Journey to the end of Maine - Day Two

Phew! What a day we already had. The box tally for me was 26. Very cool considering how much driving Teacup did to get me those! So on day two - our course was plotted. Well, to a point. We always leave room for side-trips and unplanned u-turns. Those are usually the most fun! After prying ourselves out of bed - we headed off to check out of the hotel, grab some breakfast and coffee and head to take on Bar Harbor once again.



Coffee (tea for Teacup) and donuts in hands - we head off to Acadia. The lights were in our favor, but the tides were not. So we passed once again on the Ovens. A quick side trip before Bar Harbor picked us up our first box of the day. Then we ventured into the harbor. Things were more the way we liked them. Most folks were still tucked snug as a bug in their beds. So we headed off to the gazebo to FINALLY snag a DeeBee box, The Maine Event. This box eluded us last October as it had been pushed far under the gazebo. But it had recently been recovered, so it was a must have for us. We followed the clues - bummer, not there. Teacup was not giving up that easily. It was still wet all around the gazebo - and we really didn't want to lay down to reach under the gazebo. But if we needed to - we were going to do it. Teacup was armed with her walking stick, a yard stick and duct tape! One way or another - we were getting that box. A quick scan to the opposite side of the gazebo had us dancing for joy! The Maine Event was ours! Yeah!!!



So off we went to our next stop in the harbor. We easily found the next box as it was sticking out for all to see. But we had our first sewsewbusy box. And ironically - our second lobster of the morning! We were getting our daily ration of seafood all before 8am! Our next stop was at the high school for two of Robin's Nest's boxes. We pulled into the driveway - and were instantly stopped! They were painting the parking lot! On a Sunday during Labor day weekend! What was wrong with them??? Didn't they know that they were blocking us from getting a box??? So we managed to get one of them, but not the other. Bummer.



Next we were heading off to pick some blueberries with Archimedes Screw... we had attempted last year - but missed the turn off and ended up forgoing the box. This year - it was a MUST on our list. We stopped for a refueling (for us that is.) Coffee and pastries later - we traveled on. The blueberries were another easy find - even though there were folks being walked by their herd of dogs that slowed us down a bit. So tucking the blueberries neatly away in our logbook - we journeyed off to Bass Harbor light. Now there is an elusive box there that we have tried to locate one time before. Teacup's mission was to ferret it out while I picked up a new three box series. The first box we picked up on our way towards the shore... muggles a plenty in the area, we tried to be stealthy. But really the only danger were the mosquitoes! And there were hundreds of those dang birds trying to carry us off!



At the second box Teacup headed one direction while I stamped us into box number two. It was impossible to be elusive - but the elderly gentleman I was talking to - was never going to climb over the stairs to wiggle up the ledge to where I was perched in order to get the box - so I felt I was safe. We chatted up a bit while he caught his breath and I steadily stamped up. He moved along and I returned the box to its hidey hole and climbed down just as two younger folks ran down the stairs towards me. Well - she did. Her male friend ambled much slower. She came up behind me quick footed and anxious - so I got out of her way so she could gallop across the ledges in her athletic gear. Her friend a good 200 paces behind her, and not nearly as sure-footed on the ledges edges! I scoped out the location of the next box. Could see it in front of me. The easiest thing to do would be to have Teacup venture over there - me with my camera ready for that 'perfect tourist photo' but where was Teacup? I looked out and around - nowhere to be seen. Hmm... I waited a few minutes and then thought - oh the heck with it.



Keeping the young'uns in my sights, I traversed off towards the box. Stamping up for me first, I wanted to color it all nice and pretty for Teacup - but a whole flock of senior ladies were converging on the lower steps towards the ledges. So a quick coloring of all green, I replaced the box and started teetering back towards the stairs. One of the ladies mentioned how agile I was climbing up and over the ledges. I laughed and said - "All in the name of a close up photo." And off I headed to the stair back upwards. After the first few steps I had to stop for a young family heading down. Their daughter stopped and screamed while pointing at my leg. Evidently I was being bitten by a mosquito. She was terrified! It was so cute. I swatted the bugger away and she continued down the stairs past me.



