Vinalhaven Island

Full day today!!!  John called at 9 AM, so that got Karen out of bed.  Once she was up she was ready to go, so we caught the 10:30 AM ferry to Vinalhaven.  The trip was 1 hr, 15 minutes on a ferry that was rolling with the waves.  It was funny, the sea looked totally flat, but there were definitely swells and that ferry just rolled along.  Definitely not a place for anyone prone to sea sickness.  

I laughed when the UPS truck loaded on the ferry.  UPS is everywhere!!  The driver said he had to get his run done before the final ferry of the day, at 4:30 PM, or he would be stuck on the island for the night.  We saw him from the other side of the island loading on the ferry for the 2:45 PM trip.

I did get a different vantage of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse from yesterday.  The ferry went right past the lighthouse and so we could finally see it up close.

Just as we were landing at the ferry terminal I noticed that Pete had called.  No cell service on the island and I was a little concerned since I knew a big storm was going through the Midwest today.  Have to wait until we return until I find out what that call was about.

First stop after the ferry landed was at a restaurant as we were both very hungry.  I had a crab roll, first cousin to a lobster roll.  You would think they would gussy it up a bit, but it is just crab meat and mayonnaise on a hamburger bun.  It was a funky little restaurant right over the water.  We were lucky to get what we got since the place was closing on Friday for the season.

From there we headed to the Lane’s Island Preserve, about a 30 minute walk from the ferry terminal.  It was an area on the island protected by the community. We followed the trail around the 40 acres and enjoyed the views from many different points on the path. 

 

From the Preserve we took the Around The Mountain Road, which dead-ended and turned into a footpath.  Followed the path up to the top of the hill, found a playground and then down the hill where we found a very strange contraption that moves giant granite boulders.  Don’t remember what they called it, some weird word, but it was very interesting looking.  

After that we were both running out of steam.  It was about 3 PM and we were shooting for the 4:30 Ferry, so we headed toward the terminal, taking our time.  When the ferry arrived we loaded and just watched the boat traffic.  It was that time of night when the boats were returning to their port.  We started noticing seals in the harbor.  There were at least 3-4.  Karen and I both wondered if it was a nightly ritual, that they follow the boats home in hopes of some handouts.  They didn’t seem to mind the boat traffic or their close proximity to humans.  

We enjoyed the ferry ride back to the mainland until we noticed that Rockland seemed to be totally socked in with fog.  Very interesting changes in weather…most of the day we had had clear skies and plenty of sunshine.  But that changed very quickly.  

The photo above is another lighthouse we passed.  If I had a longer lens on my camera you could have seen a very dramatic picture, with the clouds and the light.  

Unloaded from the ferry right at 5:45, were back in our condo by 6 PM and that’s the day for us.  Hope yours was as nice!!!