Thurs., Sept. 30, 2021 thru Wed., Oct. 6, 2021
Gary & I hadn’t visited Bar Harbor, ME in several years. We love this area! We have fond memories of being seasonal campers at this very same campground many years ago when it was called Barcadia. Since then it’s been bought by KOA and is now called Bar Harbor/Oceanside KOA. However upon arrival, we were saddened to learn that a friend, Carolyn Sweetser, who used to work at this campground had passed away over the winter due to Covid. Her partner, Daisy, had also passed away of the same thing. So sad. Carolyn had worked here for many years and KOA had erected a touching memorial to her… a wooden sailboat surrounded by plants named Carolyn with the motto “She who must be obeyed.” I definitely think that brought a smile to Carolyn’s face in heaven. After a few tears, we toasted Carolyn & Daisy at dinner that evening. Then enjoyed a campfire in the evening with everyone.
On Friday we headed into downtown with everyone (Stacie, Johnny, Joe, Cheryl, Pearl & Marti) and wandered along the Shore Path (circa 1881) which goes along the water’s edge on one side and is bordered by private residences on the other. Then did some gallery and boutique shopping, went to Ben & Bill’s for chocolate and ice cream, and finally a walk across to Bar Island from downtown Bar Harbor. You can only do this walk during low tide. A cool walk! If you try it when the tide is coming back in you could get stuck on Bar Island for 6 hours! In the evening we caught sunset at the campground and did a campfire. A great day!
On Saturday we had a fun day walking the 4-mile Hadlock Brook Carriage Road in Acadia National Park with Stacie, Johnny & Niky. In 1913 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. embarked on a 27-year project to build 51 miles of carriage roads (one-lane gravel roads) to be used by horse-drawn carriages. He also built 17 granite bridges and two gatehouses that would eventually become the beginnings of Acadia National Park. The carriage roads are a delight. They are wide, well maintained and usually include pond, lake or wooded views. The bridges are a thing of beauty made of granite or stone. Afterwards we headed into Northeast Harbor for lunch and wandering around that charming small town. At night we played Uno Flip with Stacie & Johnny and I flipped out because my hubby kept zinging me with bad cards! At one point I had half the deck in my hand, and yet I won that hand. Karma can be a bitch. 🙂
On Sunday we headed back into Acadia National Park with Stacie, Johnny & Niky and toured Park Loop Road making many, many stops along the way. We packed lunch and made a day of it. Gary downloaded an app of Acadia with narration to make it official. Once again, a very fun day with friends! At night we watched the Pats & Buccaneers game. Still weird to see Tom Brady in a Bucs uniform.
Monday we walked another carriage road in Acadia NP with the gang. This one was Little Long Pond and ended up being 5 miles. Then afterwards we wandered into Southwest Harbor with Stacie & Johnny for lunch at a great outdoor burrito place and shopping. Afterwards we drove over to Seawall and Bass Harbor and saw about a dozen deer in that area later in the afternoon. Amazing!
On Tuesday, Oct 5th, we all headed out early with the hopes of hearing Thunder Hole at Acadia NP thundering. Peak time to hear that is supposed to be 2 hours before high tide thus the reason for a 7:30 launch from the campground. Alas it was a dud that morning. We had seen a much better show a few days before. But still a beautiful spot! Afterwards we all had a timed entry to get to the top of Cadillac Mountain. A beautiful ride up and at the top are panoramic views of Bar Harbor and the surrounding small islands. Fun fact: NH’s Mt. Washington Cog Railway was first installed here for the trip up to Cadillac Mountain. After 7 years of minimal use, it was taken down and re-installed at Mt Washington. Who knew!
Afterwards we headed to the famous Jordan Pond’s patio for lunch with Stacie, Johnny & Niky. The wait for a table was 1 1/2 hours. Ouch! But at least we could sit on the observation deck and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful views. We all did enjoy their famous popovers, which they’ve been making for 100 years. Some of us ordered lunch and some of us ordered an adult beverage, too (Gary). Then we headed back to the campground to relax and enjoy a pretty sunset and another campfire with everyone.
Wednesday, Oct. 6th, was our last day in Bar Harbor. We did a 2-hour nature cruise with the gang. It was well done. We learned a lot about the lobster industry, where the ugliest lighthouse in Maine is located, saw where some of the rich & famous live, and even spied a few bald eagles and lots of seals. The naturalist on board was a marine biologist grad from The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. She shared lots of interesting fun facts.
About seals:
- They can sleep standing upright bobbing in the water. We must have seen over a dozen doing just that.
- The momma seals care for their young for the first 4 weeks of life then the babies are on their own. That’s after Mom’s carried them for 9 months. I guess Momma seals won’t win any Mother-of-the-Year awards.
About the ugliest lighthouse:
- Egg Rock (pic below) is considered the ugliest lighthouse in Maine.
About Maine lobstering:
- Lobsters are carnivores thus the reason for putting bands on their claws. It’s not to protect humans but rather to keep the lobsters from eating each other.
- A Maine lobsterman can pass his license on down to the next generation.
- A lobsterman will typically have 800 traps. They can make a living off of 500. They can check about 200 lobster traps in one day thus it takes them about 4 days to check all their traps.
- The waiting list for a commercial lobster license in Maine is 14 years.
- A family can have two residential licenses allowing them a few lobster traps for private use.
The tour was fun and luckily I had taken a motion sickness pill before we left. I get motion sickness VERY easily. I was feeling a tad queasy on occasion but thankfully didn’t hurl. 😊
Afterwards we all chilled in the afternoon and enjoyed one more beautiful sunset that evening before heading off to our next destination of Saco, Maine.
