P.S.

On Saturday, October 4th, the first place in the USA to be hit by the sun's rays was Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. We got up early and drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain to celebrate, even though it was drizzling and foggy. Once the sun was up (or at least it wasn't dark any more), we drove more of the loop road around the park, stopping at Sand Beach to stick our toes in the ocean, and at the fascinating Thunder Hole.
We spent the afternoon cruising the Main Street shops. That evening, two friends of Lonna's invited us to their home for a gathering to celebrate the breaking of their fast for Yom Kippur. We feasted on all kinds of wonderful food and enjoyed the company of some interesting people. We spent the night there, and headed out early the next morning for the two-day drive to Wisconsin. We arrived at Lonna's home on Monday and had another celebration, with our husbands! Joel had made us each t-shirts imprinted with our route. We also had champagne, grilled steaks, and fine chocolate. It was a great end to a fabulous journey!

DAY 67-- The Ultimate Day!

Great day for a bike ride! For our start, we drove back to Bucksport, where Steve had picked us up yesterday. Closely watched the maps all day. We hit 4000 miles in Ellsworth! Oddly enough, we were right next to a little bakery, so in we went for cinnamon rolls, and muffins to take along.
We still had plenty of hills and many views of the ocean. We arrived at our final destination, Bar Harbor, in early afternoon, a total of 4029 miles. WOO HOO! We rode through the town to the marina where we dipped our bike tires in the Atlantic Ocean. (Immediately after I dipped my tire, a wave came up and soaked my feet, which Lonna found very amusing.) We met up with Steve who drove us along the very scenic loop road to our campsite in Acadia National Park. After setting up camp, we headed back to town for a celebratory dinner of shrimp and scallop Alfredo for Steve, baked stuffed haddock for Lonna, and chicken parmigiana for me. (We aren't fans of lobster.) Following dinner we sauntered down Main Street which had stores and galleries open for an art walk.
As Lonna put it "What a long, strange trip it's been!"

Our final banana break.

4K

BAR HARBOR--4029 MILES!

DAY 66--The Penultimate Day

Had a cloudy morning, a sunny afternoon, and wind all day, with lots of leaves raining down on us. We had more fun and games with the maps and the twisting roads. Had our usual stop for muffins & whoopie pie. Stopped at the Camden Library, which is housed in an elegant recently renovated building, complete with chandeliers. The library had on display a collection of hand-embroidered tapestries made by the Kazakh nomadic women of Western Mongolia. Camden was the hometown to one of Lonna's favorite authors, Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Rode through more awesome hills, and got our first good view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Saw many homes that looked like they had been added onto multiple times, but we found out this was a style called a connected farm. These homes include the big house, the little house, the back house, and the barn, all connected so that one could carry out farm work while remaining sheltered from the weather, particularly in winter.
My bike had been making some awful noises since the Duck Puddle Campground, especially when I was cranking hard up the hills. We finally stopped at a bike shop where he lubed my chain and gave my bike a good talking to. Things have been much better ever since.
After riding over a beautiful bridge into Bucksport, we met up with Steve and got a ride to Winterport, where we stayed with Warm Showers hosts Marsha and Brian Robertson. They live in a connected farm-style home which has been converted to separate apartments. We slept in the "barn". They provided us with a fabulous meal of garlic chicken, peas, potatoes, salad, and apple crisp. They had recently toured the Northern Tier route from Maine to Washington on a tandem, so we had a lot to talk about. What better way to prepare for The Ultimate Day!