It was an early morning...a very early morning. We got up at 3 to ensure that we would have a good spot to watch the sunrise from the summit of Cadillac Mountain. In the fall and winter, this spot is considered the nation’s first sunrise and is a popular tourist attraction. We got the last parking spot in the front row and had a perfect view of the village of Bar Harbor, the islands, and the ocean beyond. We were happy to find that it was a really clear morning, however, it was also really cold at the summit. Chad watched the sunrise from the comfort of the car, while Chelsea braved the temperatures and sat in a chair on the overlook. As sunrise drew near, more and more people kept pouring in, their cars filling the parking lot and lining the road to the summit. The sunrise was spectacular and definitely worth getting up early to see, especially since we knew we could go back to our tent and get a few more hours of sleep.
Around 9, we woke up, packed up and headed down the coast to Portland (our second Portland of the summer). As always, we were sad to leave the island and Acadia National Park, but we plan to come back for a longer visit someday.
Campsites around Portland were difficult to find and more expensive than we are used to. We looked into quite a few before settling on a cheaper option that got good reviews. Unfortunately, when we arrived the placed skeeved out Chad so much that we left. Not only were there hills of fire ants and tons of mosquitos, but the office smelled like way too many animals live/may not be currently living there anymore. It was like someone made their creepy backyard a campground. We pulled into a drive-in parking lot and called a bunch of other campgrounds in the area to find that they were all full for the weekend. Luckily, the people at Wassamki Campground took pity on us, and we were able to get an RV site at the tent site rate plus AAA discount. Being an RV site, we also got electricity and water hookups, which is great because our cell phones are dead, iPad is dead, and backup batteries are also almost dead.
We spent a couple of hours at a cafe/book shop and then made our way back to the campground for hot dogs on the grill. Chad has become an expert fire maker, and we enjoyed its warmth as the temperatures dropped into the low 60s. It was quiet and relaxing...until a jet flew overhead and we realized that we are right next to an airport!
