The Actual Day of My Birth, Plus 50

It's still hard to fathom that I've been living this life for 50 years! I'm still a kid, you know. 

Today started early with birthday gifts in bed. Kef gave me a beautiful necklace that a friend's niece made, a canvas photo of us as little kids, a book of New York Times front pages from my birthdate, and the poster that I lost on eBay... the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum that my aunt Melinda designed! After opening these priceless things and having a cup of coffee out on the water, we called Mom and Dad (giving them time to wake up in Central time) and had a great surprise moment with a box that exploded with butterflies and flowers, complete with a carrot cake in the middle. I opened the final card of the last 50 days of amazing memories that Mom and Dad have been sending, and set aside their gift card for something special. 

Today's agenda was left up to me, so we did what we do: breakfast, lighthouses, wandering around. Kef had scoped out a breakfast place called Clark Point Café. It was packed when we got there and we had to wait around for a table to become available. When it did, it was a six-seater, so invited a couple of other couples of folks to come sit with us. We ended up with some locals and a couple from Wisconsin! Each of us in the three parties had someone celebrating a birthday... the local girl was turning 17 today and was having a chocolate chip Dutch baby pancake with her 14-year-old sister before going to have their nails done. The wife from Wisconsin had celebrated her birthday on Sunday, and they were enjoying a few days' vacation on their own while their teenage daughter was on a school trip to Hawaii. It was a fun way to start the day!

Here's the rundown of today's lighthouses:

  • 37. Bass Harbor Head Light - This was the first of today's and the only walk right up and take a picture one. It was established in 1858 and the lighthouse is still the one that was built then. The parking lot was packed, so I hopped out to go down and take pictures while Kef waited for a parking place to free up. It was a quick stop, but a cute lighthouse nonetheless!
  • Bear Island Light - I'm not counting this one because we never saw it, but we sure gave it the old college try! Without trespassing on anyone's private property, we were never able to find a place where you could view it, even from a distance with binoculars. It would have been cute though... the keeper's house is shaped like a barn.
  • 38. Egg Rock Light - We were able to see and photograph this one from several locations, albeit from a distance, including a lookout in Acadia National Forest, as well as from the top of Cadillac Mountain. It's an interesting looking one... a wider round lower roofline below the light, kind of reminiscent of Cuckolds. 
  • 39. Winter Harbor Light - We started to drive an hour to get a view of this one, but instead decided to go ahead up Cadillac Mountain. In the end, we were rewarded with a view of it from the lookouts there! This one is interesting because it has been home to many writers since it was first sold into private hands.
We had another possible light on our list for today (Prospect Harbor), but in the interest of time, we didn't drive to it but instead held to our appointed time to go up Cadillac Mountain. Mom said it was one of her favorite excursions when they were on their Maine trip, so we decided to go see what the hubbub was about. The views were simply amazing! Today was really hot (especially for this area) and we felt overheated and like we were getting fast sunburns. So, after picking up a couple of souvenirs, we walked around and took our pictures, then headed back down the mountain and back to our little house to prepare for supper.

We had birthday dinner at the Reading Room in Bar Harbor. Our seats were right at the window looking out on the harbor and the sunset. We watched a schooner take a huge group out for a sunset sail, and a couple of whale-watching charters come and go. We watched young women taking selfies, trying to show themselves in the best light while the sun set behind them. And we ate delicious food! This was the first time I've had salmon served like it was... wrapped in what the waitress called "edible paper" but what seemed to me to be similar to phyllo. It was most excellent! As was the bread, the beet salad, and the apple bomb (complete with birthday candle)... and of course the company! Kef has really outdone herself with the planning of this trip.

After dinner, we came back home and sat on the deck taking photos of the almost-full moon, listening to the waves on the rocks, and watching the fireflies. The perfect end to a beautiful day!

Bass Harbor Light (lower down)

Egg Rock Light from one of our many views (through the binoculars)

One of the many stunning views from Cadillac Mountain in the Acadia National Park

Birthday dinner dessert treat... apple bomb!


Such a great end to this glorious day!



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