Two Tour Members Lost at Flowerpot Rocks!

This morning we only had to drive a couple of miles to Hopewell Cape and the Flowerpot Rocks.  Paul, our Wagon Master (tour leader) had a key to an employee-only road that allowed us to drive right up to the viewing area.  This kept us from having to drive to the main building, park, and ride a shuttle to the viewing area.  Paul, in the lead car, unlocked the gate and Herm, the “Tail Gunner” and last car through the gate, closed and locked it. 

One of the Rangers, Meagan, was at the viewing area to meet us and take us on a tour.  From the viewing area we descended about 100 (give or take a couple) steps to what would be the floor of the bay.  It was low tide so we were walking on what you might call the “ocean floor”.  There were several very tall (5 or 6 stories high) rock formations that stood along the coast.  Thousands of years of erosion had carved them out of the cliffs and separated them from the mainland.  They are called the Flowerpot Rocks because trees cover their tops.  At high tide they are actually islands.  There is a difference of 50 feet or more between high tide and low tide.  We were able to walk around and through (some were arches) them, which was kind of weird, knowing that a few hours from then we could be under 50 feet of water!

After the tour we were supposed to drive up to the visitors’ center to view an interpretive video.  Carol Ann and I were the first to leave the parking lot and drive up to the building near the viewing area.  We waited for 5 or 10 minutes but none of the others showed up.  Carol Ann convinced me that we were in the wrong place and should have driven back out through the gate and taken another road to the visitors’ center.  We hopped in the car and took off in an effort to catch the group.  However, we ran into a little problem.  The gate across the road was closed and locked.  We were locked in!  We turned around, drove back to the viewing area, and found an employee who was kind enough to come and unlock the gate to let us out.  We then managed to find our way to the visitors’ center, arriving just as the video presentation ended.  We found Herm and his wife Georgia and gave them a good-natured hard time about leaving us locked up down at the Flowerpot Rocks.  It was a little bit embarrassing but no harm was done.

Carol Ann and I then drove to Cape Enrage, about 25 miles south, to see a lighthouse and to have lunch in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage-turned-restaurant.  I don’t really eat much seafood and the only non-seafood items on the menu were vegetarian burgers and a Caesar’s salad.  I had the salad and a glass of Moosehead Light while Carol Ann had a lobster roll.  After a stroll around the cape I took Carol Ann back to the RV and returned to Flowerpot Rocks to photograph the rocks at high tide.  Of course I had no key to the gate so I had to go to the visitors’ center and ride the shuttle over to the viewing area.  I took several photos right at high tide, which was at 2:11PM today, then jumped back on the shuttle, got the car, and was back at the RV by 2:30PM.

Once back at the RV and downloading the photos to my computer I noticed that the battery was almost at 0%.  It was plugged in but not charging.  Another problem!  The cord must have a loose or broken wire because I was able to manipulate it until it finally began charging.  Unfortunately, it stopped charging again a little while ago so I have to finish this before the battery turns into a brick.  Next week we will be in Halifax, NS where an Apple Store is located.  I’ll make sure to find it and buy a new charger.  Meanwhile, I will be forced to use Carol Ann’s Dell (pure horror to a Mac user!).