Cadillac Sunrise

It was at 5:15 a.m. this morning when Elise said, “This is the earliest I’ve gotten up since I was a baby!” I told her, “I think it’s the earliest I’ve gotten up since you were a baby.” Miraculously, we all woke up and geared up in the early morning darkness, then drove hurriedly to the top of Cadillac Mountain. We picked a nice rock facing east, sat under blankets, drank hot cocoa and waited. At a little after six that warm, bright orb we’re all familiar with eased over the horizon amidst some light cloud cover. Beautiful.

Luckily, we had a reasonable night’s sleep prior to our chilly morning jaunt. Our drive to Mount Desert Island from Rockland was excellent (and quick). We picked our campsite, set up, and attended to a few errands (groceries n’ gas). Our camera stopped working after being unplugged from the computer before it was ready to be. I tried about ten different things, then tried charging the battery. Naturally, it was the battery (always try the simplest and most obvious possibility first, is the lesson I’m taking from that one).



We did a 2.5 mi. (round trip) hike from our campground to Echo Lake which sits at the base of an impressive wooded cliff. It was a great fun, giving us an opportunity to goof around, identify two squished ring-necked snakes, and witness the folly of three people actually swimming in Echo Lake in windy, low-50’s weather. They didn’t swim long.



After seeing the sunrise this morning, we continued with the touristy approach and drove the Park Loop Road around Acadia NP. It’s stunning in every direction, though Danine and I are partial to the views out to sea. We stopped at Thunder Hole where waves force an air pocket at the back of a narrow cut in the granite to come blasting out in an impressive spray. However, the thunder and the blasting and the spraying only really occur at the rising mid-tide and preferably with stormy seas. Otherwise it’s more like Coughing Hole with an Occasional Burp. Still fun, and a great place to scramble on the rocks (Elise’s favorite activity).



We moved on to Otter Cliff and found a nice stretch of rocky shoreline to investigate. Using our new-found knowledge of sea creatures we examined the plentiful tidal pools and identified barnacles, algae, blue mussels, and snails.





On our way back to the campground Danine and I tried to find the little cottage we rented on our honeymoon eight years ago. Danine’s memory served us well and we wound our way to Fern Farm (the name of the place). I didn’t believe it would be there. It was just a tiny one-bedroom slightly-dilapidated cottage on the inlet between the island and the mainland. As we wound down the little gravel road we saw that the owners had built a big new house there, but a short distance away was our little cottage. They didn’t tear it down. We shamelessly trespassed (worrying Elise) and took pictures and walked down to the rocky beach. What a great find!





We regrouped at the trailer for lunch and spent the afternoon in Bar Harbor. Elise took a bit of a spill and scraped her knees and feet. Ironically she hopped around rocks all morning with nary a slip, but tripped on plain old flat concrete. She’s recovering. Needless to say, after such a long day, she went to sleep in no time.

Tomorrow we’re going on a whale watch cruise. Should be cold!