Lighthouses and Red Leaves Tour 2006


Boston – Salem – Gloucester – York – Cape Neddick Lighthouse – Ogunquit Monday, 25th September, 21 °C, partly cloudy, distance 134 miles We had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and were on the road by 8:30 a.m. It took us an hour to get to Boston during rush hour. Then we continued towards Salem where we arrived around 10:15 a.m. Salem is known for witch trials that took place here in the 17th century. This is well marketed today and there are a number of witch museums. We had a look at the old burial ground, the sailing vessel Friendship of Salem and the House of the Seven Gables which was the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel. Around 11:30 a.m. we had finished our visited and set off towards Gloucester which became famous through the film and book "The Perfect Storm" about the fate of the Andrea Gail and its crew. At the town entrance along the promenade there's a memorial dedicated to fishermen from the area that lost their lives at sea. After lunch and a walk around the centre it was 2:30 p.m. and we gave up our plans of visiting Rockport and Cape Ann because we still had a way to go. We made another short stop at Newburyport before we left Massachusetts, crossed the coastal part of New Hampshire and entered Maine. On the I-95 we passed by Kittery with its outlet stores and took the exit to York around 4 p.m. York Beach looked nice enough with many motels right by the sea. We visited the Nubble Light at Cape Neddick and reached our pre-booked motel at Ogunquit around 5 p.m. The Sea View Motel was one of the cheapest stays of our trip, but one of the best. The room was very nice and a basic continental breakfast was included. After checking in we drove down to the beach and had dinner at Beach Street ("Splash", not to be recommended).



Ogunquit - Kennebunkport - Cape Elizabeth - Pemaquit Point - Camden Tuesday, 26th September, 19 °C, sunny, distance 195 miles It was a beautiful morning and by 8:30 a.m. we walked along the Marginal Trail between Perkins Cove and Ogunquit, then we drove to Kennebunkport where we arrived at 10:45 a.m. We drove up to Walkers Point where the Bush family has their summer house. At 11:20 a.m. we reached Cape Elizabeth. We passed by Two Lights State Park and had a look at the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse from the parking area at the bottom of the road. From here back on the main road it were just a few miles further on to the beautiful Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park. We stopped at a supermarket in Portland for a quick lunch before we continued on our route passing by Freeport which is famous for L.L. Bean and other outlet stores. But the weather was too good to shop. In Newcastle/Damariscotta we turned off to Fort William/Pemaquit Point. After 14 miles we reached the lighthouse ($2 fee to enter the grounds). Here we enjoyed an ice-cream and by 3:15 p.m. we were on our way again. Via Rockland we finally arrived in Camden around 4:45 p.m. Here we had booked a room at the Birchwood Motel. It was a bit smallish for the price but a basic continental breakfast was included. We strolled through the pretty village and had dinner at Zaddik’s (Italian & Mexican) which was less expensive than most of the other restaurants in town, but still good.



Camden Hills State Park - Dyce Head Lighthouse - Acadia NP Wednesday, 27th September, 17 °C, sunny, distance 128 miles At 8:30 a.m. we were on the road again. It was just 1 mile to Camden Hills State Park ($3 each). Here we hiked the Megunticook Trail. From Ocean Lookout at 1300 m we had a great view of Camden from above with Mount Battie (780 m) in the foreground, the coast with many small islands to the east and possibly even Mount Desert Island with Acadia National Park in the far distance. On the trail we were delighted to spot some trees whose leaves had already turned red. At the end of 2 hours we were back at the car. Then we drove up the auto road to Mount Battie before we left the park. We stopped for sandwiches in Belfast and at 12:30 p.m. we turned off towards Castine on route 175/166 and at the end of the road we reached the little Dyce Head Lighthouse. It was surrounded by a small lawn and scrubs which were abundant with Monarch butterflies. We reached Ellsworth at 2:30 p.m., did some shopping and an hour later we arrived at the Highbrook Motel in Bar Harbor which we had booked via telephone for 3 nights. The room was very nice with 2 Queen Beds, W-LAN, complimentary coffee and a small continental breakfast included. With the blue sky we had all day we decided to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain which wasn't far from our motel. However, by the time we got there dark clouds had come up. The view was still ok, but there were lots of shadows and it was quite windy. At 466m elevation Cadillac Mountain is the highest peak at the coast north of Brazil. For dinner we went to the Thirsty Whale Tavern which offered fresh broiled haddock for a good price. Bar Harbor is very touristy with lots of shops, but it's quite a nice place.


Acadia NP Thursday, 28th September, 17 °C, a.m. cloudy, p.m. sunny, distance 220 miles We woke up early and decided to drive up Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise at 6:27 a.m. But unfortunately the summit was still covered in clouds. We went back to the motel, had a bit of breakfast and around 8 a.m. we headed for Acadia National Park. We had intended to go hiking right away, but we wanted to wait for the weather to improve as the forecast for that day had promised better conditions. We didn't have to pay the entrance fee of $20 as our national parks pass, which we had purchased in May during our tour in the south-west, was still valid. We drove to Sand Beach and for a start we hiked along Ocean Path to Thunder Hole (approx. 1 km). It's a shame that the path follows the road most of the way, nevertheless it offers some nice ocean views. The weather still wasn't showing any signs of improvement, so we decided to start on the Beehive Trail nonetheless. The trail is not recommended for anyone with fear of heights. It was quite a climb, up a steep, narrow trail with ladders and iron rungs for support. The view from the top should have been gorgeous in good weather. Shortly after the summit we reached a little lake, The Bowl, then we took the path via the Bowl Trail back to the loop road. In better conditions we would have hiked up the Beehive to The Bowl and then further on to Gorham Mountain and via Thunder Hole and the Ocean Path back to the car park. This should have made a nice loop. We continued on the 43 km long one-way Park Loop Road with a further stop at Otter Point. At 12:30 p.m. we reached Northeast Harbor and it was time for lunch. We had sandwiches at the Garage Deli. By the time we had finished, the sun had finally dispersed the clouds and we decided to tackle the south-western part of Mount Desert Island as well, which is not actually a part of Acadia NP. Via Somesville we headed towards Bass Harbor with its famous lighthouse. While photographing the lighthouse we met Miri and Ulf from a German USA travel forum who we had arranged to meet for dinner in Bar Harbor that evening. They were travelling a similar route to ours at the same time. We drove on towards Bernard and Seal Cove. Beyond Pretty Marsh we headed up to Beech Mountain where we found a number of hiking trails. We opted for the 1 mile loop to the fire tower. The views from the top were stunning, looking down upon lakes and forests in fall colours. With the sun shining we went up to Cadillac Mountain once again. By now it was 4:45 p.m. Then back to the motel which was now showing full house. We had a shower and went to meet Miri and Ulf at the Route 66 restaurant where we had burgers for dinner. We went for a drink at the Thirsty Whale afterwards.