Happy Tuesday!
Back at work today. I went in to the kitchen expecting to see my name next to a prep task such as scooping jam or pouring cream. It wasn't. I guess that means I was passively fired from my volunteer position. Bummer...or is it? I took on a new position as a runner for the girls working in the bar. I do important work such as carrying clean coffee urns and tea cups from the kitchen to the bar. They also trusted me with putting lids on the porcelain tea kettles and then putting them on the rack. I am not sure how secure this position is, however. We'll have to see.
This morning was foggy and drizzly and the clouds stuck with us all afternoon. We did have a waitlist, but we never really had a big rush of people. In other words, it was a low-stress day in the booth. Likewise, it was a low-temperature day. We are certainly giving our heater a workout.
After dinner, I rode my bike down to Seal Harbor to get cell reception and mail a letter. Before I left, I put my laundry in the washer. I didn't quite finish all my phone calls before my watch told me it was time to transfer my laundry to the dryer. So I peddled the 2 miles back to the dorm to do that. I then returned to town to talk with Grandma. Afterwards, I headed back up to the JPH. It might not have been the most efficient use of energy, but I successfully completed my laundry and called the grandparents.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
29 September 2014
Happy Monday!
We woke up to quite a bit of wind and pine needles raining down on the tent. The cold front was making its presence known. Throughout the day, the temperature continued to drop as the rain and fog increased.
After this point, we entered the fog/clouds and didn't emerge into clear air again until we were back at the trailhead.
Having spent the last four years in western Montana, I was suspicious that a sub-mile mountain in Maine would be much of a challenge. I found, however, that Katahdin is quite the peak in its own way. I'd say it is on par with western mountains that also have a 4,000 foot prominence.
No view today at Chimney Pond. To see what this view should look like, check out this link: http://www.summitpost.org/katahdin-from-chimney-pond/220546. The temperature when we were there at 1:30 was 44 degrees. That's a 40-degree drop from the day before when we were setting up camp.
Our final hiking distance as 9.5 miles which took us 7 1/2 hours to complete. We rewarded ourselves with some Dollar Menu items from McDonald's once we reached the gateway community of Millinocket. Our bodies really appreciated having fast food for dinner the night after having hot dogs and beans.
We didn't see any moose despite the 4 hours of windshield time we had today. I guess they were just hunkered down because of the weather. I can't blame them.
But despite the weather, the fog inhibiting us from seeing the foliage from the mountain's perspective, and the lack of moose, Luke and I both agreed that we wouldn't have traded that trip for anything. Men's retreat: success!
28 September 2014
Happy Sunday!
Light attendance this morning at the worship services. At Blackwoods we had a great discussion with Miles and his dogs. The dogs didn't say much.
At Seawall a young couple joined us. They are ACMNP alumni. A few days ago they saw the poster at the Jordan Pond House and decided it would be a good idea to join us. I'd say it was. We had a nice worship service and both of them got to walk down memory lane and relive their experience.
This afternoon Luke and I headed north to do a men's retreat. Our destination was Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park. It was a awfully nice fall day. The high was in the mid-80s.
Mount Katahdin in the distance. It's the highest point in Maine at 5,267 feet.
We kept dinner pretty simple. Chips, salsa, hot dogs, and baked beans. Mmmm.
Mount Katahdin saying goodnight.
Sunset over Pockwockamus Pond.
27 September 2014
Happy Saturday!
Today was one of those days where you wonder if August has
made a comeback. Jake and I spent the morning hiking on the western side of the
mountain. We got sunburn, listened to cicadas, and lusted for the cool waters
of Somes Sound to was away our sweat. In other words, it was a gorgeous day in
Downeast Maine.
After hiking, we came back to the dorm to pick up Tasia. She wanted to see a few of the seminars associated with the Star Festival this weekend. The first was a physics professor who discussed the differences and interactions of the earth and sun’s atmospheres. He was incredibly engaging as a lecturer, but Jake and I were both struggling to keep our eyes open. Too much exercise and sun in the morning.
