We woke up this morning at the campground to our coldest morning in a long time, 57 degrees. The heat has broken enough that Katie and I were feeling cold. Everyone but Chris got a great night's sleep. For some reason, Chris could not sleep and spent his night walking to the bathroom and saving the snacks on his bike from the coons. The rest of us did not know this on waking up. We usually cannot make a move without Chris being awake and ready to get moving. All of us thought that Chris was already gone to the bathroom or something getting ready. We were all up and moving and packing, when all of a sudden we started hearing grumbling coming from the tent. It was Chris just waking up. We were almost packed up before he finally heard us! This NEVER happens!

By this time, Katie was extremely hungry and urging us all to hurry. Since Chris was now behind in packing we had to start helping Chris. We started taking his tent down for him to catch him up.

We had a great breakfast at the same Rockport Cafe that we ate at for dinner last night. They had awesome blueberry pancakes made with wild Maine blueberries. They were even great about substituting the meat out for Katie and I. Apparently the breakfast was good for Chris too. Katie got this picture of him.

Then we were back on the road. We were on Hwy 1 for most of the day today. Though, in one of the towns, they had us take the long way around town, just to put us back onto Hwy 1 on the other side of town. This caused us to go up and down the hills in town...hmmm. I blame Jack from Adventure Cycling for this one. (We have named the map maker Jack as a little joke among us.)

About the middle of the day we had lunch in Belfast. At lunch Chris and Katie were researching our options for the night. Katie was very insistent that we should get a hotel for the night. She was looking up reviews and was even ready to start calling for pricing info and availability. Seeing this Chris took the opportunity for a deal. He told Katie that he would call and book the hotel if she agreed to go to Fort Knox and Observatory AND like it. Katie hastily said yes, so Chris called and booked the non-refundable room. No sooner was he off the phone when Katie says, "What is an observatory?" I don't think she really thought about her answer until then.

Then we made our way through town and got to cross the river on an awesome pedestrian bridge which was a much preferred option when looking at the road bridge! Yay Jack!

About nine miles before the Fort, we stopped for snacks and a bathroom break. We were pleasantly surprised to find a large display pointing out their PUBLIC restrooms. I still can't believe how people east of Wisconsin protect their restrooms like Fort Knox, but then we get to the Fort Knox area and they finally have restrooms!

Upon leaving the gas station after our break we finally figured out the reason why Maine drivers are so bad.

Just before arriving at Fort Knox, we saw the bridge/Observatory only we did not know it yet (except Chris).

Upon our arrival to the Fort, Katie started to realize what exactly she had gotten herself into, especially when the sign upon entering kindly mentioned that it was taller than the Statue of Liberty.

There were some spectacular views at the top, though Katie and Roger did not really agree. A sign pointed out Acadia National Park in the distance. This is the National Park in Bar Harbor, so we are in sight of our goal!

About this time, Katie and Roger decided it was time to get down.

After the Observatory, we went onto Fort Knox. Katie decided to try out the cannon.

But then Katie caught Chris with just the same interest in cannon usage.

After convincing both of them that the cannons would not work, we left the Fort and headed across the bridge under the Observatory and rode the last couple of miles to our hotel in Bucksport. After quickly getting settled into our room, Katie was starving again so we headed off to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The food was great and the portions were HUGE. You can tell by Roger's face just how full everybody was.

We finished our evening with a few silly pictures of the bridge in the background.