July 27, 2018 Lobster pound... YUM

For those of you who haven't been to the coast of Maine:  there are side-of-the-road places called lobster pounds.  They have live lobsters in tanks, ready to boil.  They have boilers, usually wood-fired.  And they have picnic tables.  Way back when, it was just the tank and the boiler, but these days it's more elaborate.  Of course we had to stop at one.  Here are some pictures.....

How bout dat weathervane?

They do love their buoys!  These are not the real thing, they are just for show.
Each different color combo indicates who the lobster trap belongs to.

How dey get dat water hot.

Da boiler.

We opted for crab rolls this time.  YUM

Somewhere on the road in Maine, on old Hwy. 1, we spotted this thing and just had to get a picture.  It's inflated.  And big.  And quite eye-catching!

July 27, 2018 Acadia National Park, loop road, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Our history with beautiful Acadia National Park goes back to 1976, when we came here on our honeymoon.  Things have changed a bit (think: a zillion more people) but the basics remain the same.  Due to overcrowding on the one-way loop road, there are now shuttle buses that are free (thanks, L. L. Bean!) that you can hop on and off at the primary spots.  So that's what we did - hopped on a shuttle at the visitor center.  Oh my - crowded, people everywhere.  But we did it anyway, just because.  We opted for only two stops along the way:  Thunder Hole and Jordan Pond House.  Here are some random pictures.

Thunder Hole. 
(on weekends there are a lot more people...!!)

Sea fog always lurking in the background.

Eerie, eh?

Bubba climbed down beside Thunder Hole to get some excellent video....
(which won't upload here, sorry.....) 

......and sure enough, he got sprinkled!

At Jordan Pond House restaurant, we had lunch.  One of their specialities
is the popover.  So of course we had one.  YUM! 

Thunder Hole. 

Thunder Hole. 

Lunching at Jordan Pond House. 

In the photo below there are two tall hills in the background, called The Bubbles.  The last three times we've been here, we hiked up the North Bubble (the one on the left).  Alas, this year neither of us was up for a steep hike.  We just reminisced instead.  Must be getting old......

Jordan Pond.

July 25, 2016 Boothbay Harbor, Maine

After we got back from visiting Popham Beach, we drove in to Boothbay Harbor.  It's mostly a tourist town but still interesting.  Here are some random pictures for you.

Low tide.....

The Bridgehouse.  It's reached either by boat or by The Footbridge.

 

This picture shows the striking color of the lovely red maple tree.

Low tide..... 

In one of the many shops we found this old post office unit.
The signage displayed at the bottom is lagniappe.....

July 25, 2018 Popham Beach, Maine

A nice local lady I spoke with at our last campground highly recommended visiting Popham Beach, and when a "local" says it's worthwhile, it usually is.  So today we went to see it, at the bottom of one of the many fingers" of land on the coast of Maine.  It was a great drive and a lovely spot.  It includes Popham Beach State Park and historic Fort Popham.  The fort was interesting and it's the first one I've ever seen that was curved instead of angular.  Click the link to find out more.

After wandering around in the fort for a while, we were ready for lunch.  Guess what we had?  

YUM 

The "lobster pound" where they keep 'em sorted by size til it's time to cook 'em.

After lunch we explored the shore and here are a few pictures.  The sea fog kept coming and going so some are clearer than others.  

Two young ladies and a nice dogge.

July 24, 2018 Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine

Today's adventure was a fantastic visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens near our campground in Boothbay.  We do love visiting any sort of botanical gardens, and this place was outstanding.  If you ever get to this part of Maine, be sure to visit.  We even had lunch at their cafe and it was delicious.  Another stellar day!

The first thing we encountered was the Butterfly House.  Complete with little butterfly girl and her mom....

This silly butterfly doesn't realize he's on a picture instead of a flower.....  

Monarch.

After the wonderful butterfly house (lots of monarch caterpillars in there too!) we browsed our way around the gardens, snapping pictures by the ton.  Here are just a few.

A sculpture called The Sphere at the entrance to the Meditation Garden.

Enlarge this picture to read the ID sign.....  and hand me another kleenex.

Look at the size of these hosta plants - wow!

In the children's garden, Bubba was frightened by a bear in the Bear Den.

Children's garden.  It was large and nicely done, lots of kids enjoying it.

Mr. Buzzy on a blazing star.

The color of these beauties was outrageous!   

This sculpture is called The Pinecone. 

Happy faces.  :)

One of the last places we visited was the Fairy Village.  It was also well attended with children, who were all very busy looking for fairies.  Just a few pictures for you here.