The second seminar was Wally Funk. She is a member of the Mercury 13 crew. Tasia insisted that we sit in the front row, so we had several very close encounters with Wally. She is a fascinating lady. Some of her stories didn't make much sense and a lot of her advice wasn't something I'd give out.
After hanging out in Bar Harbor for a bit, we headed back to the dorm. Jake, Elle, and I decided that we wanted to go to another Star Festival event, the Star Party on Cadillac Mountain. To do that we had to park and board a shuttle at the visitor center to take us up to the summit. Unfortunately, the parking lot was completely full when we arrived. It looked a lot like the Jordan Pond House parking lot in August, except for all of the highly trained traffic cops rather than me in an orange vest directing traffic.
We decided to skip the party at Cadillac and instead view the stars over Sand Beach instead. I wish my camera would have been able to capture the sky, but alas, it didn't. You will just have to come to Acadia someday and see it yourself.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
26 September 2014
Happy Friday!
No formal God and Fudge today. I was at the meeting place this morning at 8:30, but, as usual, no one came. I wasn't surprised by that and was heavily leaning toward not even spending the time to head over there before I had to work at 9:00. I'm glad I went, though. I ran into the retail manager, Mike, who is mature and passionate about his faith in Christ. He asked me how the ACMNP ministry was going. Of course I am frequently thinking about how the summer has been, but having to articulate my thoughts and analysis to someone else subtlety challenges what my mental conclusions are. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but put more simply: it's worth taking the time to check in with people.
The JPH was really busy today. If we had the same number of people but a full wait staff, we probably wouldn't have had a waitlist at all. Today, though, we had a ton of sun-lovers and not a ton of tables available. As a result, the wait increased to almost an hour for in and out. As usual, folks signing up for the waitlist weren't necessarily happy, but I could definitely tell an overall difference in attitude. The "newly wed and nearly dead" crowd (as the shuttle drivers call them) commonly made the comment of, "All well, we're on vacation....What time is it anyway?"
Tonight a contingent of us from the dorm went to the Seawall picnic area to the "star party." We are in the middle of the 6th Annual Acadia Night Sky Festival. We arrived to find a ton of red lights to aid our night vision and a plethora of telescopes trained on various stars in the clear sky. Looking through telescopes almost ruined the experience for my non-astronomy-educated eyes. Telescopes focus on a single point (which often look like every other single point) whereas my eyes can take in the full glory of a starry host. Beautiful.
No formal God and Fudge today. I was at the meeting place this morning at 8:30, but, as usual, no one came. I wasn't surprised by that and was heavily leaning toward not even spending the time to head over there before I had to work at 9:00. I'm glad I went, though. I ran into the retail manager, Mike, who is mature and passionate about his faith in Christ. He asked me how the ACMNP ministry was going. Of course I am frequently thinking about how the summer has been, but having to articulate my thoughts and analysis to someone else subtlety challenges what my mental conclusions are. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but put more simply: it's worth taking the time to check in with people.
The JPH was really busy today. If we had the same number of people but a full wait staff, we probably wouldn't have had a waitlist at all. Today, though, we had a ton of sun-lovers and not a ton of tables available. As a result, the wait increased to almost an hour for in and out. As usual, folks signing up for the waitlist weren't necessarily happy, but I could definitely tell an overall difference in attitude. The "newly wed and nearly dead" crowd (as the shuttle drivers call them) commonly made the comment of, "All well, we're on vacation....What time is it anyway?"
Tonight a contingent of us from the dorm went to the Seawall picnic area to the "star party." We are in the middle of the 6th Annual Acadia Night Sky Festival. We arrived to find a ton of red lights to aid our night vision and a plethora of telescopes trained on various stars in the clear sky. Looking through telescopes almost ruined the experience for my non-astronomy-educated eyes. Telescopes focus on a single point (which often look like every other single point) whereas my eyes can take in the full glory of a starry host. Beautiful.
25 September 2014
Happy Thursday!
Today kicked off the stretch of really, really nice weather forecasted to extend into the weekend. I didn't even have to wear a jacket in the info booth for most of the day. The weather was so gorgeous. If everyday was sunny and 70 here in Maine, I think we'd be overrun with visitors. The nice weather really brings 'em out.
