The B.A.R.B. at SongStar
Reports

My Trip to Maine–Part 5
by Kathie Lambert

Day 6—June 5—Machias to Bar Harbor

Mom slept through the alarm clock. How anyone could sleep through that obnoxious noise is beyond me, but she managed to do it. Woke up to find it raining. It rained all day. When it wasn’t raining, it was so heavily misting that it may as well have been raining. It was foggy all the time. Everything I own is wet. Everything on my body is wet. Did I mention it RAINED ALL DAY LONG!?! I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much as we did have 3 days in a row with picture perfect weather.

Anyway, we had breakfast at Helen’s, whose breakfast is much better than her dinner. Then we headed for Bar Harbor making lots of stops at places I’ll never remember, seeing all too few birds (because it was raining) and everything is blurring together. We did attempt a Nature Conservancy property on Wass Island. Didn’t go too far because it was really wet, and no birds because it was RAINING. Attempted another stop at a place that’s been known to have Spruce Grouse. Did we see any? No, because it was RAINING.

Got to Bar Harbor and checked in at the Sea Breeze motel. Very nice. It’s supposed to have a view of the ocean, but it was so foggy & misty that we could barely see the cars across the parking lot much less the ocean. Looked for a laundry. I desperately need some clean clothes. When I packed, I laid out all my clothes and lots of them because we could see temperature ranges from 30 to 80 on a single day and many layers were required. All this stuff didn’t fit into my small bag but looked a little lost in my big bag & I didn’t feel like lugging the big bag. So, I decided to pack less than a full complement of clothing with the expectation of finding a motel with a laundry so that I could do a load at some point. Have I managed to find a laundry—NO—because most the places where we’ve stayed are too old to have them. I’m in dire need of a clean pair of jeans. The pair I’m wearing will soon qualify as hazardous waste—nasty combination of dirt, mud, sweat, sea salt, sun screen, and bug juice consisting of bug repellent & squished bugs. My other pair got soiled a couple of days ago in an unfortunate sand box accident (getting distracted by a bird while sandboxing is not a good thing). Rinsed out lots of clothes in the bathtub and hung them to dry—not that they will dry in this humidity.

Next on the comedy hit parade was Acadia National Park. We did the scenic loop around the island. Well, I suppose it’s scenic. We couldn’t see anything for the RAIN and the FOG. Walked a carriage trail near Jordan Pond. It was a loop trail around a mountain. When we got to less than half way around, we got to an exposed area where not only was it raining, the wind was howling, so we turned around. Did we see any birds? NO, because it was RAINING.

Dinner at the Chart Room. A little fancier and pricier than other restaurants we’ve visited, but it’s also in a tourist trap haven. Seafood here actually comes in more varieties than baked or fried. I’ve had so much fish on this trip, I’m starting to grow gills. It’s hard being a vegetarian on the road, so I’m glad I haven’t been able to give up seafood.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is not great in the morning, but should clear up in the afternoon. We’re scheduled for a whale watching tour tomorrow afternoon, so I’m hoping the forecast is correct. However, our morning plans could be blown. Oh, well. Time to go to bed—I could use some sleep.

Day 7—June 6—Acadia NP, Mount Desert Island (MDI), Whale Watching

Woke to fog. Ate breakfast at a spot in Bar Harbor. Mom asked me if I even bothered to run a comb through my hair. I was impressed that she was awake enough to notice. I’ve been showering at night & going to bed with my hair wet (motels have no hair dryers & I didn’t bring one). This is never a recipe for a pretty sight in the morning. However, after a hat and a few hours, it will begin to look presentable.

By the time we got things going again the fog had cleared and it turned into a wonderful outing. Stopped at Wonder Land in Acadia NP. Walked a trail to the water. The woodlands were nice. Didn’t find anything but the usual suspects—lots of Black-throated Green Warblers (the trash bird of the trip). Had a singing Junco in the top of a tall spruce—unusual because we never hear them singing and seldom see them in trees when they are in MD for the winter. When the trail came to the ocean, I was ecstatic. The tide was out, exposing lots of tidal pools. This was not unusual. The unusual part was that I could get to the tidal pools without endangering life & limb by clambering over 60 zillion wet, jagged, slippery, seaweed covered boulders. The rocks were smooth, flat, and for the most part dry. I practically ran to the tidal pools. They were small and filled with snails and mussels. There were a couple of larger pools closer to the ocean, but the boulders near the pools were covered with wet slippery seaweed and I didn’t feel like killing myself.

