East Coast Greenway Ride

From Bass Harbor, we headed up the coast of Maine to Lubec, right on the Canadian border.   We camped right next to Johnson Bay part of the Quoddy Narrows, a river that rises and falls with the tides. Of course, we had to ride to the border and to the top of the bridge to step to the Canadian side. Campobello lighthouse and island on the Canadian side were Franklin Roosevelt's summering place.  He spent many of his summers here growing up.  At 39 years old, he contracted polio here and was not able to walk again.  Campobello was turned into an international park in 1962. Soon we were looking riding around town taking in their Lubec resident's artwork and taking advantage of an open ice cream parlor. The clouds were telling us that rain may be coming but we had to ride to the Quoddy Lighthouse.  It surely was not going to rain on us! On our ride to the Quoddy Lighthouse, Beth eyed a porcupine who decided he needed to move on when we took an interest. A farm gate ...

Since space was limited at the Bar Harbor KOA, we moved further down Mt. Desert Isle to the Bass Harbor Campground.  The campground was within walking distance of the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, so we visited it and got the required pictures.  Many people had the same idea, but we all coexisted on the rocks below without falling in and staying out of other's camera shots. We then continued our walk to the actual Bass Harbor and enjoyed lobster and chowders dishes at the Seafood Ketch.  The restaurant is very near the dock area where Sue and I and another couple chartered sailboats on two different trips where we sailed among the islands off the coast of Maine. Ryan, the young owner of the Seafood Ketch, worked in the restaurant with his parents and grandparents as a boy and gradually became the top chef and owner. We had to have a blueberry pie and ice cream as a dessert.  Others had the Baked Maine Indian Pudding, a delicious cornmeal and molasses-based pudding that has...

  After leaving New Hampshire and entering Maine, lobster rolls came up on the menu for lunch.  A stop at a well-stocked grocery with a kitchen in the back gave us chance to choose from a list of lobster dishes.  Being a purist, I had the traditional lobster roll and it was scrumptious!! When we arrived at the KOA at the northwestern tip of Mt. Desert Isle the tide was out but the views were magnificent.  A gorgeous sunset soon followed. The next day we began riding the carriage trails on the Bar Harbor side of Mt Desert Isle with a temp of around 50 degrees. Jordan Pond and Eagle lake were two sights we rode by. Here Randy and Beth check the map while the steps to Nirvana were just behind them.  😄 We arrived at Jordon Pond House at the eastern end of Jordon pond just in time for lunch.  Popovers and various Lobster dishes fortified us.     We continued riding the carriage trails and eventually rode into Bar Harbor.  At one intersection we ...

Beth, Sandy, and I arrived at the Me and Ollies cafe for breakfast 10 years ago on the last day of our ride across America.  In another 20 miles, we would be dipping our front wheels into the Atlantic Ocean. The town of Exeter was settled in 1638 one of four towns in New Hampshire.  The townhouse once located near the present one was the site of the New Hampshire Declaration of Independence in 1776.  Today Lady Justice graces the top of the townhouse cupola. The Sea Dog brewery was once a textile mill on the Squamscott River.  There were several mills and dams on the river that generated the huge textile industry.  In 2016, the last dam on the river was removed allowing the river to flow freely for the first time in 369 years! The back deck of the Sea Dog Brewery was a relaxing place to enjoy a Blueberry Ale with blueberries!  The beer exuded antioxidants! A young bald eagle was fishing further downstream with a blue heron along with the seagulls. On our se...