Hiking Around Jordan's Pond

This is our second trip to Downeast Maine.  Six years ago we were here over the 4th of July weekend.  It was busy then, but not as busy as it is now.  Despite the crowds we have had a great time the last few days.

We are camped at Forest Ridge Campground in Ellsworth, ME which is about 15 miles from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  One great thing about this lifestyle is seeing friends and meeting new ones.  On Saturday we took a short drive to Orrington, ME which is outside of Bangor.  We arrived at Rick and Barbara's place for a gourmet lunch (Menu - Asian spring roll, cole slaw, corn on the cob, chix lobster) and some catching up time.

Rick and I were in the same unit (Constant Watch PMO) back in the 1980's when we were stationed in Hawaii.  He relocated back here and he and Barbara finished their careers here.  It was great to be able to meet up with them again and enjoy their hospitality.

Earlier in the week, blog readers Randy and Pat, let us know they were camped near us and we got together on Sunday.  We met for the first time at this beautiful church

then went to lunch.  The time passed quickly at Finn's Irish Pub in Ellsworth.  I think we all had fish sandwiches which worked out well.

It was fun hearing about their 18 months on the road and learning of their three kids and what they are up to.  Randy and Pat are from Indiana but moved to Christiansburg VA where they retired and became full-timers.  Check out their blog:  click here

We got together again for some hiking in Acadia National Park around Jordan's Pond.  We drove over to the Visitor Center and took the free (LL Bean supported) bus to Jordan's Pond.

It was misting a little bit and we waited for the rain to let up.  Pam was the only one with a rain coat so the rest of us got a $1 poncho before we started out.

We took the counter clock-wise route and it was a beautiful hike.

 Pat noticed some beautiful tree growth through some rocks.

 We also saw some evidence of beavers at work.

The trail was the busiest hiking we had done in quite a while.  But with the steady stream of traffic, we were able to have a fellow hiker take our picture.

In the distance are the Bubbles.  The North Bubble (left) is 872' and the South (right) is 766'.  We passed near them at the far end of the pond.  At the end of the far end is this cool footbridge.

The first half of the hike took us to the far end of the pond.  On the return, we entered into a more difficult rocky area.

Though I didn't take any pictures, the rocks were part of the actual trail and we slowly hiked a couple hundred yards over them. They were flat and it was it was an easy hike.

Then we traveled along the board trail area.  This portion seemed to go on forever.  It was probably about 1/2 a mile but it required your complete attention.  I was concerned the split logs would be slippery with the light rain but it was not an issue.

Toward the end of the hike, we paused for about 20 minutes and had our picnic lunch off the trail near some rocks.

When we finished, we visited the gift shop again and then boarded the bus for the return trip to the Visitor Center.

 The hike around Jordan Pond is almost a 'must do' while at Acadia National Park.  And it was great spending time with our new friends Randy and Pat.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

4th Cliff and Heritage Days in Scituate

We've been at 4th Cliff military campground for a few days.  We are about 1/2 way between Boston and Plymouth.

It's a great location.   We've taken a couple of day trips into Boston/Quincy and another down to Plymouth and Hyannis Port (Barnstable) on Cape Cod.

This is a return trip for us to Fourth Cliff.  Our family, along with Kirk and Susan and their two kids, camped here in tents.  It literally is on a cliff overlooking the ocean.  I remember having the best time here with them.  We walked along the beach and bought some lobsters which we cooked in a large pot for dinner.

I remember waking up and looking out of the front of our tent and watching the sun come up.  Something like this.

For some reason, I don't remember the marsh and river behind us that is also very beautiful.

The compound has a number of new cottages that are full.  It has 16 RV sights but has lost a few because of erosion.  The tip of the loop fell into the ocean last year during a storm.  We wandered over to the beach at low tide and walked around to see the damage.

The next day we took the car into the city for a day trip.  On the return, we stopped at the little village (Humarock) near our campground and peaked inside this warehouse, hoping to find some seafood.

It looked like a wholesale commercial seafood market, but we found it also sells retail.

 We opted for two lobster after we found out they would steam them for $5.  It was money well spent.

The big tanks hold almost 25,000 lobster in their busy season we were told.  Wow.

The closest town to us is Scituate (SITCH-yoo-it).  We stopped on the way back from Quincy to pick up a few things at the grocery store and we heard the town was having "Heritage Days" on the weekend.  It started on Friday night with some bands playing and "luminaria"/lights around the Scituate coastline.  

We ventured in on Saturday to see the booths and happenings.  They had the downtown area closed off so we parked in a large church parking lot a couple of blocks away.   

We found the booths and slowly made our way along some. 

The first one that really caught our interest was "Woodmont Circles".  We stopped and chatted with the vendor who was really nice.  

