Scenery wise—I don’t think today can be topped.  The day started out with a gorgeous sun brightening our azure blue skies with a delightfully cool breeze, a perfect day for the top down.  Acadia National Park was put in place to protect the natural beauty of the highest rocky headlands along the Atlantic coastline of the United States, an abundance of habitats with high biodiversity, clean air and water, and a rich cultural heritage. Each year, more than 3.3 million people explore seven peaks above 1,000 feet, 158 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads with 16 stone bridges.

The primary avenue for navigating through this park on Mount Desert Island is the Park Loop Road, a 27-mile road that begins at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center (near Route 3 on the northern side of the island) and connects the Park’s lakes, mountains, forests, and rocky coast.  I had planned to drive the loop yesterday but with the heavy fog, figured I’d wait until this morning and I’m glad I did.  We set out shortly after 8:00 AM and the roads were already filling with hikers, bikers, bicyclists, and other drivers but luckily, the park provides many places to pull over and soak in the scenery.  I think you would have to work very hard to find any area that is not photogenic.

My only disappointment was that I would have liked to hike the trails as they look challenging and usually lead to sections of the park not visible from the loop.  Chloe is not the best hiker.  She seems game for about a mile but even then, she wants to investigate every smell, so it is slow going.

Once we left the park, our route today was mostly along Route 1 and, while much of the road surface could definitely use some repair, the views were mostly magnificent.  I must admit thinking that New Hampshire, with no sales tax and an income tax on interest and dividends (not earned income), somehow manages to have better paved roads than Maine, who has a 5.5%-8% sales tax (depending on what you buy) and an income tax on 5.8%-7.15% on all income.

I discovered that Maine is one of America’s largest blueberry-growing states, raising 90% of the low-bush blueberries in North America. Sixty thousand acres in production produces a harvest of over 75 million pounds, the major proportion of which is raked in Washington County (which is where I am tonight). Many families from Lubec participate in blueberry raking. The prized, antioxidant-rich berries are harvested in the month of August and early September.  Blueberries and their products are sold everywhere.  Yum—love blueberries!  And, this is what I had for dessert tonight…blueberry crumble with freshly made blueberry ice cream–and yes, I already started eating it–Very good!

Driving into Lubec, I knew I was going to fall in love!  Located on a peninsula in Passamaquoddy Bay, slightly south of Eastport, it is the easternmost city in the U.S.A. and I am staying in the easternmost inn!

The population as of the last census was 1,359 so it is a small town.  Settled in 1785 and incorporated in 1811, Lubec was once a proud and bustling sardine canning and fish-smoking center. It was here in the Quoddy region that America’s sardine processing industry was created.  Today, self-employed persons (many of them artisans) and the service industry seem to dominate the economy.

View from hotel

View from hotel

Our room is on the third floor (while that may be a slight drawback), we are experiencing a beautiful breeze off the water and we are high enough that no one can see into the room, so I can keep the windows open.  Air conditioning, while available, is not necessary.  Look at the views above—that, by the way, is Canada!

Lubec is a gateway to neighboring Campobello Island, New Brunswick Canada. Even Canadians cannot get there as easily as we can—there is a bridge from Lubec which I inadvertently almost crossed when I made a wrong turn!  (I had to do a u-turn to get out of line.) Canadians either have to drive to the U.S. and cross our bridge or they can take a ferry from Deer Crossing in New Brunswick to Campbobello.  Now that I know about this ferry, I may look into it.