My contribution to restaurant prep work this morning before reporting to the info booth was helping Ana and Nenad pour milk, cream, and salad dressings into individual containers. Once again, I think I successfully completed a job that has no room for success or failure. It's a job that can only be done rather than done poorly or well. Every once in a while those are fun jobs to have.
After dinner I walked down to Seal Harbor beach to gain cell reception. While I waited for appointed phone conversation time with a friend from Wisconsin, I walked the beach a few times and witnessed true low tide and the corresponding rise in tide. We conversed and caught up with each other, but I think Katie was most excited when I held the phone down by the incoming waves and the ocean talked to her.
Today kicked off the stretch of really, really nice weather forecasted to extend into the weekend. I didn't even have to wear a jacket in the info booth for most of the day. The weather was so gorgeous. If everyday was sunny and 70 here in Maine, I think we'd be overrun with visitors. The nice weather really brings 'em out.
My contribution to restaurant prep work this morning before reporting to the info booth was helping Ana and Nenad pour milk, cream, and salad dressings into individual containers. Once again, I think I successfully completed a job that has no room for success or failure. It's a job that can only be done rather than done poorly or well. Every once in a while those are fun jobs to have.
After dinner I walked down to Seal Harbor beach to gain cell reception. While I waited for appointed phone conversation time with a friend from Wisconsin, I walked the beach a few times and witnessed true low tide and the corresponding rise in tide. We conversed and caught up with each other, but I think Katie was most excited when I held the phone down by the incoming waves and the ocean talked to her.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
24 September 2014
Happy Wednesday!
Once again Edie's wisdom proved itself, well, wise. Just like she said, Wednesday was our busiest day of the week. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's because everyone who is going to visit Acadia this week is here by now. For those who arrived on Sunday or Monday, the suspense and anticipation of eating a popover is just too much for them to handle once Wednesday rolls around. Today is cave-in day.
This morning I put away my info booth uniform for the first 75 minutes of the day and grabbed a scooper. With all of the Eastern Europeans leaving in a few days, they are going to need more help with prep stuff in the morning--like scooping strawberry jam into individual containers for popover consumers. I guess I did alright. I'm not sure how you can do a really good job or a really bad job when the job simply consists of scooping. Still, Will asked me to come back tomorrow.
After work I went for my evening walk on Day Mountain. It's only about 500 feet tall so it often gets overlooked by hikers. I wasn't too impressed with it, but it did yield some great sunset pictures. Enjoy!
23 September 2014
Happy Tuesday!
Hmm, not sure if I can think of too much noteworthy stuff today. I guess I went down to the beach at Seal Harbor. That was pretty great smelling and seeing the ocean again. Other than that, just an ordinary day in an extraordinary place.
Hmm, not sure if I can think of too much noteworthy stuff today. I guess I went down to the beach at Seal Harbor. That was pretty great smelling and seeing the ocean again. Other than that, just an ordinary day in an extraordinary place.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
22 September 2014
Happy Monday and first day of fall!
This week's schedule is a little bit different than usual. Instead of working from 10-6 each day, now I work from 9-5. It's pretty nice because that gives me about 90 minutes to do stuff after work before sunset. It's sort of lousy, though, because now I have the Dolly Parton song "9 to 5" stuck in my head. Thanks, Dolly.
I don't think I have any profound insights from today that are worthy of my blog. Instead, here are some pictures from my new favorite, and secret, sunset spot. Enjoy!
Monday, September 22, 2014
21 September 2014
Happy Sunday!
Had a nice talk with Miles and his dogs today before the Blackwoods service. He still visits us each week even though he no longer comes to worship service. Instead, he attends an adult Sunday school class at his church that is about the Christian church's history. He sums up last week's session each time we see him. Pretty interesting stuff. Before he went on his way today, he opened up a backpack and pulled out a sweatshirt for each of us. They aren't the best fitting nor the most stylish, but they are greatly appreciated. I've been very thankful for Miles's support in so many ways this summer. Plus, I like to pet his dogs each week.
