Machias Maine to Ellsworth Maine 146 miles
Outside is very foggy this morning. The temperature however seems warm. Everything feels damp. Rob tried drying off the car and starting it. Another pull was required. We made a few loops around the parking lot and out onto the street. After a cool down period the car started with a short pull. It had flooded again. He got another tip on a product that might be useful. We took off later than planned but we should be good. The fog did eventually clear. So glad for that because we plan to see Acadia National Park today. We drove in and out of forested regions and small villages. The housing is varied. Everything from small run down shacks to big beautiful mansions. The roads are narrow and winding but overall in good condition. In many places the limbs form a canopy. We drove past the Acadia National Cemetary. Several veterans were on each side of the highway with various flags. Lining the road on each were American flags. Then about every fourth flag was a word or two from the Pledge of Allegiance until the entire pledge was printed. Wonderful sight. When we pulled over to let cars pass and fill the radiator with water, a deer walked across the road 100 feet or so in front of us. Rob missed this because he was getting the water. A lady stopped to see if we were having trouble. Rob said no and she asked if we were going to the car museum. Evidently it is just up the road. We were headed that way and did find it. Naturally we went in. They had some beautiful old cars of many different makes.They also had several ladies dresses from the same time frame. Nicely done. We have passed lots of signs about lobsters either living or cooked. We stopped at a roadside food truck that had so many customers they had to have a parking attendant. You would think that right here where they catch all this seafood that it would be cheaper but I don’t think so. Then they have an 8% sales tax. Connie had a crab roll and Rob had a bowl of chowder. No drinks and the bill was about $35. We kept seeing lots of signs about Acadia National Park but we never came to an entrance. Lots of trail heads. The parking lots for those are overflowing with cars. We later figured out that the park is in several pieces but the state highways run along the edge. If you are parked at one of these you need a park pass. Connie spotted another deer in the woods. When we arrived at Bar Harbor we were amazed at the number of people, restaurants and bars. This is quite the tourist town. Lots of accommodations too. Name brand hotels, B & Bs, cottages, and independent hotels. Not far out of Bar Harbor is the start of the park loop road. The map we got at the food truck showed the road going to the left. We tried three times and couldn’t find the road. We finally went to the right where it said park entrance. Well the road curves back around and goes under the road we had been on. This road is one way with two lanes. Signs indicate you can park in the right lane. A couple of miles in we came to the park entrance. Every parking lot and pull out was full of cars. The road was lined with more. This being the end of August and school here at least started today, sure seemed like a lot of visitors. This part of the road follows the coastline. The forest comes down to the rocks at the edge of the water. The road turns north and inland. Two park security vehicles passed us with sirens and lights. In a few miles we came upon an accident. An ambulance was there also. Looked like two scooters were involved in an accident. A man was getting up but the woman was still on the road. The road then goes past a couple of lakes before reaching the Visitors Center. We didn’t go in because the parking lot was full. If you get the opportunity the park is worth a visit. There is no lodging of any kind in the park. Now its off to our lodging for tonight. We made a quick stop at NAPA to get more stop leak because we seem to have another radiator leak. We are in a B & B that used to be a small care facility. Next was go do laundry. Not one of the cleaner facilities. We ate leftovers for dinner. Rob worked on the car and Connie did the blog.
Spoffords Travel 