Acadia: All Over Too Soon

It was a long and uncomfortable night’s sleep.  We mostly laid awake or were awoken by drips, like Chinese water torture.  We packed the car after deciding that staying another night in the tent was not worth it. 

We went back to Bar Harbor for the Margaret Todd’s morning scenic cruise.  The ship is a 151-ft schooner with four masts, operated by a captain who loves Newfoundland dogs, and takes his two along every day.  The big black shaggy teddy bears wandered about for a bit but were put off by a neighboring cruise ship’s foghorn.  Unfortunately, the fog did not burn up in the morning sunshine, so it was difficult to see much, though we did see a few porpoises.  A few other islands peeked through the gloomy fog.  Our trip’s narrator was a wonderful Park Service Ranger named…Todd…as it turned out.

 Hoist the sails!  (Can you see Hans helping?)

 

Porpoises!

Back on land, we did a bit of last-minute souvenir shopping and had lunch at the Lobster Claw, an obvious tourist trap but their small confines and lively humor made it an enjoyable experience.  During the lunch rush there could be heard and sometimes seen a flurry of activity behind the counter.

“I need a clean rag!  I need a day off!” Came the cry of one jocular employee.

Hans finally had some fried clams after a week of being denied at every turn by unfortunate timing.  I had a delicious lobster roll.

We headed out of town a short ways to The Cove Adventure Golf for a few hours entertainment on 36 holes of pirate-themed mini golf.  We had a great time in the sun as we played to ludicrous steel drum covers of soft-rock classics on the sound system.

After finding a small cottage motel for the night we went back to town for ice cream.  I had the dubious sounding blueberry-blue-cheese-fig-walnut.  It was awesome!  We ate our treats in the neighboring park where a Park Ranger-led presentation was being held: Picnic with the Planets.  Families and rangers were holding different blow-up models of planets in our solar system and were acting out their orbit, walking (and sometimes running) in wide circles.  Our boat tour guide, Todd, was seen wearing a picture of an asteroid and a belt strung with potatoes, spinning like a juggernaut all over the solar system.

We stopped at the grocery store to pick up dinner for the night since neither of us was very hungry: Pizza Rolls!  Exhausted, we flopped onto our motel bed and watched TV, ready for the drive back home.

Acadia: Rain, Rain

 Awoke to the sound of a steady drizzle.  Very tired.  We fired up the camp stove for a hot breakfast and then paid a rain-soaked visit to the Wild Gardens of Acadia exhibit garden.  We saw a couple of frogs, and we were saddened by the sight of a sign that read “please do not throw rocks at our friendly frogs”.

Next, we visited a few shops in the posh-er Northeast Harbor, picked up coffee in Somesville again, and had a quiet picnic at Pretty Marsh and browsed for shells on the beach.  Saw a few tiny crabs the size of spiders.

On a whim we did the very damp Beech and Canada Cliffs trails.  There weren’t any vantage-point views to be had but the plants and fungi were fascinating.  We closed our circuit of Mt. Desert Island by returning to Bar Harbor where we had excellent cocktails for happy hour followed by a delicious dinner at Galyns.  I am resolved to learn how to make hot buttered rum and Hans wants to learn how to make blueberry cosmopolitans.  Hans finished the evening with yummy maple walnut ice cream.

We came back to our campsite to find the tent full of water from the day’s fog.  Poor Hans’ sleeping bag was soaked and mine fairly damp.  Very grumpy bedtime.

Acadia: Around the Island

This morning we were up before sunrise, hoping to catch the morning light from atop Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in the park and the highest Atlantic Ocean-side feature in America.  No dice.  We realized we hadn’t risen quite early enough and so went to Bar Harbor for some early morning photo-ops instead.

 

After, we set out for the western side of the island.  We stopped in Somesville to take a few pictures, then Southwest Harbor for coffee.

Next, a quick (though not always easy) hike up Bernard Mountain.  Along the return hike we encountered an enchanting moss-strewn pine wood and one lonely frog (toad?).  So much for “wildlife sighting”, but I should note that moose are rarely seen on the island and it turns out that we had the trail completely to ourselves, an unusual even in such a busy park.

Our western tour continued past Seawall and we had a great time curiously looking at the tidepools near the Wonderland Trail.  We tried not to crush any of the sea snails that teemed over the rocks and we spotted a couple of Hermit crabs less than a half centimeter long and a lone baby crab.  Further down the road we checked out the Bass Harbor lighthouse, built 1858, electronically operated since 1974, but still inhabited by a coast guard family year-round.

 I spied a local-crafts gallery in the town of Southwest Harbor.  Inside I was drawn to a series of art prints.  It turns out that the artist herself was manning the store!  She signed the print I decided to buy and told me an amusing story about her sister that used to belong to a nunnery in Baltimore.

On the other side of the harbor was The Captain’s Galley at Beal’s Lobster Pier: A mouthful to say, equaling mouthfuls of sweet, succulent lobsta!  I ordered a soft-shelled crustacean and my previous Maryland crab-eating experience proved to be extremely useful as I tore into my bright red dinner.  Hans was a little grossed out when I de-veined the tail but I gave him a little claw meat.  We finished our meal with some blueberry pie.

As it was nearing the end of daylight hours we drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.  An hour of semi-hazy star gazing back at the campground and then to bed.

 Atop Cadillac Mountain, the Margaret Todd seen in Frenchman's Bay near Bar Harbor

Acadia: Carriage Roads

The carriage roads of Acadia have thoroughly and completely kicked our asses today.  17 hill-strewn miles of gravel-lined beauty/misery later, we had an early and unremarkable dinner at Getty’s.  Got plastered in front of the campfire.

Acadia: Intro

Awoke shortly after sunrise.  Our vacation began on Sand Beach, the only beach in the park.  We spent a while looking for shells, then proceeded along the 2-mile Ocean Trail, observed Thunder Hole, the Otter Cliffs, and Otter Point.  On the way there were many opportunities for sea-bird watching.

Views of Sand Beach

After our hike we drove to Jordan Pond and walked the 3-mile pond Nature Trail which took us through beautiful canopied boardwalks over the delicate shore plants and near a large beaver dam.

 Jordan Pond Nature Trail

 One of the original carriage road gatehouses

We stuffed ourselves with ludicrously large burgers at the Fintale Alehouse.  At sunset we returned to Sand Beach and waited for nightfall when we took pictures of another brilliant night sky.

Acadia: Arrival (sorry, no pictures)

The end of our drive took us along Route 1 from Brunswick to Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert Island, the locale of most of Acadia National Park.  The ride was slower than if we’d taken the interstate but it was worth the pastoral seaside views.

We set up our campsite in the park and went back to Bar Harbor.  Its plethora of sports stores, ice cream shoppes, and Christmas boutiques reminded us of a cross between Banff and Jasper in Alberta.  The sea views were stunning.  We had a decent, though a bit overpriced dinner at the Fish House Grill.

After a short trip to the local grocery store we had a small campfire and toasted some marshmallows before crawling into the tent for the night.  Beautiful star gazing tonight.

Acadia: Getting Packed

Two mountain bikes in the backseat...everything else in the trunk

We got a late start this morning:  Bikes had to be disassembled so they’d fit in the backseat of our….Fit.  We had our first glimpse of the New York City skyline from New Jersey.  Even from far away the Empire State Building makes an impressive figure.  After a food break at a rest stop Hans took over driving and we continued through Connecticut and into Massachusetts for the evening.