May 30th, Wednesday – Winter Harbor and The Loop Road on Schoodic Peninsula

First Visit,  Winter Harbor and Schoodic Peninsula, Loop Road.  This morning it was a bit cooler than yesterday but not bad.  The early morning temperature was around 55 degrees but with the electric heater on in the back it was quite comfortable.

Yesterday, it was GrayBeard that got pampered, today it was Marti’s turn.  He

was getting a bit ragged around the edges so we decided to have him groomed.  If we waited any longer he would have been looking like a sheep dog by the time we would have had a chance to have him taken care of.

Of course, while he was being groomed we had to find a place to eat breakfast.  Once again we asked the locals and this is the place they recommended as one of the best

in town, Chases Restaurant.  Now you just have to know with a sign like this over the

door this is the place to be.  I later discovered this plaque in honor of the original owner

of the restaurant.  This is the menu from which we ordered.  I ordered the #4 and

Barbara ordered the Burrito  .  Both were delicious ,so much so that we cleaned every

last bite from our plates.  On the way out, I also discovered this humorous sign.

Breakfast finished, it was time to visit the big attraction in Winter Harbor which is the well known 5 & 10 Cent Store located on Main Street – actually the only street in town!

The Winter Harbor 5 &10 was founded by Mary and Larry Graffam in 1972.
They retired in 1989, at which time it was purchased by the current owners Pete and Sandy Drinkwater. They claim to have everything from A to Z inside the store and by the looks of things they really do. Don’t take my word for it take a look yourself.   Following are just two pictures of the inside, they are at least another 7 or 8 aisles of everything!

Another packed aisle of just about everything.

Of course, there were all things lobster, like this towel.

And this light that I wish I could figure out a place to put in Graybeard.

Well, once we were finished here it was time to pick up Marti.  He looks a hundred percent better, I can guarantee you.  Now with him on board we visited the local Chamber of Commerce in Winter Harbor.  How about that self service!

Our visit to Winter Harbor over, we started for home, however, we sort of took a detour of sorts.  We had read about the loop road that ran around the Schoodic Peninsula, and

so we decided to see what it was all about.  The loop road is a six-mile one-way road that offers views of lighthouses, seabirds, and forested islands. There were numerous vehicle turnouts that provided opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Located 1.5 miles down the loop road, Frazer Point is a grassy picnic area facing the waters of Winter Harbor.  This is the picnic area which we hope to come back to.

These are some pictures of Winter Harbor taken from the picnic area.

Down the road a bit we spotted this light house off in the distance.  We later learned

that it was the Winter Harbor Lighthouse on Mark Island. The lighthouse, originally established and built in 1856, is constructed of brick and asphalt. The two-story keeper’s house was built later in 1876. The boathouse was built in 1878 followed by the Oil House in 1905. The original optic used was a fifth order Fresnel. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1988 as Winter Harbor Light Station.  The lighthouse is currently privately owned and not open to the public.  Now how about that, how would you like to have your own lighthouse.  Neat.

This is some of the scenery we saw along the loop road. 

In the background of this picture is Cadillac Mountain.

A little further down the road, we discovered the Schoodic Education and Research Center which is home to the Schoodic Institue, a non-profit partner of Acadia National

Park that supports researchers, classes, and conferences. The campus was formerly a U.S. Navy Base listening station until it was closed in 2002 and the land was returned to the National Pack control.  Unfortunately, we were not able at this time to visit the center but we do intend to return and go inside in the near future.

Finally, we reached Schoodic Point which is at the southern tip of the Schoodic Peninsula  From the parking lot we were able to walk out and explore the massive rock formations created by ancient volcanic activity. To say that it was breathtaking is probably the understatement of the day.

Well, there is more for us to see and we intend to do the loop road yet another day and discover what we missed today.  Once out of the park and on the way home we discovered a place that we just could not pass up.  Come on now, there is always room for ice cream.

Here I am enjoying my cone.

And, of course, Marti also got in on the action.

So that was our day today.  We absolutely enjoyed it 100 % and, of course, the best part, as always, was that we did it together, traveling along hand in hand.  But wait there is more, once home and settled in, supper finished, we figured just for giggles and chuckles let’s see if we can get Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy  (we have become sort of hooked on both) and lo and behold they both came in crystal clear.   Super.

So day is now done and the night has wrapped its darkness around us.  We had a ball today and we’re absolutely thrilled that we took our little detour.  There’s more to be discovered yet in Acadia National Park and we hope to do so in the coming days.  Hey, did you have a good day?  Hope so.  If not then take this thought regarding tomorrow to heart:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before