Seal of Approval!

Afternoon,

Yup this is an early entry. We had a great morning and afternoon. The day started very foggy. TO clear things up we thought coffee would help so we went in SW Harbor to Maddy's for breakfast. Elle got the biggest pancake I have ever seen, J got eggs and I got French toast. I think we'll go back again before we leave.

Our waiter Mike (who had a wicked Maine accent) chatted us up about where we came fro-ham. When we replied RI he quickly asked "Red So-ax fans?" Well, we started talking about the season and he shared that the only things people do on the island in the off months is drink and gamble. In 2004 he claims to have collected $10,000 in gambling winning due to the So-ax's World Series victory.

Our plans were to go on a nature cruise that left out of the harbor down the street from us. This cool fog didn't seem to want to co-operate with our plans. Despite the claim of $10 g's Mike seemed believable so we asked his opinion on the status of this weather.

Mike from Maddy's weather report: Rainy til the weekend.

We walked around SW Harbor for a bit to sort out what we'll do for the day. We headed into the bike rental shop to get a feel for pricing and where we could go for an easy trail with Elle in tow. They gave us what we needed to hear and then we asked the middle aged spandex wearing salesman his status on the weather was.


Middle aged Spandex cyclist: Clear and Sunny. The fog is going to burn off.

Great but across the street completely says the opposite... I thought this was an island. Oh wait it's still New England and weather controversy's are the best topic of conversation.

We decided to get some lunch for our picnic. We going ahead with our nature cruise. We can change the weather and this fog ain't so bad. As we were checking out we asked the cashier her take on the weather for today.

She agreed with So-ax Mike. Foggy and cool... not good.

We got home and called to make reservations for our nature cruise. Uh oh. They might not go out... it's too foggy to see anything. Call back at 10. As we came up with Plan's B & C for the day 10 came around. By the tone is J's voice we were on for the cruise.

We packed up and headed down the street on foot. A small group of bundled up people got on board. It was cold on the water. We headed out with no guarantee's of any wild life. It would surely be ther but we might not see past the stern.

Hey there's a duck, a seagull, a lobster bouyee a rocky island covered in seals!!!!
JACK POT! Elle giggled the passenger's started clicking away. I've never seen harbor seals in the wild. This was cool and we got pretty close. They seemed completely un affected. The water is too cold for sharks... seals don't like sharks... seals in turn love cold water... smart. A few dropped into the water and popped back up.

We continued on the tour seeing old quarry site that harvested granite for New England and Boston that have since been abandoned. Then concrete came into play and no more granite harvesting. A Boston Court house is completely made out of Black Island, ME granite.

Lots and lots of Harbor seals now. But now we are looking for Gray Seals which had been endangered a while back. They are double the size of a harbor seals and have spots oh and they are gray.. Sure enough we see lots of them sunning themselves... That's right! THE SUN! Spurts of sunshine managed to break through the fog and the seals found it. Still foggy but it was burning off.

We made a leisurely route to Frenchboro, an 80 person population that was so bare with civilization they brought foster children onto the island to continue it's longevity where the other islands were getting abandoned. Very much a lobster and fishing community We waited to dock as the pier was counting a lobsterman's pull.

This time of year is very bad for lobstering. The lobster's are loosing their shell's to grow back another one. While they do this they grow about a half an inch. So the price of lobster is very high here. Dock price is $6.75 a pound (that's the pier owner buying from the lobster boats). Normally it's around $3.75. They expect the traps to be double or triple what they are now come August.

All the passenger's ate their lunch at the deli on the dock. We brought our own so we wandered the island for a bit to find a nice spot. The church had some nice green space and picnic tables. It was a decent walk but it was a great spot to see the harbor.

The tour members had to walk to another pier anyway so they walked by our spot and we just continued on with them when we finished lunch. By now the sun is completely out and we are taking off our jackets and sweating. Mike better stick to betting on the So-ax and stay away from weather gambling... which should be legal in this region.

As we headed back to Bass Harbor our captain had a few lobster traps he wanted to check on. A former commercial lobsterman suited up with orange pants and hoisted 3 traps out of the water. The 1st 2 traps had a catch of crabs. He tossed them back: A. they were too small and B. they get 35 cents a lb. The 3rd trap J and Ellie got closer to the capt. and sure enough a few more crabs but this time a lobster. Too small to keep but he measured him up with his lobster ruler regardless. He did however keep a crab that was a good size.

Shortly after that we were docking and we were all wiped out. We walked up to the house started some laundry and are taking it easy til dinner. We'll be grilling some chicken, roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. But before then I need to go get some Bar Harbor Real Ale at the liqour store. I'm off!

Til later tonight if there's anything to report! Maybe this sunlight will give us a sunset!

Maine word of the day:
Mike the waiter used "wicked" alot today but we're familiar with that. So I chose another one he used while we talked So-ax.

Ro-at: To decompose.
As Mike put it. "Do you think they're gonna let Lester ro-at down in Pawtucket?"