The Park Loop

When you’re planning a big driving day centered around photography, the last thing you want to hear is the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof of the camper. The second to last thing you want to hear is your husband playing the part of alarm clock long before you’re ready to get out of bed. It’s my own fault because honestly the book I was reading last night was too good to put down when I should have. Anyway, after stealing another 20 minutes or so, I finally got out of bed and was greeted by sunshine and blue skies. We couldn’t start the generator for another hour and agreed to hit the local coffee shop. The place is called Common Ground Soup Kitchen, a coffee and popover with free wi-fi kind of  place open 4 hours every morning and run by volunteers with all donated goods. Our hot from the oven popovers came with homemade wild blueberry jam and strawberry preserves. The donations left by summer patrons help the Soup Kitchen ( a misnamed establishment if there ever was one ) to care for the winter full time residents who may need a hand when all of us sun worshippers leave. Last year, they hosted 30 community wide family events including a huge Thanksgiving dinner. On most Saturday nights they have a family style pizza accompanied by open mike music. The building housed a traditional restaurant in 2006 and 2007 but switched to the all donation coffee and popover format in 2008. Since that time, they have satisfied for than 8,000 people and served more than 25,000 cups of coffee. I think this is a wonderful idea and know of many other tourist based communities that could benefit by this spirit.

Our trip along the Park Loop was a leisurely one since the first 25 miles were one way traffic at speeds of 25 mph and every ¼ mile or so there was a place for us to pull over to take photos. And when it wasn’t me asking Carl to park it, it was the thousand or so other shutterbugs who all wanted those drop dead gorgeous pictures even if it meant dashing out in front of oncoming traffic. I have to tell you my favorite was Schooner Point but there wasn’t a bad view anywhere. We had our lunch at the Fabrii picnic spot in the shade of some huge white birches but before that we went on a little nature walk at the Wild Gardens of Acadia. When I say little I mean I misunderstood the map and we walked about two miles without even being in the garden. Who knew? I guess I worked off my two popovers from breakfast.

A happy wrong turn in Southeast Harbor sent us along Somes Sound which was a lovely side trip and I highly recommend it but only in a passenger vehicle, no campers allowed.

We spent some time at the Beal Docks watching lobstermen unload their catch and decided to have supper right there on the wharf. I can certainly tell I got some sun and exercise today. The bottoms of my feet feel as if they are on fire and so does my nose and forehead. I took about 150 photos today most of them I consider vacation memory kind but there are one or two that show promise and may make the production line before too long.