Playing hide and seek

...with the sun, of course!

What a crazy weather day! It went from gray and dry when I woke up, to a shimmer of water as I was driving to Acadia, to sprinkles, to a very steady rain - while I was riding, of course! The weather wizard apparently ran out of water, because I was surprised with a dry afternoon. And then fog joined the party...

As I started rolling towards Acadia National Park the sky was gray and the roads were dry. Sprinkles started decorating the road surface just as I turned in to the park. I thought about going back to my car, but that was just a fleeting thought. Instead I started around Park Loop Road, knowing that I had to keep going on this one-way road even if it turned into a wet day. My first (and last) stop along the park road was Sand Beach. My bike was patiently waiting at the bike rack, sheltered somewhat by an overhanging tree. Accompanied by my cameras and Rover, I headed to the beach - only to find that the stairs leading down were draped with a cord. Hmm. The beach was closed for a half of an hour; the lifeguards were waiting to see if the thunder that had just rolled through was here to stay or was going to disapear. It's unfortunate that closing the beach to swimmers also closed it to walkers. I stood under the shelter at the bus stop and chatted with some other curious visitors for a short while. I even thought about waiting until the beach reopened, but the thunder was only a sign that serious water was about to come from the sky. Rain, heavy rain... The good thing about my very wet ride this morning is that my Tailider did an excellent job of protecting my camera, and that my new Showers Pass rain jacket kept me dry too. Of course that says nothing about the water that was sloshing around in my cycling shoes by the end of my ride. I think that there was at least a whole lake in each shoe!

My intention was to ride around twice, but once was enough for today. I did wander around one more time in my car though with the hope of grabbing a few pictures. Nope, too wet, too foggy. To tell you how foggy and gray it was - I actually had to stop and put the clear lenses in my sunglasses. Those don't get used too often, but I was really glad that I had them today.

I headed to the Schoodic Peninsula using my alternate transportation mode (as in, not my bike!). My plans for today were to ride the Park Loop Road twice, and then to ride around the Schoodic Peninsula. After this morning's downpour, I had serious doubts about the second part of my plans. I've never been that fond of riding in the rain, and while it's one thing to continue a ride after the rain starts, it's a completely different thing to start in the rain. Not a problem today though - as I exited Mt. Desert Island and headed further to the east, the roads dried out, and the sun even made an appearance. I drove to Winter Harbor, then switched back to my two-wheeled transportation. A hazy sky let the sun partially shine; it was time to head out on another one-way road. The sunshine? It was nice for the short time that it visited. It was quickly obscured by fog, and the fog stayed with me for almost the entire ride. The tip of the peninsula was a very interesting place to wander when it wasn't possible to see beyond the closest rocks. I did manage some photos, but I suspect that they didn't capture the foggy beauty of the area.

Done with my peninsula loop, I listened to my bike and removed the road dirt. Just a little further to go today in my 4-wheeled vehicle... From the foggy coastline, inland to route 1 and sunshine, then back to the coast a bit further to the east to find my home for two nights. I enjoyed my stay at Harbor House B&B last year - enough to stay there again on this trip. A good welcome, and a good conversation with Maureen greeted me. The rooms here look out on the harbor; when I walked into my room I was greeted by a wall of white. Fog!

Tomorrow - I hope - will be a puffin day. I got a nice surprise when I called to confirm. Captain Norton told me that instead of departing at his usual hour of 7AM, we won't be heading out until 10. He said he left at 6:30 this morning; while I was riding my bike in the rain he was piloting his craft through rain and fog. A later start sounds good to me; that means I can sleep in a little tomorrow, plus have a more relaxing breakfast since I don't have to run out of the door so quickly. The forecast for tomorrow is for rain. Here's hoping that whatever the weather wizard brings will still allow us to set foot on Machias Seal Island. Only time will tell.

Dinner tonight was a short walk away - at Tall Barneys. I find it interesting that ordering a haddock sandwich gets the same amount of fish that ordering a platter does - but for less money. My stomach was satisfied, but I still couldn't pass up a cookie for later - peanut butter chocolate chip with chocolate icing on the bottom. Yum.

It was a satisfying day of riding, in spite of the rain. My only regret is that I wasn't able to exercise my camera as much as I wanted. I'm hoping that some of my remaining riding days on this trip are a little dryer. If not - well, that will probably just give me an excuse to come back again.