More ME!

We had planned to go looking for whales today, but a front came in and the resulting rain caused our boat trip to be cancelled.  So, we took this as an opportunity to further explore the Harpswell peninsulas and islands.

First up was a little geocaching…have to keep our streak going!  Our first cache site was in a nearby cemetery.  We found the cache quickly and then started looking around. The cemetery was enclosed with a wall of stacked stones so we were pretty sure it was old.  We confirmed its antiquity by finding several headstones with American flags and memorial “badges”, obviously veterans’ graves.  We’re used to seeing similar commemorations on soldiers’ graves in the Midwest.  What was different here was that these were veterans of the Revolutionary War!  There were quite a few of these markers.

Also nearby, were several headstones dating back to the 1760’s with strange carvings on them….reminiscent of an earlier city we had visited….Roswell, NM!  See for yourself.  Note, these people were buried as English citizens!

Next up was a hike through the mountains to a cliff overlooking the bay.  The trail lead through dense pine forest.  At the trail head was a sign about the hunting regulations in effect….moose and bear, no squirrel, were listed.  Damn, why did we leave the bear bells in the car?

Deep into the forest we came upon this sign about Fairy Houses.  What??!?!?!  Just beyond the sign we started seeing these strange dwellings, none more than a foot high. We took pictures of about 20 of them, but easily missed another 50.

A little after the Fairy Houses we finally reached our objective…the cliffs over the bay.  We took a few minutes to enjoy the view, find a cache, and then started back.  By this time it was raining pretty good, but luckily the dense forest kept us fairly dry.

We returned to the Inn to change into dry clothes and to visit the lobster dock to talk to Albert again. He reminded us of another trail that led to The Giant’s Stairs so off we went.  The trail to The Giant’s Stairs was much easier, but it was along the coast with no protection from the rain that was pelting down.  We made it to the steps and then headed back to the car and back to the Inn for more dry clothes.

We visited with Ann, the innkeeper, for a while and worked on a puzzle with her.  It might sound boring, but actually it was so pleasant….sharing stories, watching the rain come down on the bay…and just being warm and comfortable.  It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon in Maine.

We had dinner again at Cook’s….more seafood of course.  I would hate to count the number of lobsters, crabs, clams, mussels and oysters that gave their lives for us here on the eastern shore.  Sad for them, but damn scrumptious for us!

We’re leaving Maine tomorrow….hate to leave, but Vermont awaits!  But of course, we’ll have to have another breakfast by Richard before we leave!!!

(For the record….we’ve just climbed up into our bed.  Mona’s got the latest episode of Boardwalk Empire on her MacAir.  I’m typing this blog on my laptop and using a flashlight to see the keys…gotta love life in the fast lane!)