Once at the top - I ventured off the well worn path to the path less traveled in search of Teacup. I yelled once "Amber." No answer. (Because I'm sure that if I yelled Teacup in the woods - I'd get a bevy of elderly ladies looking for a spot of tea after their climb back up the stairs.) The second yell produced a face from the under side of the ledge. "You scared me half to death." Well at least she was still there. I was beginning to think she'd gone off and left me with the locals. Alas, the elusive box - remained elusive. Out of nowhere - one of the ladies from the group came up behind me. "So, what is out at the end of this path, dear?" "What? Oh nothing much, and you can't see the lighthouse from here at all." Teacup strolled up past me giving me a look like I picked up the weirdest things out on the trail. My new friend decided to point out all of the local flora along the way back to the car. I was fearing she was going to get into the backseat and go along with us... It took us a while to shake her loose... even getting in the car didn't stop her chattering away... luckily, they were heading south. They had already been to where we were headed! Woohoo.



Driving away from the lighthouse, all Teacup could say was "You pick up the oddest people. Why don't you just say hi and move on? Then they wouldn't stalk you back to the car!" Yeah - like that would ever happen : ) So along we went. Our next stop was a futile one. But without at least looking ourselves, we couldn't cross it off the list. So we found the spot - and followed the directions and started looking for a lock n lock in a pile of rocks! Okay - so they were more like a retaining wall of rocks... but there were LOTS of them! A whole hill of them. We just had to find the right one. After about 15 minutes we decided that yup - it was definitely missing. Another one off the list.



A quick look at the time and we decided we needed to get off the island and start heading east or we wouldn't get the boxes we had charted out for the rest of the day. So north we drove. Once off the island - we paid tribute to fallen heroes in Lamoine and then worked our way along the Schoodic Scenic Byway visiting some wonderful spots along the way. We found a REALLY large lobster that was home to a retired one - and our third lobster of the day. We then ambled further along route one visiting a tiny church, a prankster, and a humanitarian as we headed towards Perry Maine. The next goal for this part of the journey was to 1. reach the hotel to check in, and then to 2. get to Perry to plant a box for Kirbert. Well we made it to our motel. It was the cutest little motel in the middle of nowhere. The Blueberry Patch motel had a total of 7 rooms! We walked into a room all done in blue. With the prettiest patchwork quilts, blue towels in the bathroom and blue sheets! It was so cool. Of course - this was just sitting in the heart of blueberry country - so it made perfect sense. We still had daylight hours - so we decided to head further east. And Perry was only an hour past Jonesboro, where our hotel was, so it was very attainable. Of course the hour was traveling time without boxing your way to your destination! Who ever heard of such a thing?

So after dropping our stuff in the room we headed east. There were a few boxes along the way and we picked up a couple of them. But we really had our headings leading us to Perry. So with Maggie leading the charge - off we traveled. We were heading along when I pulled out a random clue sheet and punched in its address. In less that 10 minutes, Maggie had us heading down a road to our next box. Little did I know - but Teacup had been here previously, but it was not surprising since she has so many more boxes than I have. We pulled into the parking area and I felt like we were walking on private property. We looked at the two clue sheets and opted to go after the one Teacup didn't have first. Off we headed. Down a road to a field line with trees (no surprising since we were on a tree farm : ) We followed the clues across a bridge and started counting trails that lead off on the left. well, we thought we were counting them, but evidently we missed the one we actually needed. So across a long field we walked looking for the markers, but we couldn't find them. Since the last finder was at least two years previously - we were not surprised that some of the markers might have been overgrown. But we lingered onward. In search of lobster buoys! Out in the middle of a tree farm! Instead, we found water. With the trail continuing on the other side. No way to reach it unless we had a desire to get really wet, so we turned around. And there they were! Lobster buoys hanging from a tree! Can you say we literally fell into this box! Because ALL of the markers we were trying to follow were completely wrong. This we found out as we headed backwards on the trail! We ended up coming out a good 1000 feet closer to the parking lot than we entered. How on earth did we miss the trail?

