Settled into a quiet (if that is possible in Winthrop) and fun vacation routine ... up early and off to bed early ... group lunches and dinners ... swimming at the lake (Lower Narrows Pond) ... kayaking ... canoe tipping ... tubing ... yard sales ... and of course, biking. I went on a couple great paddles with Karen (across the lake) and Leah (through the culvert and over to Upper Narrows Pond). We took in a fun rendition of my favority book "Wind in the Willows" at The Theater at Monmouth. The theater runs a great schedule of top notch productions and is based out of Cumston Hall (see picture). The building has been amazingly restored and maintained. Toad was played to perfection. The actors were a little taken back when Leah told them I had over 200 different versions of the book ... hence my pen name "MrWiilows". We spent a fun night with Leo's Legacy riders Ed & Cheryl Webber ... another great set of Ed stories, although none will top the time an inner tube flew off a truck and landed on his head!
I had no scheduling issues other than a few thunderstorms and one rainy day. My rides included:
* Solid 2 hours (almost 30 miles) around Marranacook and Annabessacook ... great lake shore views
* Great 50 mile tour to Mt. Vernon and Belgrade ... one of my favorite loops ... great views, lakes, and a few good climbs
* Hilly 2 hours (almost 30 miles) up Ridge Road in Monmouth ... awesome decsent with no cars for most of the ride
On Saturday I was up and out by 6AM and drove toward Mount Desert and Acadia National Park to meet Joel and Amy for a sibling weekend. While they were hauling up 95 for five hours, I took a rolling and often hilly loop (almost 55 miles) from Surry to Blue Hill to Sedgwick to Deer Isle. The route was a little longer and hillier than I expected and it was pretty warm and ... drum roll ... I must admit the climb out of Blue Hill had me walking for about 100 feet ... first time that has happened in a long time. A good humbling experience. The ride was scenic in spots, but the roads were a little beat up. I still enjoyed the challenge and chance to log a longer ride. Blue Hill is an eclectic town with a big arts and music following. The route included crossing the Deer Isle Bridge, which was only running alternating traffic one way due to repainting. That enabled me to have an entire lane to myself for almost the entire span, as they were only paiting at the end of one side. Deer Isle was a small quaint stop with a few galleries and shops. The return trip had me pushing hard to get back to meet Joel and Amy. I ended up about an hour late, so they had a nice lunch in Bar Harbor before meeting me at the cottage in Southwest Harbor. Spotty cell coverage made it interesting telling them where to go, but we finally met up. The cottage was perfect and only four houses from Main Street.
Amy and I hit a small arts and craft show in town then grabbed a drink before we all headed to tour the Park Loop Road and into Bar Harbor for an evening strolling about. We caught a fun late night dinner at Route 66. Great atmosphere and reasonable prices ... food was pretty good too. On Sunday we went for a hike up the South Bubble to Bubble Rock. Great views all around. Joel and I took the challenging rock slide "path" (if you can call it that) down. It was heavily rocked with cliffs, ledges, and numerous tight turns. We met up with Amy and drove back to the cottage before heading to my favorite lobster pound on the island, Thurston's. A typical 45 minute wait rewarded us with top notch lobster, although, it was soft shells only. They were still awesome! More fun planned for tommorow before they leave and the girls arrive. Hey, I turn 49 in the morning.
