The Sea Princess & SpongeBob!

Today we took a nature cruise on the Sea Princess from Northeast Harbor. As we were waiting to board at the marina we noticed what had to be Lawyers Row. The side by side boats were named Conviction and Miss Demeaner!

Our cruise was the “Seals, Fjord, and More” trip, and included the Bear Island lighthouse and a stop at Ilseford islands fishing village! The weather was absolutely perfect with clear skies, calm seas, and light breezes!

Aboard the boat I noticed a lobster trap suspended from the ceiling. A pretty common decorative item in Maine, but this one had a weird twist…

Do you see it? Instead of a lobster trapped inside is SpongeBob Squarepants?

The first delight (see what I did there? DeLIGHT! I am SO easily amused) on our cruise was Bear Island lighthouse! This is our 8th light this year and such a pretty light it is – perched over a deep cave!

Next was the fabulous Bunker Ledge Monument. A dangerous rocky islette with what used to be a large granite navigation aide. See, back in the day, instead of a flag there was a metal basket where stranded sailors could light a beacon fire – alerting folks onshore to their plight!

But what I loved even more than the history were the harbor seals, grey seals, and little seal pups basking on the rocks! All those gray & white lumps are seals!

Sigh. Aren’t they just too adorable? Then it was time to sail on through the Cranberry Islands to reach Ilseford.

Our first stop on the island was the Acadia National Park Ilseford History museum. (who knew?!)

And again – what’s with SpongeBob? And in a National Park museum no less?!? So I asked the Park Ranger and it turns out that the man who created the SpongeBob stories worked in the Ilseford Dock Restaurant when he was a teenager. The characters in SpongeBob are based off people living on the island back then!