Local Music, Popovers, Hiking Ship Harbor Trail, And Lobster Rolls

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I  was up early at 6:00, 54º, drove off to Sawyer's Grocery for coffee, then spent the next hour exploring photo opportunities along the  #102 A shoreline, southeast of the Southwest Harbor,  hoping to get some good photos of the sunrise.  I was out  for an hour, having a great time, found access to the Mansett Public Dock which I could walk out on, sit and take a picture, and even found a Preserve, at the end of Cable Road, a dirt road with signs saying no turn around.  They do not tell you there is access to the beach and a cool Preserve at the end.

Southwest Harbor 

Why We Eat Breakfast At The Common Good Cafe

Yesterday began with buying milk and getting a cup of coffee at Sawyer's, then I went out and walked up to the cafe and got Evie a popover with jam.  We then relaxed and ate the popover, knowing more were just up the street.  So after a shower, we decided to walk around town, reacquaint ourselves with the town.  We stopped at The Common Good Cafe and found that a local band, made up of residents of all ages, was having a free concert.  The cafe was packed with mostly locals, enjoying the free coffee, oatmeal and popovers, asking only for a donation to the food pantry.  The band was great, having fun as the audience tried to sing along with music of all genres.  We stayed until the end at 11:00, left a donation and were on our way.

Southwest Harbor Library

We walked past the village, down to the town's dock and happened to see a sign for the local bakery, which was up town.  It was on the far side of a Marine store.  We walked around the side and sure enough, the back of the building was the bakery for the Little Notch Bakery.  We walked in, talked with the baker, saw all the huge ovens, stacks of King Arthur Flour and talked with him while he worked.  They start at 2:00 in the morning.  We then walked back uptown, stopped in the Little Notch Bakery and bought some bread and a blueberry tart. We browsed in a couple of shops before walking home and getting ready for our hike.

Our Guide On Wrong Way Tours

Firs And Spruce And Evie

Luncheon Spot

Fortunately, our hike was only a short drive of six miles.  We stopped first at Light House Point, which was surprisingly crowded and  hardly worth a stop.  It's virtue...it was on the ocean. We then parked in the parking lot for the Ship Harbor Trail, rated easy, right up our alley.  It was really a great hike, through a fir and spruce forest along the bay, until we got out to the rocky coast of the ocean. Hiking along the rocks was our favorite part of the hike, and we even had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out on the rocks, overlooking the bay.   Finally, we took a turn and were on our way back to the parking lot, once again through a forest of spruce and fir.

Coast Line Hike

Sea Harbor Trail

We then drove to the grocery, just out of town, picked up some goodies and because we hadn't had lunch, we drove back through town to a restaurant just off the road called The Upper Deck, overlooking the harbor.  We had a  beer and a Haddock Reuben sandwich, basically a fish sandwich with all the makings.  We struck up a conversation with the young bartender and a few of the patrons, so we got our Southwest Harbor experience.

Haddock Reuben Lunch at The Upper Deck

We were home by 4:00, and it was time for a nap for me, some ipad time for Evie.  It felt  good to have our own cottage, just kick back and relax until dinner time.  We decided to get more lobster, what else in Maine, so drove out of town about six miles to the Famous Thurston's Lobster Pound, set set just above a bay with a great view if it weren't night time.  We were surprised to see how crowded it was and could hardly find a place to park.  And there was a line outside the door, waiting to put in an order.  Basically, you wait your turn, then walk up to the window which has live lobsters sitting in bins and you pick out the one you want or in our case, order jumbo lobster rolls.  You pay, get a number and then sit down at a table and your food is brought to you.  We found the last two seats in the restaurant, luckily in the bar; actually, we didn't even know they had a bar so we were fortunate to find a seat.  We already had our beers, so we felt a little out of place sitting there.

Lobster Rolls At Thurstons

A Jumbo Lobster Roll At Thurstons

Our rolls were superb, twice as good and as big as last night's, so we were very happy.  We talked briefly with a guy who was visiting from California.  Like me, he keeps a journal of his days, so he was writing in it at the bar.  Thurston's closes at 8:00 so we left just before 8:00.  It was a very dark drive home as there are few lights from houses and no streets lights, so I took my time.  We then watched some football, read and went to bed by 10:30.