Isle a haut

You got to love that island life. The pace is so different than anywhere else on the mainland and everyone you meet is so friendly. We spent the day biking the island but first we needed to mail some bills so we visited the post. It was about the size of a small closet but efficient, quaint and still operating. Some of our island post offices in Maine have had trouble staying open due to the lack of patrons. People don't write personal letters the way they used to before email and the Internet. In order for our island post offices to continue to stay alive they need to be an asset to their community which is why we buy our stamps online from our local islands like Cliff Island or Chebeague.

The day was sunny and dry so we spent our day biking from the town landing along the western side then around to the eastern side and ended up having lunch at a cobble beach then swam at a pond which was lovely. We considered biking the whole island but we were told that much of the southern section was a rough dirt road and not much fun to bike, in fact several people said that they wouldn't bike it if they had the choice so we listened to their advice.

We did end up going to the ranger station to read about the park and spoke with the ranger for a bit. Apparently he lives in Stonington and not on the island. He mentioned that the Richardson lighthouse at the southwest end of the island rents rooms to the public like a B&B with a going rate of $300 a night including meals - must be nice. I guess if you want to say you stayed in the light keepers house on Isle au Haut then it's all worth it.