New England 2009:
Day 5 - Maine

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New England 2009: [Day 1 - Rhode Island] [Day 2 - Connecticut] [Day 3 - Vermont] [Day 4 - Quebec] [Day 5 - Maine] [Day 6 - New Hampshire] [Day 7 - Massachusetts]

	Wednesday, November 25, 2009: There is no welcome sign on this page because our welcome to the US involved being detained and having our car searched by immigration authorities. Something about our nearly full passports seemed suspicious to them, even though they wouldn't tell us why. Once we got past that little unpleasantness, Maine turned out to be very pretty.
	This was state #49 for Debbie and state #48 for Tom.
	We saw only rain and fog in Maine, but that's okay because Maine has ...
	... lobster! We found an open restaurant in Ellsworth, just outside of Bar Harbor. Oddly enough, this was the least delicious of the five lobster meals Debbie ate on the trip. Don't get us wrong -- even the least delicious lobster is still lobster, and therefore, awesome.
	It was well past dark when we arrived at the Bar Harbor Inn.

	Thursday, November 26, 2009: Happy Thanksgiving!
	We checked out the previously unseen view from our third-floor oceanfront room. Here's the view to the right toward the ocean ...
	... and here it is to the left toward town.
	But the real view was the breakfast buffet on the main floor of our building. It featured all the fresh fruit you could possibly eat in one setting.
	After breakfast, we ventured out for a walk.
	There's a nicely maintained path along the waterfront toward the ocean for nearly a mile.
	The tide pools contained barnacles and shells, but not much else that we could see.
	A dog walking by inspired these birds to take flight just as Debbie was framing this shot.
	We're guessing low tide? We couldn't tell for sure.
	The houses and inns along the way were all impressive and every one was deserted at this time of year.
	We took one last shot of the pier in front of the inn before checking out and heading two whole blocks into town.
	This sign implies that there are people in town because there's a show scheduled for early December ...
	... but it really was a ghost town.
	A charming one, but a ghost town nonetheless. It must be much more fun in the summer when things are open.
	Buh-bye, Bar Harbor Inn!
	Speaking of closed, let's go to Acadia National Park.
	The ring road around the park was still open for a few more days, but since it was Thanksgiving, the visitor center was closed.
	No problem, because we're here for the views. This is looking out to sea with Bar Harbor in the distance.
	The Precipice Trail would have been a very cool trail to try if we had time and if it wasn't so cold and slippery out.
	Instead, we just read about the peregrine falcons who nest there and looked up at the steep incline the trail covers.
	Here is one of the private homes on Mount Desert Island that isn't part of the national park.
	At stop after stop, the restrooms were closed for the season. We had nearly given up ...
	... when we found this one open at the Fabbri picnic area. It was a Thanksgiving miracle!
	More scenery.
	Charming bridge.
	This is Northeast Harbor, a town on the island just outside of the park.
	This is Somes Sound, which is the only fjord on the East Coast according to the helpful roadside documentation. It is 150 feet deep ...
	... with crystal clear water.
	Pretty.
	We saw lots of lobster pounds, so we got to use our iPhones to wiki them. No, we're not going to tell you. Look it up yourself.
	After 24 hours of seeing almost no open restaurants, we stumbled across Kathy's Breakfast and Chowder restaurant.
	The only dinner option was a full Thanksgiving dinner with our choice of pork, turkey, or ham. We'll take it!
	Bellies full, we drove three hours to Newport, Maine, home of LL Bean. Can you spot Orchy in this photo?
	It is absolutely the only business that was open for miles and miles, but open they were, and they were doing brisk business. We picked up some shoes, hand warmers, souvenirs, and hot chocolate.
	This aquarium had a kid-height dome in it for kids to be one with the fishies. A young tot demonstrated for us and we were jealous.
	Freeport was all lit up for the holidays.
	Here's an LL Bean store devoted just to hunting and fishing ...
	... and here's the LL Bean Home Store. We didn't go in all of them. There's only so much space in our luggage.
	We checked into our hotel up the road in Brunswick, then drove all over town looking for a place to eat. We ruled out the biker bar in Brunswick and found absolutely nothing in Freeport, including the LL Bean cafe which was closed for the season. Fortunately, gas stations sell hot dogs. Delicious. New Hampshire >