On Saturday morning we went on a whale watch. The watch lasted 4 hours which included a boat ride to and from one of the whales known feeding grounds. We saw over 10 whales in total, including Minke, Fin and Humpback whales.

On the way back to Boothbay we sailed by Pumpkin Island to see some sunbathing seals!

As we arrived back in the Harbor there were plenty of opportunties for picturesque photos.

On Sunday we took a day trip to Monhegan Island. We departed at 11am for the small rocky island ten miles outside of Boothbay Harbor.

The island is home to no more than 75 residents who enjoys its quiet and relaxed atmosphere. It is also very popular with artists, many of whom own galleries there. There are no real paved roads on the island, only dirt tracks which add to its nostalgic appeal.

Our return boat back to Boothbay was at 2pm (the last boat back to the mainland till Thursday!) so we spent a couple of hours on one of Monhegans trails to Lobster Cove before allowing plenty of time to get back to the dock. Lobster Cove was very pretty and is the site of the D.T. Sheridan, a shipwreck which has rested in the cove for decades.

Monhegan Island is definately on our list to return to one day. We would like to spend a few days there so we can cover more ground and spend plenty of time admiring its beauty.

On Sunday afternoon we returned home to Dover, NH. We will be back in Boothbay next month with my parents and can’t wait!

Here is a short video from our weekend in Boothbay Harbor.

The journey to Bar Harbor took us a around four and a half hours with one stop off at a rest area on the way. Upon arrival we checked in early and dumped our bags. The hotel room was massive! We got a pool view room which was more like two bedrooms in one. We had two marble bathrooms, walk in shower, two baths, a living room and two TV’s. It was a lot more than we expected for the price we paid! We had lobster rolls for lunch at the restaurant next door to the hotel and set about exploring the town. Bar Harbor has plenty of shops and restaurants so we spent some time walking around and taking in the lovely seaside setting.

Across the water from our hotel was an island called ‘Bar Island’. During low tide you can walk across from our hotel to the island but during high tide the water came right up to the hotel. It was quite a sight when we first saw the water at low tide as there were people walking and driving their cars across to an island which a few hours earlier was surrounded by the Atlantic waters!

The following morning we went to Mount Cadillac. The mountain is located in Acadia National Park which occupies ‘Mount Desert Island’. Bar Harbor is on the eastern shore of the island. The visibility was not great but the mountain views still didn’t disappoint. The first of the pictures below shows the ‘Porcupine Islands’ from the top of the mountain.

In the afternoon/evening we took another walk around Bar Harbor. We also walked the ‘Shore Path’ which offers some really nice views of the harbor.

After our walk we returned to the hotel and had a swim in the heated pool.

The following morning was an early start! We got up at 3:30am to return to Mount Cadillac to see the Memorial Day sunrise. Mount Cadillac is the highest mountain on the coast of the U.S. and therefore sees sunrise before any other place in America. The view of the sunrise was spectacular and a “must do” for visitors to Bar Harbor.

After our early morning at Mount Cadillac we returned to the hotel to finish our sleep. Here are a couple of pictures taken from the hotel on Memorial Day.

After breakfast at 9am we went for a drive around the 27 mile ‘Park Loop Road’ to take in some more of Acadia National Park before we returned home to New Hampshire seacoast. The Sand Beach below found just off the loop, is a lovely cove which was created 15,000 years ago by glacial ice. Swimming in the water is only for the hardy as water temperatures peak at only 50F (10C).

Our final stop before going home was to ‘Jordan Pond’. The pond has a shoreline of 3.6 miles and is another part of Acadia which was formed by the glaciers. The water at Jordan Pond is very clean and visibility is often at 46ft. Afternoon tea is served from the teahouse lawn overlooking the Pond. The signature item on the menu are Popovers however we had our signature item of Lobster Rolls! I also had a lovely blueberry smoothie.

After lunch we returned home down I-95 and luckily managed to avoid all the holiday traffic! A perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Here is a video clip of some of the highlights:

This shot is of the beautiful Maine House at the Dockside Guest Quarters in York Harbor, Maine. We got married here at the end of the month and could not have hoped for a more more beautiful setting. The flag post is straight but my stitching gave it an unfortunate slanted look!

This image is a combination of two photos taken using ISO200, f/8, 1/125th sec at 17mm. More photos of the Dockside can be found on my flickr stream.

I took this picture in the golden hour before sunset at Boothbay Harbor in Maine. It was pretty difficult to take a bad photo in Boothbay. We had a wonderful weekend away to celebrate my arrival in the US!

Taken at ISO100, f/7.1, 1/80th sec at 47mm.

We started the trip with a little walk around town. Boothbay has a lovely selection of shops, restaurants and beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. At midday we managed to get tickets to Cabbage Island for a clam bake! We had tried for tickets earlier in the day but they were fully booked. Luckily they had a cancellation and we were able to get tickets about half an hour before the boat was due to leave. The boat ride out to Cabbage Island took around 20-30 minutes and provided lovely views back towards Boothbay as we left the harbor.

Upon arrival to the island we were greeted by the Moore family (the hosts) and took a seat at one of the many picnic benches around the beautiful 5 1/2 acre island.

The lobsters and clams were steamed on seaweed a short walk from our table and a bell was rung when the food was ready. Upon hearing the bell everyone queues up for the food and returns to their tables to eat.

The bake started with a cup of clam chowder which is a traditional New England soup, followed by the main course comprised of two bright red lobsters, tender white steamed clams, corn on the cob, an onion, a jacket potato, a hard boiled egg and drawn butter for dipping the lobster meat. There was certainly enough to eat! I had not cracked lobster before but picked it up pretty quick.

The lobster was delicious, in fact we ate mostly seafood whilst in Boothbay and it was all exceptional. After we were done eating, we spent a bit of time exploring the island before boarding the boat back to Boothbay.

As we were leaving the island we looked back and saw an Osprey and its nest. A welcome end to a wonderful trip.

On Sunday we went puffin watching! Another boat ride takes you out to Egg Rock, an island with a colony of 110 puffins which were re-established on the island by the Audubon Society (similar to the RSPB in England). The weather was foggy on the way out but cleared shortly after arriving at the island. We circled the island looking for puffins and almost straight away saw 4 of them sitting in the ocean (baby puffins take to the water for 5 years before returning to land to breed). We saw a further 4 puffins before heading back to the mainland.

The B&B we stayed in whilst at Boothbay was the Atlantic Ark Inn. It had 6 bedrooms and was run by a very friendly and welcoming lady named Donna. An ample breakfast was served each morning with tea and coffee all day long. We stayed in two rooms named ‘Lightness’ and ‘The Cottage’ and both were very comfortable.