Revisiting some places and memories, seeing others for the first time

It poured with rain while we slept. Everything was very wet outside as we decended the flight of stairs from our motel room. A quick check on-line suggested the weather was going to be rainy with thunderstorms today. We decided not to get into wet weather gear despite the clouds. It stayed cool, comfortable and free of precipitation. Great riding conditions.

From Bucksport we rode down US 1. Our journey began with a crossing of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, completed since we were last here. This is arguably both a work of art and a remarkable piece of engineering. All the supports run from the centre of the road to two huge, slender towers.

(See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penobscot_Narrows_Bridge_and_Observatory)

First stop was Belfast, a town I remembered well from our earlier trip to Maine. There is a high level bridge as you approach from the north that offers great views over the harbour, and it is very pretty down at the waterfront. The clouds had all but disappeared. A perfect day for riding and sightseeing. The reflections on the glassy water were an opportunity for photographers.

We stopped for brunch at a diner in the main street before walking around the downtown area taking in all the art galleries and trendy shops.       Dancers by Susan Tobey White.

The waitress is flat out in Darby's Diner.

 Parent Gallery

There were a number of bicycle-based sculptures around the area that you could climb onto and pedal to make propellors spin, wings and fins flap and so on.

Further down US 1 as we approached Camden. I kept an eye out for the place we stayed at 4 years ago. I recognised it as we rode past, and memories came flooding back. We shared a parking space with a Harley  and went off walking. The main street was very busy, so we were lucky to get a park. We walked down to the waterfront where we found the restaurant at which we had sat on the verandah eating lobster in 2006. The town of Camden is a a tourist Mecca, too pretty not to enjoy. The whole N-E coast is lovely.

A little further south we turned off US ! to ride out to Port Clyde where we visited the Lighthouse at Marshall Point.

We had to return briefly to US 1 before we could again take a detour out to a another peninsula with more pretty towns and farms and scenery. By the time we started riding north it was getting quite hot, and after a while we found a small tavern where we stopped for a well-earned beer. There were two other customers: one started talking to us and the other soon joined in, and suddenly Wanda was chatting with one and I the other. The time passed quickly. The beer was refreshing.

The card sharp.

Back on US 1, we started looking for a motel. It was located quite a few miles down the road. Another 6 miles and we found a supermarket where we purchased the makings of our dinner which we ate in the shade outside the room. The weather is so pleasant we make every effort to sit outside.