Across from Wonder Land is an unnamed bog. We tromped through the woods, crossed the lag (a very wet almost stream-like ring around the main body of the bog) and entered the bog. Most bogs intended for human visitation have civilized board walks to protect the bog from people (and visa versa). This bog had no official trail to it, nor boardwalk in it. Walking across a bog was a new and interesting experience—kind of like walking across a waterbed or a giant sponge; it’s springy, it ripples, and you’re going to get wet. Lincoln’s Sparrows & Palm Warblers sang but refused to be enticed out of hiding. More wonderful wildflowers. Finally got a good picture of the wild azalea looking thing along with several more bog plants—pitcher plant, bog laurel (or rosemary—it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference). We saw a very nice fir with tiny purple pine cones.

Wild azalea- or rhododendron-type plant	Bog laurel or rosemary (can't tell which)
Fir with small purple pine cones	More Pitcher Plants

On to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. One of the few places where we actually saw Yellow-rumped Warblers. Watched a Great Black-backed Gull diving (and I do mean dive—completely submerged) in the water near the rocks. Eventually it came up with a rather large sized crab and began to eat it. We had been seeing red squirrels everywhere on this trip, but just now got a good look at one. They are considerably smaller than the gray squirrels at home.

Beat feet back to Bar Harbor. We quickly made lunches to take on board the boat with us. Mom was testing anti-seasickness medications in preparation for a trip to Monterey later this year. On the trip to Machias Seal Island, she tried a non-drowsy Dramamine formulation that worked but still made her sleepy. Today, she tried a Scopolamine patch, which worked well for her. We went whale watching on the Acadian Princess run by the Bar Harbor Whale Watching Co. As you board the boat, they take a picture of your group in front of a life preserver with the boat’s name on it. On the way out, the boat did spend some time at an off shore island with a lighthouse (sorry, don’t remember the name) where many seabirds were nesting, including Puffins, Arctic Terns, Razorbills. Looks were OK, but we were glad we had already seen them at Machias Seal Island. The trip was on a much faster boat than the trip to Machias Seal Island and the ride was a little rougher. When we hit a wave just right, the boat really went sailing and elicited a large chorus of “Wheeeeeee” from our group. Other folks on board thought we were nuts. Even though the ride was fairly smooth, there were a number of people making use of boat sick bags. We tried to ignore them lest they cause a seasickness chain reaction.

We motored out to an area they call Whale Park. Unfortunately for the bird watchers on board, they saw whales too soon and we didn’t get as far out to sea as we would have liked. Saw a Finback cow & calf. In the distance, they saw a Humpback frolicking (I didn’t—rats, it would have been a life whale), but chose not to move toward it. We were dismayed on several levels. First, that they chose to stay and bother a cow with her calf (they tend to be disturbed by boats and the cow will try to keep the calf away). Second, that they chose to ignore a whale species that tends to be friendlier toward boats. And third, that we didn’t get to go further out to sea. We did manage to get nice looks at several different Gannet plumages, a Wilson’s Storm Petrel, and a Great Shearwater. Folks on board at first got excited when we started shouting “shearwater,” but when they found out it was just a bird, they looked crestfallen. Little do they know.

The naturalist on board was explaining all sorts of stuff. He totally missed an explanation of tides (it was laughable and we were dismayed that he stated that he was a graduate of the College of the Atlantic—he should have known better), but did give some insights to lobster harvesting.

