Day was sunny and cool (and windy!) as promised. We got a relatively early start and headed to Cafe This Way for breakfast. Today I had the oats–a huge bowl!–with blueberries and bananas, and Rich had the “country breakfast”: 2 pancakes, 2 fried eggs, hash browns, and bacon.
After almost a week, we finally had a chance to ride on the lovely carriage roads. Today’s route was to take us to Bubble Pond (remember the loons! I know it’s a loon because it has such a distinctive loon-shaped head!) and Eagle Lake via the Eagle Lake loop. We then rode a short distance on Breakneck Road just to check it out, and to find a good spot to pee, because we were getting desperate. I had entertained thoughts of going back to Jordan Pond House for more lobster rolls, but Rich had a better idea—today would be lobster day at Beal’s!
After we packed up from our ride we headed directly to Beal’s on the pier at Southwest Harbor. We sat in the enclosed area (claiming “our table” thenceforth) because the wind was so strong; at least it wasn’t raining. Our lobsters were smaller than we’d hoped for just due to our timing in the season, but absolutely delicious, and I think Rich enjoyed seeing me get all messy. I loved seeing him eat and laugh and enjoy his food, as I always do.
While in Southwest Harbor, we simply had to try a few benchmark searches. The tidal station at the Coast Guard depot still fascinates me, but in the interest of time we abandoned hope of getting it this year and just decided to pick up the easier ones in town.
The first was a tidal mark (actually, it may be connected to the tidal station at the depot) set into a ledge in someone’s front yard just a few feet from the side of the road.
Next, we chased a tri-station that showed up on the GPSr and appeared to be nearby in Manset. By the time I pulled out the datasheet we were almost there, and I was a bit disappointed to discover that it was simply a landmark station, the Manset Union Church. Fortunately, this one was a little more interesting than we might have expected. The church had been moved, for some kind of construction work, from one side of the lot to the other! While it appears they will be putting the church back where it originally stood, the station will most likely have to be marked destroyed.
On our way back through Southwest Harbor, we decided to give K 13 one more chance. Having discovered that this USGS mark is also an NGS mark, we checked the recoveries and noticed that it’s the mark that was described by geocachers a few years ago as being on the Jumpin’ Java coffee house. I knew I would recognize the building if I saw it. Well, the coffee house was recently turned into a bank branch, we soon discovered, and though the appearance of the building has changed significantly, the mark is still there. The fence that had blocked access to the mark is now gone, and I was able to sneak into the little alleyway between buildings for a close-up. The reference mark, supposedly a chiseled square in the steps, is apparently gone.
With bellies still full, we were energized and not quite in need of supper just yet, so we took one more drive to the Cadillac summit to take a few more photos of CADILLAC 1975 on a clear day.
As if we hadn’t already eaten enough, after a rest break in the room we went back to Rosalie’s (for those of you keeping count, it’s the third time), sat upstairs, and finished off the evening with a small mushroom and a small plain pie.