Lindsey does all the woodcutting and design work.  A lot of great looking offerings.  She told us all about their vacation out to Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks a couple of weeks ago.

Lots of booths

Before we left, we stopped at a booth were a candidate was running for State Representative.  He had a whole group of volunteers manning the booth and passing out cold bottles of water.

It was fun talking to these two high schoolers.

We saw all we wanted to and left after about an hour.

On the way back to our car, we saw the sign that indicated the name "Scituate" means "cold brook".  It was founded in 1636.

We love checking out small towns (18,000 pop.) in America!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Adams National Historical Park Visit

It was about a 40 minute drive into Quincy MA from our campground at 4th Cliff  MWR Campground.  We left about 9:15 AM and were in no rush since this was the only place we were going to see today.

We took the backroads and did a lot of winding around and went through some old neighborhoods before we finally ended up at the birthplaces of both John Adams and John Quincy Adams.  The buildings are in their original location and 75 feet away from each other.

My first impression was that the buildings were probably relocated and place on the same corner of the block which was a barely large enough for them.

We were surprised the buildings was closed and only "open for tours."  Hmm.  Wonder what that meant?  We rechecked our Google Maps and found we ended up at the Birth Place and not the actual Adam's National Historical Park.  

Turn's out the National Park Service Visitor Center  for the Adams National Historical Park is in an office space rental in a corner of a large building in downtown Quincy which also has a parking garage.  This was unique and different than other historical sites we've visited.  Once inside, we learned there was a trolley bus that took visitors to the birthplace site and John Adam's retirement home ("Old House at Peace field").

We were scheduled for the 11:15 bus and had some time to kill.  We saw the orientation film on the Adams and their contributions to America.  The tiny center had one display that had a lot of information.

We all boarded the trolley bus and made the 15-20 minute drive to the first stop:  the birthplace homes of John Adam's and John Quincy Adams.

Pam and I were in the front seats and at the first intersection, the driver turned to me and asked if I could tie a tie.  ?Yes, I said, I knew how to do that.  He asked if I wouldn't mind tying a 'double knot' in three ties that he handed me!  

I was glad to help and felt as if I was on some gameshow in a race against the clock.  I tied the first one, it was too short, so I retied it.  That took a few minutes.  I managed to get it the others tied, slipped them over my head and handed them back to Stanley when we pulled up to our stop.  He was from Haiti and thanked me.  It was my pleasure!  

I was glad to help and thought of all the times I watched my father and older brothers tied their ties and taught me.  Its nice to be useful.

At the first two buildings/birthplace homes, we had a young lady who really knew her stuff.  She did a great job of giving us a history lesson.  

In 1735, John Adams was born in the smaller home.  Years later he married Abigail Smith and they moved into the larger home/farmhouse next door.  They had four children one of which was John Quincy Adams, born in 1767.  John Adams was our second President, John Quincy Adams our sixth President.

John Adams was quite an accomplished statesman, serving as the first Vice President under George Washington and later becoming the second President of the United State.  He collaborated with Samuel Adams, served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and assisted in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

After an hour, we boarded the trolley bus again and went over to the Old House, also know as Peacefield.  After John Adams served as ambassador to England, he and wife Abigail purchased the Vassall estate and 40 acres.  They moved into it in 1787 and over the next 12 years made additions.
After failing to win re-election in 1801, Adams returned to the Old House where he resumed farming and writing.

We got another really good Park Ranger for our tour.  Very interesting and informative.

Abigail furnished the house in the Victorian/English style with many reminders of European influence.  She had grown accustom living in Britain while John Adams was ambassador and referred to her knew home as a wren's nest.  I

Unlike some other historical places we have visited recently, this home was furnished with many original and precious pieces.

The paneling in this room was solid mahogany.

 This was the study where Adam did a lot of writing.

In one of the back hallways, Abigail's china was on display.

Before we concluded our tour, we took a look inside the Stone Library which was separate from the Old House.  To guard against potential fire destroying his collection of books, he had a building created in 1870 which housed 12,000 volumes in his collection.

Four months before he left office, John and Abigail Adam's moved into the "President's Mansion" later know as the White House in 1800.  Abigail died in 1824 and John Adams died on July 4, 1826 - a few hours after Thomas Jefferson died.

My impression of the Historical Park changed after taking the two hour tour.  The two birthplace buildings were in their original location for us to see.  The 200 acres of Adam's property has been swallowed up by 'progress' and is now hidden among the busy streets and residential neighborhoods of Quincy.  The Visitor's Center is a bit odd.  But I'm glad we took the time to see it all.  It was better than I thought it was going to be.  I learned a lot.

That's all for this time, on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us!