An Afternoon Stroll on the Ocean Path
Most of our outings or adventures in the area this summer happened on days that Betsy and I had a day off of work together. Sometimes that would happen on a Tuesday, or a Thursday, or maybe sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday. In this life as a full-time RV’er and workamper, the day of the week gets blurred sometimes and is not all that important since our job normally requires us to work when the company is busiest. I tell you all of this to suggest that our typical “weekend” can be just about any day of the week.
On this occasion (Tuesday by the way!) I was scheduled to work and Betsy happened to have the day off. Acadia Bike & Coastal Kayaking has been pretty good at scheduling us to have the same day(s) off, however there have been occasions such as this when our days don’t match. Betsy was in Bar Harbor to get a couple of things done when things slowed down for me at work. One thing we’ve learned is to “go with the flow”, as circumstances can change quickly and thus the needs for our work talents remain fluid. On this particular day I jumped at the chance to end my work day in the early afternoon and spend the rest of my day exploring the Island with Betsy. Our target for the afternoon is a place that may turn out to be my favorite part of Acadia National Park. On the east side of the Island, the Park Loop Road runs along the coast from Sand Beach, to Thunder Hole, to Otter Cliffs, to Otter Point. This portion of Park Loop Road is sometimes referred to as Ocean Drive. It is a beautiful drive and one that I’ve driven several times for work and for pleasure. There also happens to be a path that runs the entirety of that same coastline. The Ocean Path is one of the most scenic two mile walks to be found on the Island. It captures what many people imagine when they think of the Maine coast. The ocean crashing against the granite rocks and cliffs of the Island coastline.
Betsy and I parked along the Park Loop Road not far from Sand Beach, and before Thunder Hole. Betsy had traversed this path earlier in the Summer with Karen, but I had not yet had the pleasure of this stroll. The weather was a little overcast, and some fog was rolling in off the ocean as it often does. The Ocean Path is certainly not strenuous, but more a pleasant stroll, with some occasional rocks and steps to navigate the stunning coast. We covered a little over three miles roundtrip during our hike and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. It’s afternoons like this that make our current life all seem worthwhile. It almost felt like we were playing “hookey” from school. Not that I’ve ever done that! We all know Betsy hasn’t! (Ms. Perfect Attendance!)
