Greetings from Bar Harbor. It has been a delightful 4 days here with absolutely gorgeous weather. We attempted to go on a whale watching tour, but after Hurricane Bill and Tropical Storm Danny, their feeding grounds have been disturbed. We did see one Minki whale, but only for a few seconds. We got a voucher and tried again today, but all we saw was a basking shark. Oh well, both days were fantastic on the water...got to see more lighthouses, some outrageous homes on the cliffs, and the lobstermen pulling up their traps...so not a bad deal all around. The Desert Island Lighthouse was badly destroyed in the hurricane...at least the house itself was. This is a research lighthouse for the students at the College of the Atlantic to study whales, seals, and sea birds. From one angle everything looked fine, then we came around the bend and there is very little of the house left. We explored all over the island, finding little towns and harbors tucked away. Walked the shore walk in Bar Harbor which starts at the Bar Harbor Inn (where we enjoyed lunch on the terrace) and goes for awhile along some of the sea side houses and other inns. Then strolled throught the town of Bar Harbor...a very dog friendly sort of places...it seems like every other person had their dog with them. Plus there were 2 stores just for dogs on the main street!

Explored Acadia National Park, and all I can say about it is that I can fully understand why this is the most visited National Park in the country. The views were breath-taking. Went for a walk (not a hike) of about a mile and as we turned the last bend there was this beautiful body of water surrounded by trees and mountains. WOW.

Tomorrow, we start heading further north to the end of US 1 (yes the same one that is down by us in Florida) and then west. By Thursday we will be meeting up with my cousin Rob who is a park ranger in Baxter State Park. He promised me MOOSE.

Take care.

Terry and Mark