After getting of the boat, we found our group picture posted on the board. It was cheesy & badly taken (way off center). Someone in the group bought it. We once again did the loop around MDI. Wow, the views are spectacular! Without the fog it almost doesn’t look like the same place. We stopped at the Precipice Trail, which is closed due to nesting Peregrine Falcons. We quickly found the nest (a birder already had a scope trained on the site) and enjoyed watching the young ones gulp down dinner. There were a total of 4 chicks—2 much more mature than the others. The birder was from Rhode Island, but finds his way to ME on a regular basis and has been watching this site for several years. Everyone had seen 3 chicks at this nest, but he had seen a 4^th but no one believed him. He was happy to clearly see 4 chicks at once and with several witnesses.

Dinner at the Chart Room again. Back to the hotel, which really does have a very nice ocean view. Al started going room to room gathering support for giving Herb a tip. We gathered in Bobbi & Wafi’s room to sign a note. Remember the picture of the group at the boat? It showed up. We put a tip and the note in with the picture to give to Herb tomorrow at dinner.

Have to pack tonight to travel to Manchester, NH tomorrow. Herb sat out by the pool and played his pipes some more. He really is quite good.

Day 8—June 7—Drive to Manchester, NH via lots of places in the middle.

Absent mindedly threw open the curtain this morning. Nearly blinded Mom & myself. Forgot about the ocean view and the sun rising in the east.

A long driving day. Lots of stops all blurred together. Didn’t see much in the way of birds. The day started fair, but ended up foggy & rainy. Did manage to spot a wild turkey in a field some where. Have totally whiffed on Kestrels, but not for lack of trying. The joke of the trip was to see who could make a Mourning Dove into a Kestrel.

Stopped at Colby College to unload Herb’s & Al’s bags. Herb parked at a passageway between two buildings. We made a picnic lunch. Lots of people passed by and commented on the fun we were having. It was reunion weekend and people from classes ranging from 5 to 50 years (in 5 year intervals) ago were visiting.

Stopped at Al’s sister-in-law’s farm. A week ago, they stopped there, took out the back seat and left it in a barn. Turns out the rental company refused to store the seat saying that it was our responsibility while we were renting the van. Unloaded the van, reinstalled the seat, and repacked the van. Good thing we got rid of a lot of stuff at Colby.

Stopped at Freeport for the obligatory visit to L. L. Bean. Since it was starting to rain, it was a nice way to kill a couple of hours. The store doors are interesting. The handles are oars, and there are no locks as the place is open 24/7. Several days ago, Bobbi noticed that I had several small holes in my trusty Bean fleece jacket. I hadn’t noticed them until she pointed them out. I decided to test the Bean return policy; after all, the jacket is about 7 years old. About 20 minutes later I walked out with a new jacket that was much better (and more expensive) than my old one (it’s amazing to see how even wind block polar fleece & construction techniques have evolved in just a few years) and with an additional 50 cents. The sales person said there was a tax change from the time the original jacket was purchased and I was entitled to an extra 50 cents. I tried to talk them into keeping the 50 cents but they wouldn’t do it.

Stopped at Scarborough to try to find the Sharp-tailed Sparrows—nada. Well, not quite nada. A single Neslon’s sang once, shut up and hid.

On to Manchester. Dinner place was selected based on TV availability. Turns out the Belmont Stakes was today and several folks wanted to see the race. I didn’t care one hoot about the race. The only thing I remember is that it looked very muddy. Took the opportunity to enjoy a nice glass of Guinness stout. When we asked the server for separate checks, she said No. It was the only time on the trip this happened. We think it may have been due to their policy of automatically charging an 18% tip on groups over 6.

Day 9—June 8—Manchester, NH to Baltimore, MD

They don’t make you take your shoes off at the Manchester airport! Another uneventful flight. We didn’t try to sit together. Nap on the short flight. BWI has made some baggage handling improvements. We got off the plane, potty stopped, and took our time getting to the baggage claim area. Lo & behold, our bags had already gone around the carousel once! Brian, hubby, was there to take us home.

Good trip—No one died, no one hospitalized, no one beaten to a pulp. 2 life birds for me, ME list of nearly 140 birds. Total car miles = 1440.

A week later, the black fly bites are finally starting to disappear.

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Copyright © 2003 by Kathie Lambert and Richard L. Becker