[Trip Day 4: July 16th]
After such a great nights' sleep, we had time for a leisurely breakfast. We made our coffee and eventually scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast. Yum! Our plan for the day was to hike up the trails to the top of Mt. Battie (all part of the state park) in the morning, come back and have lunch and showers, then head down the coast a bit to check out Owl's Head State Park where there is a lighthouse, grab dinner somewhere and bring it to the trail by the water across route 1 from our campground.
It almost worked out like that! People can drive up to the top of Mt. Battie, so there is a long road. We had to walk up part of the road to the first little parking lot where there were trail markers, then into the woods we went. It was a bit muddy, very mossy and green, and rocky. It was gorgeous. It was a bit steep in places and we are a bit out of shape (understatement of the year), but we plodded upwards.
Our weather, while damp at times, was mostly great. Breezy and cool, even cold at night. This day was probably in the 60s, but by the time we were a little ways up, we were sweating! We came out to 180-degree views of Penobscot Bay and cool breezes. It was gorgeous even if it was cloudy. We could see Camden Harbor below and all those boats. We went out to some rocks away from the other people up there and had a snack. I took some video. Then we walked down on the road back to our campsite (ohmygawdmyknees). We had lunch and then I went to check out the shower.
The showers in Camden Hills State Park were a religious experience. Individual stalls side-by-side with a changing area in their OWN compartment. Locked door. FREE shower. Hot hot hot water. It was truly glorious, and I'm not exaggerating.
Around 4pm we got in the car to drive down to Owl's Head. It started pouring rain. Thunder, lightening, dog freaking out rain. We missed the turn for it. I parked in a harbor parking lot in Rockport and took some photos through the windshield and some video. We found Owl's Head but there was a 1/4 mile trail to the lighthouse on foot, and it was still thundering/lightening so we left. We stopped at a General Store that truly had it all, including a cafe, so we got some food to go (got my crab roll), gifts for my daughter and goddaughter, and some postcards and left. It stated to clear up, we thought, but when we got to the state park and went down to the side by the water, it was drizzling again. The sign said the park gate closed at 5pm, but it was 6 at this point and it was open. We went and parked down by the path that led to the 1/2 mile trail along the water and brought ourselves and our food down there. We ate our dinner and marveled at the view (and I took this video and another one).
And then a park ranger came down the slippery, muddy trail to ask if we were the Bloom family (he saw our car and the pass in the window). He came to get us because he was going to close the gate!! We were flabbergasted and so grateful for such kindness! We figured if we got locked in it would be annoying, but we were camping across the street so we could just walk over there with what we needed from the car. I wanted to hug this man, though. This was Maine. Everything was nicer up here.