At Seawall only one younger lady showed up. We decided to head to the Common Good to each popovers and be in fellowship over there instead of a damp, empty amphitheater. We had great conversation and Luke gave a great devotional he adapted from the sermon/talk/message he prepared on the Lord's Prayer.
Around 2:00 we headed in to Reel Pizza to attend a Sierra Club sponsored film screening. The documentary was about how people are solving the biggest issues the US oceans face. No surprise, there are a lot of major problems the oceans face. Hearing and seeing some of the innovative and collaborative solutions, however, was quite encouraging. The only bad thing about the film is that it ended without giving me any solid ideas for how to be a part of solutions.
No one was at the Blue Hill Overlook this evening. We were pretty sure that had something to do with the pea-soup fog that engulfed the mountain. To accommodate any late comers, we had to stay up there until 20 minutes after the scheduled start of the service. We used that time wisely to fly a kite and run into the fog far enough that we could no longer see the car and then sprint back through the fog until the car came back into view. Like I said, we used the time wisely.
We made it back to the dorm before dinner ended. Luke and Sabrina stuck around to try some of Allin's food. He's quite the cook with his Eastern European recipes. While eating, we watched the Denver--Seattle football game. Sabrina was less-than-enthused by it, so Luke and her headed back to Bar Harbor before the end of the game. That was too bad, it was quite the finish. Classic Peyton Manning.
Had a nice talk with Miles and his dogs today before the Blackwoods service. He still visits us each week even though he no longer comes to worship service. Instead, he attends an adult Sunday school class at his church that is about the Christian church's history. He sums up last week's session each time we see him. Pretty interesting stuff. Before he went on his way today, he opened up a backpack and pulled out a sweatshirt for each of us. They aren't the best fitting nor the most stylish, but they are greatly appreciated. I've been very thankful for Miles's support in so many ways this summer. Plus, I like to pet his dogs each week.
At Seawall only one younger lady showed up. We decided to head to the Common Good to each popovers and be in fellowship over there instead of a damp, empty amphitheater. We had great conversation and Luke gave a great devotional he adapted from the sermon/talk/message he prepared on the Lord's Prayer.
Around 2:00 we headed in to Reel Pizza to attend a Sierra Club sponsored film screening. The documentary was about how people are solving the biggest issues the US oceans face. No surprise, there are a lot of major problems the oceans face. Hearing and seeing some of the innovative and collaborative solutions, however, was quite encouraging. The only bad thing about the film is that it ended without giving me any solid ideas for how to be a part of solutions.
No one was at the Blue Hill Overlook this evening. We were pretty sure that had something to do with the pea-soup fog that engulfed the mountain. To accommodate any late comers, we had to stay up there until 20 minutes after the scheduled start of the service. We used that time wisely to fly a kite and run into the fog far enough that we could no longer see the car and then sprint back through the fog until the car came back into view. Like I said, we used the time wisely.
We made it back to the dorm before dinner ended. Luke and Sabrina stuck around to try some of Allin's food. He's quite the cook with his Eastern European recipes. While eating, we watched the Denver--Seattle football game. Sabrina was less-than-enthused by it, so Luke and her headed back to Bar Harbor before the end of the game. That was too bad, it was quite the finish. Classic Peyton Manning.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
20 September 2014
Happy Saturday!
I woke up at 7:00 to find a pretty trashed employee dining room. Pretty disappointing. I'm not a fan of all-dorm parties that include copious amounts of alcohol.
Way back last spring, Ally emailed Sabrina and I to ask if we'd do a 5K road race with her this fall. I'm not sure what Sabrina said, but I agreed to do it. Well, as it turns out, the race was today. I flaked out. I figured the least I could do for not running in the race with her was to be her official photographer. Go, Ally, Go!
After the race, I had to take Sarah's car up to Cadillac Mountain. She works at the gift shop up there. This morning, Ally and I's original ride didn't ended up not waking up on time from a deep, alcohol-induced slumber. Sarah kindly agreed to let us take her car into town after dropping her off at work. She gets kudos for saving the day.
