Maine has some sparkly rocks called mica. What sometimes appears to be bits of broken glass is actually bits of mica. We found this large mica rock on the beach at Reid State Park. It shone brilliantly in the sunlight, but we could only capture a portion of the shine in the photo.
There was a lot of driftwood back near the top of the sand dunes, probably pushed back by a strong storm and thundering waves - who knows how many years or even decades ago.
The bushes above the driftwood with the pretty pink flowers are called Virginia Rose. These bushes grow wild everywhere along the beach, giving some early summer color to the beach vegetation.
During our walk down the beach, we found an example of human creativity. Remember the movie Castaway? Castaway starred Tom Hanks and was about a FedEx employee who was the sole survivor of a plan crash, stranded on an uninhabited island for several years before being rescued. During a first attempt to make fire, he receives a deep wound to his hand and in his anger threw several objects including a Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball he found in one of the packages on the downed plane. A short time later he drew a face in the bloody hand print on the ball and named it Wilson and began talking to it.
This Wilson is not a round volleyball but is certainly a tribute to the Castaway version. Notice the Rolling Stones lips and Mr. Potato Head nose. Some budding artist came to the beach prepared to finish the tribute statue. The pirate head scarf adds a nice touch to the shipwreck theme.
From the Castaway movie. Do you notice a resemblance?
Down the beach, we noticed an area that was roped off. The fence around the area was to protect the nests of either Terns or Plovers, two endangered species of shore birds in Maine.
The tide was going out, so we walked along the wet sand, but it was still soft and made for difficult walking. This photo shows the tide going out as well as small tide pools.
Another view of the tide rushing out from a small bridge near a cove.
Further along the woodsy portion of our hike we found some kudzu. Not the Southern version of vines that envelop trees, but a Maine summer wild flower.
After completing our 4 mile walk, it was time to drive to Five Islands for some fresh Maine seafood. A co-worker had told us about Five Islands Lobster Company, where you order your food at a window and then go eat at one of their picnic tables overlooking the harbor. We were not disappointed with our lunch or the typical Maine setting.
A photo op from the back deck. Notice all the lobster traps waiting to be put back out to sea.
One of the larger lobster boats along the dock at Five Island Lobster Company.
You can see just how far out the tide has gone dropping the water level way down. Look at how steep the gangway is down to the floating dock by this house.
How can you top eating fresh seafood with postcard views like these? The sun was shining brightly and the cool breeze was blowing in off the ocean.
Our journey to this part of coastal Maine would not be complete without a drive out to Bailey Island, which is just south of Bath. We found more postcard views as we wandered down the island, 5 miles of breathtaking ocean scenes.
What a fabulous day in the near summer-like weather. Views like the one above are one of the reasons we chose Maine as our summer destination for 2013.
Looks, awesome dad! The views are amazing and the hike sounded interesting too. Can't wait to experience something like this when we are in Maine next week.
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