afternoon, we took a two hour trip aboard the four masted schooner, the Margaret Todd.  It was a spectacular day for a sail.  You had to bundle up because it was 10-15 degrees colder on the water than on land.  We were prepared, but some on board were not.  They moved from side to side of the boat, following the sun.  We saw a few birds and an eagle, but really the sailing experience was the best part of the trip.  A National Park Service ranger was on board to narrate, which was nice.  He did not talk non stop, but gave you time to enjoy the peace of the experience and he was available to answer questions as he walked the deck.  I might add that help was requested to raise the sails.  Someone I know volunteered to help, saying afterwards that it was quite the workout for your knees and legs.

Raising sail