After I dropped Sarah's car off at the summit, I hiked down the south ride of Cadillac. I made it all the way down to the ocean.
At Blackwoods, I picked up the Island Explorer shuttle to take me to the trailhead for Champlain Mountain. The trail was one of the prettiest I've ever seen.
This was one busy beaver. I wonder if he was overthinking the dam. See link to article....
I found a 25-foot long cave. Luckily, I had a headlamp so I was able to crawl back in there and check it out. I'm going to keep it's location a secret.
I wrapped up the hike by picking up the bus at Thunder Hole to whisk me back to the Jordan Pond House. Even though it was low tide, the wind was strong enough that there were pretty good waves. For the most part, Thunder Hole was more of "sloshing hole." But, every once in a while, it actually did thunder.
19 September 2014
Happy Friday!
Nothing out of the ordinary at work today.
No takers for God and Fudge this morning. This evening only Tasia and I made it. We had a really great discussion about the lack of women in the Mormon priesthood. I don't know much about Mormonism or about what it's like to be a woman, so I let her do most the talking.
Tonight was sorta rough. Nenad turned 23 today, so there was a big ole party in his honor. I'm not against celebrating a birthday--I sang him Happy Birthday two different times. I didn't appreciate, however, the drunk conversation in my room at 3:30 am, the confused, drunk guy who thought our room was his and tried to get into each of the bunks at 5:00 am, and the pair of soiled pants in the men's restroom. I went to bed around 10:00 so I missed all the "fun" at the dorm and bars from then until everyone returned at 3:30. I heard a lot of rumors, though. It was a pretty disappointing night in a lot of ways.
Nothing out of the ordinary at work today.
No takers for God and Fudge this morning. This evening only Tasia and I made it. We had a really great discussion about the lack of women in the Mormon priesthood. I don't know much about Mormonism or about what it's like to be a woman, so I let her do most the talking.
Tonight was sorta rough. Nenad turned 23 today, so there was a big ole party in his honor. I'm not against celebrating a birthday--I sang him Happy Birthday two different times. I didn't appreciate, however, the drunk conversation in my room at 3:30 am, the confused, drunk guy who thought our room was his and tried to get into each of the bunks at 5:00 am, and the pair of soiled pants in the men's restroom. I went to bed around 10:00 so I missed all the "fun" at the dorm and bars from then until everyone returned at 3:30. I heard a lot of rumors, though. It was a pretty disappointing night in a lot of ways.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
18 September 2014
Happy Thursday!
Today was an abbreviated workday. I opened the booth at 9:00 and left at 1:30 to get ready for my emergency dental appointment up in Ellsworth. I didn't feel too bad about leaving work. Unlike yesterday, we were back in September when it comes to the feel of the crowds. Surely, Jami and Sarah survived without me.
Jake was kind enough to give me a ride. It took us about 40 minutes to get there while I was in and out of Dr. Dickes office in about 25 minutes. Nothing overly exciting about those 25 minutes. I will say, however, I feel eleventy billion times better now that I don't have a wire poking my tongue.
Since I didn't cry at all during the appointment and deserved a reward for that...and to thank Jake for driving me...we stopped my McDonald's. It's been a long time since I had a Big Mac. I thoroughly enjoyed consuming it, but I think I can go back to not eating fast food for another extended stretch.
Instead of coming back to the dorm with Jake, I had him drop me off at a trailhead off of Route 3. I then took advantage of the 3 remaining daylight hours to do a hike back to the JPH. As you can see from the pictures, it was fairly awesome.
This evening a couple of us were hanging out in the employee dorm when Jake walked in and announced that tonight and tomorrow night it'd be possible to see the northern lights. A group of seven of us assembled and loaded up into the dorm van to drive up Cadillac Mountain. We arrived at the summit to see no northern lights but about eleventy billion stars in the sky. The night sky was gorgeous, but the wind was chilling. We only lasted about 10 minutes and then we headed back to the dorm.
17 September 2014
Happy Wednesday!
For whatever reason, we had a lot of people join in on the fun at the Jordan Pond House. Granted, we have a lot fewer servers and tables than we do in August, but it still seemed like a late-summer crowd engulfed the restaurant.
