We were stoked to have a campsite at Schoodic Woods on the Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park for two weeks. However, due to the complication of our current-resident 10-year-old needing a pool for entertainment so that I can get work done (poolside work still gets done!) during the week, we ended up only spending a long weekend in our excellent campsite at Schoodic.
Rolling in on a Thursday meant Jake and I still had full workdays on Friday. We quickly found that the Verizon and AT&T service was less than usable in our campsite. While we could have pulled out our booster or antennas, Jake instead decided to deploy his new internet toy: the Starlink. We were soon popping off on well over 100 Mbps down satellite-based internet.
Dexter had better ideas than to work; he surprised both Jake and me by rummaging through his adventure gear, packing up his Camelbak, and heading out on his bike to find some water to filter.
Schoodic Woods Campground
While work got done on Friday, general outdoor adventuring about the Schoodic Peninsula and along U.S. 1 North set the tone for the weekend.
Dex and I spent Friday afternoon poking around the Schoodic Institute, which features a very small Navy museum and a trail that leads to a rocky coastline. While we initially rode the free bus to get there, we called Jake for a pick-up when we were ready to leave. This was a strategy of coercion on my part in order to access ice cream cones, as the road around the peninsula is one way and passes an ice cream shop on the way back to the campground. Blueberry soft serve cone for the win!
After attending a Ranger talk on Porcupines, Dexter and Jake spent the evening stargazing and working on their nighttime photography skills.
Earlier on Friday Dexter saw a sign indicating the small town of Winter Harbor, at the entrance of the peninsula, would be hosting a lobster festival on Saturday. Going to this festival became an obsession for him.
So, on Saturday, we went.
It happened that this festival was actually pretty neat. We each procured classic-style lobster dinners offered by the local fire department, fighting our ways through pesky shells to get a bit of meat and a whole lot of lobster smell permeated hands.
Dexter declared these subpar to the lobster roll, which takes a lot less work for a whole lot more meat. He still enjoyed the meal, however.
We then ventured down to watch a slew of lobster boat races, where Dexter continued working on his photography skills. He also met the owner of a knife company who gifted him his first knife (lord help us).
Dexter wanted to attend the Lobster Festival parade that was slated to begin in the early evening, so we had some time to kill. We pointed the Jeep North on U.S. 1, popping into a wild blueberry farm to try our first real Maine wild blueberries.
They are delightful.
We loaded tiny blue bliss morsels down our gullets by the handful but barely made a dent in the 5lb box we had purchased.
After grabbing another round of lobster rolls, we returned to observe the parade, which predictably included members of The Post War Generation marching, classic cars rolling, and fire trucks wailing. It also gave us a very lanky stilted lobster and small driving boats manned by grown men.
We left the parade with candy laden pockets to attend another Ranger talk – Dexter was not about to miss an opportunity to listen to a Ranger drone on about whatever naturalist info they wished to share that evening. This evening’s happened to be about tidepools. Our plans for the next day were suddenly decided.
We started Sunday with a round of scratch-made Maine wild blueberry pancakes, then headed out to find some tidepools.
After some successful tide pooling with crabs and snails galore, we made a pilgrimage to Wild Blueberry Land, some 40 minutes worth of drive up U.S. 1. Wild Blueberry Land ended up being a letdown. Cool building, weak actual blueberry vibes. This unfruitful drive did lead us to a different kind of fertile ground, however.
After noting some roadside signs indicating that we might be able to buy some fresh fish for dinner that evening, we found ourselves eating the best lobster rolls we’ve experienced yet at Chipman’s Wharf. Seriously good rolls.
Chipman’s Wharf 
Chipman’s Wharf
Full of top-notch lobster, we quickly popped back into the Schoodic Institue so that Dexter could show Jake the replica morse code machine. We finished the weekend with a walk, fresh fish for dinner, and a campfire.
Jake and I are sad to roll away from the peaceful, nature-chocked land of the Schoodic Peninsula. Dexter, however, needs pool access again so that we can all be happy and productive for the week. We’re headed to Mt Desert Island to check out the other side of Acadia.