Castine, ME to Northeast, ME

Thursday, 30 July, 2015

This morning dawned crisp and clear, and we were underway by 0600, delighted to be able to cruise back through Eggemoggin Reach, to be able to see the beautiful scenery we'd missed.

That does not mean it was easy to leave our gorgeous location, and our friends' mooring, but, we hope to return!

We cruised past Castine, and headed back up Eggemoggin Reach.  The western end of it was beautiful!

About the time we were even with Wooden Boat, we could see the impending fog bank, and thus ended our views and our photos for the next few hours.

The fog reduced visibility to a few hundred feet, making dodging all the lobster floats all the more difficult.

I called Northeast Harbormaster when I was just outside of Bear Island, asking about conditions in the harbor, and was told there wasn't any fog.  Since I was less than a half a mile awau, I was wondering if the folks ever left the office.

As I entered Northeast, I couldn't see either bank of the narrow channel.  Then, poof!  The fog was gone, and it was like entering Shangrala!  

I asked to be allowed to come to the service dock to take on water, and was told it was full.  But, they placed me on a floating dock for a night that had water on the dock!  It is pretty cool, to be tied up to a 40' floating dock, attached to an anchor, but not the shore, in the harbor, with a water spigot on it.

We took the launch into Northeast, and caught the shuttle bus into Bar Harbor.  We took the dogs with us this time, and Mocha enjoyed her first trip on a bus, and her first trip in and out of shops.  Mercy, the semi-retired service dog, showed her the ropes, including showing her how to relax on the bus.  

We met a lot of cruisers on our return bus trip, and came back to see another Nordic Tug tied on a neighboring floating dock.  George and Cynthia came by to say "hello" and we visited for awhile.

Tonight it is raining, and I hope that front may clear some fog.

Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor, ME

Sunday, 26 July 2015

When we finally got around to checking the temperature, after we'd been up for an hour, it was 49 degrees.  BRRRR!

I can't say enough about LLBeans' free bus service.  They have several routes that loop through the area, enabling us to go places, and see things that otherwise we would not have had an opportunity to do.  The bus will drop you at one hiking trail, and you can hike somewhere else.  For hikers in the area, it saves car shuttles.  I don't know how many cars it eliminates from the island. It also gives the kids who can't drive yet the ability to enjoy the area they live in.  What a great service!

The buses are dog friendly, as are many of the shops in town.  There are dogs everywhere, enjoying their people.

This morning we caught the launch into the marina, then took a bus into Bar Harbor.  After several hours in Bar Harbor, we caught another bus to Southwest.

Bar Harbor is a tourist town.  The town is pretty, and the t-shirt/souvenir shops are a little more upscale than most of Key West.  I didn't spend as much money in town as I did at Defender, but, I did replace T shirts that have bit the dust this summer, as well as buy a much needed pair of shoes. 

We ate lunch in a great little restaurant, one of many  choices.  The bowl of crab chowder was great with a grilled cheese sandwich to warm up Floridians, as it began to drizzle rain.

When we got on the bus to Southwest, the crew of the Marnick was headed that way too.  We planned the rest of our days activities, and at some point found out that the launch quit running at 6 today instead of the usual 8.  So, five of us were on a bus, unable to make bus connections to get back to Northeast before the launch quit running.  I was glad I had the phone numbers for the other two Nordic Tugs in my phone!  Of course, you don't know if they are in town....

There were two young men on the bus who crew on a sailing yacht, and one of them offered us a ride in their "rubber duckie."  One of their crew came from the yacht, and picked up the now seven of us, and took us around to Northeast Harbor in the drizzling rain with the fog setting in.  I don't think I've enjoyed a cold, wet ride so much in a long time!

We came back, and I ran the heater on the boat until Ellen whined about being too hot, a nice change for the cold day!