Today was also a great example of how one person can start an avalanche of naughty behavior. Someone decided that since we took down the "No parking in the grass" signs, than that must mean that they can extend the parking lot into the 1/3 acre open field between the parking lot and road. Sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 someone parked in the grass. 16 more cars followed suit. Jami was furious. Edie was shocked. I didn't know what to think. We called park dispatch and a park ranger came out real quick. He was a nice ranger and made several announcements directed at the parking perpetrators hiding among the diners that they'd be ticketed if they didn't move their cars immediately. It appeared as though everyone did.
This evening I went for a walk for the third day in a row. Post-dinner walks are the best, except that I only have about 20 minutes before sunset. After that, there's about a 20-minute window until the darkness pushes everyone inside or to a place away from the dark forest. Too many scary things out there in the night...like porcupines.
For whatever reason, we had a lot of people join in on the fun at the Jordan Pond House. Granted, we have a lot fewer servers and tables than we do in August, but it still seemed like a late-summer crowd engulfed the restaurant.
Today was also a great example of how one person can start an avalanche of naughty behavior. Someone decided that since we took down the "No parking in the grass" signs, than that must mean that they can extend the parking lot into the 1/3 acre open field between the parking lot and road. Sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 someone parked in the grass. 16 more cars followed suit. Jami was furious. Edie was shocked. I didn't know what to think. We called park dispatch and a park ranger came out real quick. He was a nice ranger and made several announcements directed at the parking perpetrators hiding among the diners that they'd be ticketed if they didn't move their cars immediately. It appeared as though everyone did.
This evening I went for a walk for the third day in a row. Post-dinner walks are the best, except that I only have about 20 minutes before sunset. After that, there's about a 20-minute window until the darkness pushes everyone inside or to a place away from the dark forest. Too many scary things out there in the night...like porcupines.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
16 September 2014
Happy Tuesday!
Rainy day today. I've noticed a pattern that whenever it rains the number of walk-in guests decreases significantly. If not for the cruise ship groups today, we probably wouldn't have had a waitlist at all. Cruise ships seem to be the wild-card this time of year.
This evening I had grand plans of getting ready for bed around 8:00 and then reading until I felt tired enough to sleep. On my final trip to the dining room to get some water, however, a couple of guys wanted to talk about how religion was the worst invention of humans. That opened up a fairly lengthy discussion. We ended it when their ride arrived for their night on the town. Looking back on it, that was right up there with the best ministry discussions I've had all summer. Funny how it happened so out of the blue.
When I was flossing my teeth tonight, the sealant for my bottom wire on my teeth finally gave way. Earlier in the summer, the same thing happened to the other anchor tooth. I'll call the dentist up in Ellsworth again and try to talk them into giving me a discount as a repeat customer. We'll see how that works...
Rainy day today. I've noticed a pattern that whenever it rains the number of walk-in guests decreases significantly. If not for the cruise ship groups today, we probably wouldn't have had a waitlist at all. Cruise ships seem to be the wild-card this time of year.
This evening I had grand plans of getting ready for bed around 8:00 and then reading until I felt tired enough to sleep. On my final trip to the dining room to get some water, however, a couple of guys wanted to talk about how religion was the worst invention of humans. That opened up a fairly lengthy discussion. We ended it when their ride arrived for their night on the town. Looking back on it, that was right up there with the best ministry discussions I've had all summer. Funny how it happened so out of the blue.
When I was flossing my teeth tonight, the sealant for my bottom wire on my teeth finally gave way. Earlier in the summer, the same thing happened to the other anchor tooth. I'll call the dentist up in Ellsworth again and try to talk them into giving me a discount as a repeat customer. We'll see how that works...
Monday, September 15, 2014
15 September 2014
Happy Monday!
Chilly fall day out here. We had sun but that still wasn't enough to warm the air much above 60 degrees. We broke out the heater in the info booth to ward off the chill. I think Edie's right, by October we are going to need to wear mittens in there.
