I’m spending a couple of days alone in my friends’ cabin on Minnehonk Lake, and after the flying start I got to my adventure it’s nice to just relax for a bit.  I think that I’m actually happier and more relaxed now than I’ve been in the last few years.  I eat when I’m hungry, I sleep when I’m tired, I mingle with people when I choose to, and I retreat to be alone when I feel like it.  Nothing is an imperative, nothing is urgent, and yet I’m seeing and doing so much more.

I’m also developing a bit of a love-hate relationship with my Garmin GPS.  I like the fact that she takes me on really bizarre shortcuts, because I’m seeing more than just the major roads, but she also seems to be developing a tone to her voice that expresses polite annoyance whenever I don’t follow directions.  I know that can’t really be the case, and maybe I’m just spending too much time alone with only her voice, but I swear I can hear her sigh heavily just before she tells me that she’s “recalculating.”  Interestingly, I’ve tried using Google Maps on my phone at the same time, and they generally take me on slightly different routes.  Sometimes wildly different ones!  I’d really like to find a way to get them arguing with each other about which way to send me…

Leaving my retreat for a bit, I made a one day visit to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, since it’s the place where my family spent many of our vacations when I was growing up, and I wanted to see it again.  It’s become much more popular since then, and the main street of Bar Harbor was full of souvenir shops, restaurants, and people.

The view out over Frenchman Bay and the Mount Desert Narrows was still beautiful, though, and there was even a cruise ship in port, surrounded by yachts and lobster boats.

I really came to see the National Park, however, so I went to the Ranger Station in town to get a day pass.  It was $25 for a one day pass, or $80 for an annual pass that’s good for all National Parks in the country — that has to be the deal of the century for someone on an adventure like mine!

I first drove up Cadillac Mountain, which is reputed to be the first place in the continental US where the rising sun strikes land in the morning.  The views from the top are spectacular, and the rugged rocks there are the same that I remember playing on with my brother when we were little.  I also remember picking wild blueberries on the mountain, but there were none there at this time of year, just lots of summer tourists enjoying the views.  The picture below was taken from a pull-out a bit down from the top, and you can see the same cruise ship in the distance.

Travelling the one way loop road around the northern part of the island, I started to get a bit frustrated, unfortunately, because there were just so many people there!  I couldn’t get anywhere near Sand Beach, because the parking lot was full and people were parking along the roads.  I was able to get a spot to park near Thunder Hole, where the rising tide makes a spectacular booming noise as it hits a hole in the rocky shoreline, but I left in a short time because it just wasn’t enjoyable to be in the crowd.

I tried Otter Point and Seal Harbor with the same results — they were accessible, but no longer any place that I found enjoyable to be.  I soon gave up on the main roads in frustration, and drove some of the smaller back roads, and walked along some of the carriage roads that thread their way over the island.  I was happier there in the peacefulness of the trees.  In the end I came away hoping that, as I explore more National Parks, there will be some places that are less accessible, and require some real effort to get to, and therefore are less crowded.

After being in contact with this many people, I really just wanted to be alone again, so headed back to the lake cabin.

After a kayak on the lake and a cup of tea, I was feeling much more peaceful again.

I spent the evening under the dashboard of the FJ, because I still had that annoying beeping whenever I locked or unlocked the doors.  I had stopped at a Toyota dealer in Central New York, but the mechanic there told me that the factory alert was actually turned off, so the one I heard was probably an after market immobilizer that someone had installed, although after a quick look he couldn’t find it.  So I explored a bit more, and eventually found the answer, and yes, it was an after market switch!  So the beeping is now turned off, and I should be able to lock and unlock the FJ here at Minnehonk Lake, or in campsites, without making enemies of all my neighbors.  So a successful end to my day!  Time for a root beer!  Tomorrow I turn and start heading west…