Food: sandwich spread sandwich, chips, watermelon that Rich brought over to me before we left home around 6:30pm. Bagel and cream cheese at Rein’s (roast beef Reuben for R.). We noticed there were no pickles on the table!

Food: After a failed attempt to find the Waterville House of Panca-akes we ended up at the same damned McDonalds as last year (where we caused the coffee fiasco). I had chicken selects (made with real breast meat) and R had a Southern Chicken Sandwich (made with real chicken breast meat). At night, of course we had Rosalie’s pizza! Plain this time with plenty of beer on the side. Tons of bubbles in the pizza crust. Dessert was a sorbet sampler at MDI Ice Cream: cranberry-lemon ice, star anise-grapefruit sorbet, lime-cucumber sorbet, and blueberry basil sorbet.

Breakfast around 8:00, then checked Cadillac Mountain Sports where R bought shorts. Ride from Duck Brook Bridge to Halfmoon Pond, Breakneck Road to R’s favorite spot where we rested, then tried to ride the rest of the road, crossing many times through the wet “isthmus” but we couldn’t get past a large mucky spot, so we eventually turned back. Then we went down the west side of Eagle Lake to 8, then to 10, then 11, then past Aunt Betty Pond (remember winding roads with lots of wooden bridges that reminded me so much of Roosevelt State Park!), then to our spot on Eagle Lake to rest. When the wind came up, the waves soaked us thoroughly! Rode back, went to Miguel’s for supper, then drove up Cadillac Mountain looking for USGS chiseled marks; R found one on the way down. Then we went into town for the ice cream sampler.

It’s exciting to have the USGS datasheets, because now we know about even more benchmarks we can search for on MDI! The first one we searched for this morning, simply named after its elevation 195.10, is only a U.E., but it’s in an interesting location in the woods at Kebo Valley Golf Course.

“Poop on People in the Park—Peregrines Have Priority on the Precipice!”

“The sun will be out and the angels will be singing in Bar Harbor … I can hear the Hosannahs now!”

Breakfast was at Jeannie’s: blueberry pancakes, coffee, cranberry juice; 2 fried eggs, homefries, bacon, toast, coffee for R. It was a wet, foggy morning as usual, so after breakfast we wandered around town for a bit, exchanging pants Rich had bought for a better fitting pair and finding moose socks and a hat to purchase. Then we went to the Nature Center parking area at Sieur de Monts Spring, where we hiked in toward the Stratheden Path (which we somehow missed the first time) to the Park Loop Road and then over Kebo Mountain. We enjoyed some sunshine on our walk, but mostly went in and out of heavy fog.

Both hungry and in the mood for eggs, we began our day yet again at Jeannie’s. Rich ordered two fried eggs and I opted for two scrambled eggs. We each had toast (oatmeal for me, topped with Jeannie’s trademark rhubard spread and whole wheat for Rich). We shared an order of bacon and an order of homefries, and had coffee (for Rich) and cranberry juice (for me) to drink. The atmosphere was energetic as usual, and it really helped to brighten up a chilly, gloomy morning.

While we usually confine our adventures to MDI, today we decided to travel to another part of Acadia National Park: Isle au Haut, which is a ferry ride of about 40 minutes from the mainland town of Stonington. Of course, the trip also requires a drive from Bar Harbor to Stonington, which takes about an hour and a half. It’s a beautiful drive through gorgeous scenery on the Blue Hill peninsula, in particular.

Today’s breakfast was at Jeannie’s again: we really can’t get enough of that place this year! It’s friendly and inviting, open early, and even though it’s always busy, service it great so things move quickly. This morning I enjoyed two wild blueberry pancakes and orange juice, and a few sips of Rich’s coffee. Rich had two egg and cheese sandwiches with bacon and a side of home fries (he must have been extra-hungry!).