We continued back to the parking area and were greeted by a very friendly dog. evidently he was visiting for the evening and had lost his brother. So two ladies were out in search of them. We chatted a bit and figured out that we were talking with woodland gnomes! Her and her husband were the owners of the property and had planted the boxes on their property. They were thrilled to have folks looking for their boxes. She asked if we had the labyrinth box yet. While Teacup had already found this box, I had not. So we walked over to get the box, promising to return to their house for a special stamp afterwards. We went to the location, and set up was a full sized labyrinth. Teacup went off to get the box, while I was supposed to walk the path to enlightenment. Okay - I managed to follow it to the end - in one direction. After that things got a bit muddy. Okay - so I stepped over the lines and out of the path. But I honestly didn't know you HAD to walk it backwards too! But I never have been able to follow the rules, especially since I wasn't told them all to begin with.

After stamping up - we banged the gong and left the area. Heading back to their house, we stopped in and chatted for a bit with Mrs. woodland gnomes. We managed to do half of an exchange as she gave us her leaf but proclaimed that 'the nut isn't home, so you can't get that.' It made me chuckle slightly. But she did offer us two bonus stamps for stopping by to chat with her. We stayed for about 15 minutes and decided we really needed to head to Perry to plant Kirbert's 45th parallel box. So heading back out the road - with a quick detour to a cemetery for another local box - we continued further east. We finally found the location of the actual marker and had to do a quick u-turn (during rush hour - all 4 cars!) to get to the site. Looking around it seemed rather boring. I thought there was supposed to be pomp and circumstance. I thought there was this big globe proclaiming to the world 'YOU ARE HERE!' But nope - a quiet marker with two picnic tables and a couple very short trails into the woods - which we think were used more by local scientists than anything else.

We scoped out a location, thought it over and didn't like the prospect of leaving it at this roadside pull-up. It was definitely a drive-by. And there really wasn't a great spot to hide it, unless we wanted to dig in the muck and myer. So sopping the immediate area - directly across the road mecca was calling to us! A quiet resting spot of a peaceful nature! We found a great spot and felt much more secure in leaving it behind, knowing the only maintenance it would get would be from finders and headed back south. On the way back to the motel, we stopped to find another cemetery box located next to a charming church painted in red and blue. we tried for one other box, but it was MIA. Teacup at this point was sure I had altered our destiny by stepping out of the labyrinth... but so far we had found almost every box we had tried for. I think it was just the time for a MIA box. The sun was setting quickly, and frankly we were getting tired. We mulled over options about stopping for dinner - but we decided we really just wanted to head back to the motel. And Teacup knew it was a good hour plus drive in the dark.

It had been a very long day, and we were both getting very weary. Teacup wanted to touch base with her NBS, so I dialed her house and she chatted as we drove along in the dark. We passed back through Machias and were almost back to the motel, passing through an area of empty blueberry fields when a moose crossed the road in front of us. It was a surreal experience. Amber had been driving cautiously, but the moose had seemed larger than life as it ambled back into the field. Had we hit it, it would have creamed us for sure. I think its antlers were over the roof of her car! Not really sure she had actually seen the moose, she was instantly pinged awake when a rock hit her windshield! Dang! Maybe I did screw up our cosmic destiny! Luckily, I carry a guardian angel or two around with me, just to be safe. So we made it back to the motel and collapsed on the beds. Both desperate for showers, we took those while we watched a little TV and stamped up a couple hikers we had gathered during our journey. Looking at the list of boxes we still needed to pick up - we plotted our final days path. We knew at this point that we might need to make some serious decisions, but we would try to get them all if we could. But for now, since we had forgotten to get the password to the internet access - we both read for a bit and then decided sleep was in order. For Monday was our final day and we still had lots of boxes to collect!