- Mood: Content
- Music: The whispering of cheers during the Jaguar game.
- Quotes: "Listen. Hear that? That's the sound of peacefulness" Mike Jolly
Our trip began on Monday, Sept. 12, departing the Jacksonville International Airport at 6:30 am. After a stopover in Philadelphia, we landed in Bangor (which I learned is pronounced Bang-gor...not Banger as I've heard my entire life. LOL) a little before noon. After procuring our rental car (Ford Freestyle...nice little SUV wannabe), we headed to Bar Harbor, enjoying the scenic view along US 1.
We stayed at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called The Inn at Bay Ledge. Here's a shot we took of the back porch. 
Isn't it beautiful? This really doesn't do it justice. It's so warm and homey inside...uniquely beautiful. I can't begin to describe it. The owners, Jack and Jeanie were fabulous hosts and made everyone feel comfortable and at home.
Just a side note here... although there was a television in the common room upstairs, we never bothered with it. After our daily excursions, we collapsed into our comfy bed and slept soundly so we could get up early and start again!
We arrived at the Inn around 1:30, took our luggage upstairs, then headed into town. We walked around, checked out numerous little shops...all after we stopped at The Chart Room for lunch. Our waiter, Chris, possessed a good sense of humor. He even took our picture with me holding up my scrumptious whole Maine lobster to show all. Then he taught me how to crack the little monster. It was a lot of fun. Thanks, Chris!
Here's a picture of one of the town's streets at dusk. All those cool shops. I can't even begin to tell you about them all.

We booked passage on The Friendship V for the next day, so let me move on to that. The catamaran raced over the water at exhilarating speeds. I was so excited I was bouncing all over the place. After seeing several porpoise and harbor seal, I was beginning to think we weren't going to see any whales, but almost two hours into the trip, they finally showed themselves.
We saw three Finback whales and one Minke whale. One of the Finbacks surfaced so close to the boat that I cried out in surprise when I heard the whoosh of his spout as he surfaced. Here's a shot of one of the Finbacks. I wish it had been the one that surfaced closer, but it came as such a surprise, we didn't have the camera ready!
This picture doesn't begin to show his size. I was awe struck by him/her. Gorgeous creatures. I'm planning on adopting one, so I'll put up that information a bit later.
Let's see...more dinners, lunches, and let me add here that Jeanie put out a nice spread for us each morning at the Inn, along w/ afternoon snacks. Everything was prepared fresh and it was heavenly.
We drove throught the 'loop' at Acadia National Park and enjoyed the sites there...Thunder Hole, Sand Beach, The Jordan Pond House... sadly, Wednesday a misty fog rolled into the area and the view from Cadillac Mountain was nil. Couldn't see two feet in front of us. Still, the scenic beauty of the park wasn't lost on us. We enjoyed it immensely.
One thing we did with consistancy each day...at low tide or the ebbing high tide, we walked down the 79 steps to the private beach at the Inn. 
And this is only a portion of the staircase! Not so bad going down, but what a climb going back up!
Btw, did I mention the Inn sits atop an 80 foot cliff? The view was spectacular to say the least! We spent hours scouring the rocky beach for my hubby's new obsession...beach glass...or sea glass...however you want to call it. We had more fun doing that and skimming stones than almost anything. We felt like kids again.
I think I'll end this here. Our trip home was uneventful, if not long...with a couple delays caused by bad weather in Philly. Still, we got home Thursday just after midnight...technically, Friday morning, huh? lol 
Oh, one last pic...
This is hubby inside the rock formation dubbed 'The Cathedral". It's absolutely breathtaking and is part of the Inn's private beach. There's also a formation called 'The Ovens'. Perhaps I'll post more pictures later...along w/ a more full view of The Cathedral. Many couples get married here. It's very romantic.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! We took well over a hundred shots...Maine is such a beautiful state.
Cheers!
Shel
17 Rambles.