Lewiston, ME, to Acadia National Park, Mount Desert, ME (Saturday, August 7th, 2010)

* Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. 11:55PM, August 7th, 2010 *

Day Fifteen - 148 miles

I am really enjoying the state and the people of Maine.

Every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose.

I left the ghasty Motel 6 this morning, and headed back across to Brunswick (Maine, not to be confused with New Brunswick, Canada, which I hope to also visit).

To get back to Highway 1, 18 miles or so, I had to drive back through the towns I had only briefly seen in the darkness last night.

As I passed through one of them, I saw a really interesting looking railway line, heading off somewhere by the side of the road. I thought it would make a good photo opportunity. I couldn't find a place to turn around, so I turned down a side street - as it turns out, the Main Street of a little town called Lisbon Falls. I immediately could smell some nice breakfast cooking. "That's me!" I thought!

I went into Dr. Mike's Madness Cafe. The staff were very friendly. The waitresses were a mother and daughter. They couldn't believe how far I had come. After a little while, the owner, "Dr. Mike" showed up. It turns out, the good doctor is actually a psychologist, and took over the cafe from some friends several years back. He is EXTREMELY enthusiastic about his cafe, and gave me the full run down. A very nice fellow, he was too. The children in the local town got him to dress up as "Father Hannukah" at Christmas. He proudly told me that his cafe is the only one on the East Coast that has a Santa Claus and a Father Hannukah!

I also found out from Roxanne and her mother (name escapes me) that Lisbon Falls is the original home of some soda called Moxie.

The day was getting on, and I had some driving to do, so after a few photos and handshakes, I bid farewell to Dr. Mike and his merry band, and I was back on my way.

U.S. Highway 1 was pretty jammers all the way up to the lovely town of Camden. I had this idea, after the traffic around Boston... "Oh, wait until I get up to U.S. Highway 1 in Maine - there'll be nobody there." WRONG!

The traffic cleared after Camden, though, and we were motoring along up towards Bar Harbor, and Mount Desert Island. Camden, and indeed many of the towns along the way - Belfast (wonder where that name came from!), Rockland, Bucksport - are all beautiful places to visit in their own right.

At this stage, it's becoming even more clear to me, that the journey - or let's just call it "the Expedition" - that I am undertaking, actually requires about four months - three at a minimum - to do some justice to the places I've visited. Maine alone, you could spend a couple of weeks in.

Speaking of somewhere you could spend a few weeks in: I arrived at Acadia National Park this evening. I knew I was *really* chancing my arm getting a camping spot. This place is booked out MONTHS in advance. It's one of the busiest in the system. Anyway, as I pulled up to the ranger station - bear in mind it's 8PM, or so - there was a line of four or five cars, and lots of shaking heads. By the way, I saw all the dreaded "No Vacancy" signs on the hotels and motels on the way through the nearby towns. The previous night's debacle was still fresh in my mind, and I realy, really, REALLY wanted to camp here in Acadia. The fairly chic, and lovely, resort town of Bar Harbor is close by on the island (I noticed a few Gulfstream's at the little airport before we crossed the causeway onto the island), so anything that I might even find would not be cheap.

Anyway, I pulled up to the station and all the cars had departed, in the opposite direction - as in leaving. I got the "head shake" from the ranger and the lament about how they were booked out so far in advance, and it was the 10th most popular national park, etc.

I think I nearly started crying, or looked like I was going to. I told them - there was a kind of cute little ranger girl there too - how I'd driven all the way across America, all the dusty motels in the midwest, and I had only camped ONE NIGHT, the last being way back in Nevada at Great Basin (God, that seems like an age ago).

My near tears, seemed to prompt some sympathy in the female ranger. She looked like she was thinking for a second, then said, "Hey, what about that RV spot we have reserved for disabled? It's after 6PM, and nobody's taken it?" There was (for me anyway) deathly silence for a few minutes, then the other ranger looked a the computer for what seemed like five even longer minutes, before saying, "Yes."

I was kind of, "Yes, what? Yes, I have a site." To which she replied, "Yes, if you don't mind pitching your tent on a gravel surface?"

"No problemo!" I was camping again!

I duly found spot number 54A, and parked the bike and set up camp. God, it was so nice! The weather was lovely too, not to hot or cold, about 62F.

After a while, a guy who introduced himself as "Richard" came over from the campsite next to me. Him and his wife, Sharon, had been here a few days. He asked me if I wanted a beer. I said a Coke would be great if he had it. I wasn't going to ask him for Diet, which I wanted, but...he came back with a big bottle of Diet Coke - chilled! "It's all yours," he said.

I got my food cooking, Jambalaya in a rice packet thingy - it makes loads, and tastes great. By then it was dark and things were quiet. Again, while camping, I missed my old friend Darragh - we always would go camping together. I decided to head out down the ocean path near the campground. I came out at some cliffs over looking the ocean, probably out towards Nova Scotia. The stars were incredibly clear. I've never seen a celestial body, other than the moon or setting sun, reflecting off the ocean. However, it looked like Mars, more orange than the other "stars," and it was reflecting on the sea in front of me. I probably sat there for an hour, just taking it in.

After a while, I headed back to camp. I had no signal, but I wrote Darragh a little note, to be sent later, saying how he'd love it here - you would, Darragh!

Then it was into the tent and off to bed, dreaming about riding across the ocean...

Onwards!