When Once is Not Enough

Schoodic Peninsula was on my bucket list to visit.  Julie agreed to go over but, at first wanted to ride the ferry.  It costs twenty-five dollars per person so we decided to drive over.  It only takes a little over an hour and the drive is beautiful.  We planned to ride our bikes and Julie was dying to paddle in a bay.  But the ranger dissuaded her because she didn't have the right boat or a wet or dry suit.

So, after talking to the ranger about a fun route to ride our bikes, we set off on the auto tour which would eventually connect to a trail that would bring us back across the peninsula to the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center and its grounds are beautiful

Julie near the beginning of our ride - she wanted the house on the island

A view from the road

We enjoyed a visit with a pair of woman painters just before we turned back 

Julie was dying to hike to an island. We found the one below accessible at low tide, so we stopped and I waited while she did a hurried hike.

One of the pictures I took while I was waiting for her return

The pair of us at the end of the ride

We had biked only eight miles and taken time for a little bit of hiking and had eaten lunch, so we didn't get back to the Visitor Center until mid afternoon.  We figured we had plenty of time for a do over, so drove back around to look for pictures in the improving light.  We also had several places we wanted to hike.

One of the places we wanted to visit was a steep dirt road we had passed and where we found there were several trailheads. We stopped and did a short hike, looking for good vistas.  There were a few but the sun was still too harsh for good pictures.

Julie and the trail signs

We wanted to visit the Schoodic Institute, but were a few minutes too late to do so. So we went in search of the trailhead for a suggested trail that would give us beautiful evening views of the ocean. While looking for it, we scared a  bald eagle that was sitting in a tree,  feasting on a squirrel it had just caught.  We finally found the trailhead and set off for three different viewing points of the ocean.

Headquarters for the Schoodic Institute

Even the chimney had that most unusual brick/rock work

This statue was in front of one of the buildings used for training scessions

We found the perfect doughnut - no fat or carbs - it's actually a mushroom. 

We had to sit a few minutes and watch the tide come in - so peaceful

On the way home, just after sundown, we came upon a city dock. Lobstermen were bringing in their catches, while many other boats were tied up either to the dock or in the bay.

These boats looked like they had been set up to be painted

Lobster boats at rest

The lobsters were loaded into bins and taken off - they have to be purged and brought back to the temperature of the ocean before they are ready to sell

This scene is so iconic for Maine

We were both happy we had gone to Schoodic Peninsula.  It was beautiful and had very few people using it.