2022 Maine

Coastal Maine / Old Orchard Beach / Bar Harbor / Acadia National Park

07.27.2022 Pink Sunset // Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Our first night in Maine was welcomed with a beautiful, vast pink sunset in all directions. The Beach reminds me of Coney Island in New York and the Santa Monica Pier in California with a Ferris wheel and carnival rides. After dinner, we played long hours trying to win a stupid carnival game prize. My friend finally won a stuffed Rottweiler which we named him “Oobie” after the town acronym, OOB. This picture was taken with my iPhone 11 Pro while eating my dinner at the Patio Pub on the very far end of the pier.

07.28.2022 Portland Lighthouse // Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Maine’s oldest lighthouse was built in 1791 and commissioned by George Washington. Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains the actual light and the fog signal, but the remainder of the property is managed by the Town of Cape Elizabeth. The American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, often walked from Portland to visit the lighthouse as the Keepers were his friends. There is a flat rock at the base of the lighthouse where he sat to contemplate life and be inspired by the beautiful surrounding nature.

07.28.2022 Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory // Verona Island, Maine
The Bridge spans 2,120ft from one end to the other, connecting Prospect and Verona Island, on Route 1. While driving, we noticed this large structure looming ahead of us and fell is awe of the engineering it may have taken to build such a solid, unwavering structure. We made up our way to the Observatory with its elevator only having two buttons (1 or 2). We shot up 42 stories and reached the top to a clear 360 degree view. A beautiful bronze rose compass is found on the observatory floor, with a fleur-de-lis pointing North as it does on the 1613 map by Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer who sailed through the Penobscot River in 1604. The Observatory is the tallest structure in Maine and it is the tallest “bridge observatory” in the world.

Fort Knox is located in the same ground complex as the Bridge. It was established in 1844 to protect the Penobscot River Valley against a possible future British naval incursion. Again, we fell in awe of the engineer feat — the heavy cannons, the interior layout for efficiency of movements, the pentagon-shape of the overall structure, the cascading ground-work, the open and free-flowing of air throughout the complex, etc.

07.29.2022 Bass Harbor Head Light Station // Tremont, Maine
After a disappointing sunrise at the Cadillac Mountain in the morning, we drove over to the western side of Mount Desert Island. The Bass Harbor Light Station is a very popular destination for photographers. The Light Station is private owned and you cannot explorer the inside. The surrounding area is quiet and the rock landings can be precarious, especially with tripods and heavy equipments.

07.29.2022 Little Hunters Beach // Acadia National Park, Maine
Cool little spot to photograph the stars or possibly the Milky Way. The ‘beach” is covered with gravel and not much smooth, resting places are available. Next time, I would bring a chair, snacks, water and a jacket.

07.30.2022 Schoodic Peninsula // Acadia National Park, Maine
Such a gorgeous spot!!! The Schoodic (pronounced shoo-dic) Peninsula is about 1 hour drive up northeast from Bar Harbor. There are definitely less people here and much quieter. Though you can bike around the Peninsula, it is quite large, so we opted to drive the one way road. Once you miss your turn-out point at the areas you are interested in stopping by, you would need to circle around again since the roads are one way. I have done this about twice to get to Ravens Nest.

07.30.2022 Cadillac Mountain Summit // Acadia National Park // Bar Harbor, Maine
Back at the Mount Desert Island, on the Cadillac Mountain Summit overlooking the town of Bar Harbor. It is incredibly difficult to purchase a sunrise entry ticket for this place and you also need the weather to be on your side. The first day on the Summit was cloudy, overcast with fog and we could only see a few feet in front of us. The clouds you see here will be blown away to the west by sunset time. Photo Credit: Vanessa

07.30.2022 Jordon Pond // Acadia National Park, Maine
We drove back up to Jordon Pond for a sunset photography. We realized much later that we missed one of the best sunsets as we were driving back to town. With a crescent moon to the left horizon, the sun was setting turning the whole sky red as red can be with pockets of soft cloud spreading through the sky. Instead, we settled for a thousand mosquito bites at the Pond and a frog who kept us company. You can walk around the whole circumference of the Pond (it is rather large for a “pond”).