After another comfortable night in the parking lot at Donnell Pond, we were ready to explore a little more of Maine. First, though we decided to check out the actual campsites after we had heard rave reviews of them from fellow campers. As promised, the sites were very nice: plenty of space, fire rings, picnic tables, and a view of the pond.

The rain that had been threatening materialized as we headed out. As we were driving, we remembered something the owner of Northwoods Outfitters in Greenville, Maine had told us. She suggested we visit Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory and go to the top of the observation tower for a great view of the state. According to Google, it is the tallest bridge observatory in the world. We had no specific plans for the day so we decided to do it.

It was, in fact, a really beautiful bridge. The price of admission also allows you to tour Fort Knox which has a really interesting military history. We skipped Fort Knox and just did the bridge. An elevator takes you most of the way up and then a flight of stairs takes you all the way up. The view was beautiful as promised, and I am sure even more spectacular on a sunny day. Maps placed all around let you know what you are looking at.

The woman at the ticket booth had suggested we try the nearby town of Belfast when we asked about a place with public showers ( one of the challenges we face regularly). She seemed to recall that there were public showers at the harbor for boaters coming in. A stop at the Chamber of Commerce directed us to the nearby YMCA for $5 showers. After sharing our tale of woe about the stowaway mouse with John at the front desk, he gave us the showers for free and even threw in clean towels! Thanks again, John!

A search on free.campsites.net led us to our home for the night. The town of Wiscasset allows you to spend one night in their municipal parking lot for free so we went to check it out and we were glad we did. The parking lot was right near the harbor, public restrooms, and restaurants. You can take a self-guided tour of many historic sites in the town.

After getting the truck set up for the night, we went in search of lobster for dinner. We found a casual outdoor restaurant with a great water view. Francis got the full lobster dinner and I went for the seafood chowder. We enjoyed the food and the scenery. Pretty much a perfect day.