I took over responsibility for stoking the three wood stoves in the restaurant. There's something about setting wood on fire that just warms the soul. Actually, that's probably a result of the heat that pours out when I open the door to throw the log in. Still, I really enjoy wood stoves. I think we should get one for the info booth.
After work and dinner, I went for a walk down the carriage roads and to the pond shore. I arrived at my destination about 20 minutes after sunset. I found a nice flat spot and started staring up. Over the course of the next half hour, star after star emerged out of the darkening sky until the whole heavens were a starry host. Awesome.
This evening I watched some Monday Night Football and hung out in the employee lounge while attempting to catch up on blog entries. I became quite distracted from all the distractions in here, but it was a fun evening nonetheless. Sort of bummed the Colts lost. Luke is a fan, so I have by extension become a Colts fan for the next few weeks.
Chilly fall day out here. We had sun but that still wasn't enough to warm the air much above 60 degrees. We broke out the heater in the info booth to ward off the chill. I think Edie's right, by October we are going to need to wear mittens in there.
I took over responsibility for stoking the three wood stoves in the restaurant. There's something about setting wood on fire that just warms the soul. Actually, that's probably a result of the heat that pours out when I open the door to throw the log in. Still, I really enjoy wood stoves. I think we should get one for the info booth.
After work and dinner, I went for a walk down the carriage roads and to the pond shore. I arrived at my destination about 20 minutes after sunset. I found a nice flat spot and started staring up. Over the course of the next half hour, star after star emerged out of the darkening sky until the whole heavens were a starry host. Awesome.
This evening I watched some Monday Night Football and hung out in the employee lounge while attempting to catch up on blog entries. I became quite distracted from all the distractions in here, but it was a fun evening nonetheless. Sort of bummed the Colts lost. Luke is a fan, so I have by extension become a Colts fan for the next few weeks.
14 September 2014
Happy Sunday!
Pretty low attendance today at the services. No one at either of the campgrounds and a couple strolled in late to the sunset one.
In between services, Luke and I went for a hike up Dorr Mountain, to Cadillac, and then back down to a shuttle stop. All told we covered about 4.5 miles and saw endless beautiful views.
I ended up giving a significantly abbreviated version of my sermon due to the quickly fading sun and the late start time for the service. Still, it went alright. I've decided the full version is one to keep in my proverbial back pocket to deliver at a time when I am not under a time crunch.
The other big story of the sunset service was the chilliness. I think the team over-dressed just slightly. It was cold, but not parka cold....
13 September 2014
Happy Saturday!
Jake, the dorm manager, and I both had the day off. We headed into town to catch the 8:45 Baker Island cruise. A park ranger led the boat trip out to an island which is almost all Acadia National Park land. The island has a long history as an authentic Maine fishing outpost. Our guide is the great, great, great, great, great nephew of one of the original settlers. He did an excellent job at making 19th century island life come alive while also interpreting the natural features of the island.
The cruise lasted around 5 hours. Once we arrived back in Bar Harbor, Jake and I parted ways. I borrowed Luke's car and went for a drive down to Bass Harbor. My plan was to go up the lighthouse tower there because it was open for the public. In case you didn't know, today is National Lighthouse Day. The drive is around 1/2 hour to make it to that side of Mount Desert Island. I made it down at 2:45 which I thought would give me plenty of time tour the light before it closed at 3:00.
I made a tactical error, though, by not considering the size of the parking lot and the popularity of the site. I ended up getting stuck in a long line of cars to even get a place to park. I had almost made it to the front of the line when I saw the coast guard dude making his way toward the car. He had that look of I have to deliver bad news to angry drivers and I'm scared what their reaction will be on his face. I could recognize it because that's how I looked most of July and August during parking lot duty. I didn't give him any trouble and simply turned around.
During the evening I caught up with Chelsea and Katie, two good friends from college. In a few days will be the four-year anniversary of the inaugural camping trip for the Brandon, Chelsea, Katie, and Adam friend group. After that experience, we formed a solid team for the rest of freshman and sophomore years. Now we are all in very different places in life, but it's still fun to reconnect with old friends. In case you were wondering, Chelsea and Katie are each doing fine.
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