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Yacht in Harbor
Mt. Desert Island - May 22: I don't know where I ended up, but I don't think it is Bar Harbor. Today hit 86 degrees. Oh yeah, great weather unless you are like me and hate the heat! But it was sunny and you can usually catch a breeze, so I was off.
I first tried the Oceanarium, but they weren't opening for the season until noon. I then went looking for the Atlantic Brewing Company, but I couldn't find it on the country roads off of Highway 3.
I instead went to the Bar Harbor Cellars Winery. They had a lovely setup A nice gift shop and tasting bar. I tried a white called a Mamalange which reminded me of an Italian house wine and I liked very much (bought a bottle). I also tried their cabernet sauvignon that I didn't like nearly as much (I did not buy that one). A fellow that was working in the shop just moved to Bar Harbor from Columbus. He retired from teaching and he and his wife moved to a house they had bought in 1993 after their first visit to Bar Harbor.
I then went on to Bar Harbor and walked around until lunch time. I have had enough seafood and wanted a burger. Got a good one at Stewman's Downtown Lobster Pound. Tried Shipyard Summer Ale to go with it. Wasn't as good as the Bar Harbor Real Ale or even the Seadog Blueberry. I don't know if it was just because I was starving for red meat, or what, but the burger was great! My waiter was a Pennsylvania kid. Just graduated from Penn State and had a picture of "JoePa" stuck on his order pad. Good boy!
By the time I was done the tide was ebbing so I drove down to the end of bridge street and parked the car. Bar Harbor gets it's name because there is a sandbar that runs from the town over to Bar Island. When the tide is low, the bar is exposed and you can cross the bar (Hmmm, would make a good title for a poem). So for about 5 hours twice a day the bar is exposed. It was surprising how solid the bar was to walk on. There was a nice breeze, which I needed.
After that I decided to see three gardens on Mt. Desert. The first was the Wild Gardens of Acadia, actually in the park. The garden was really neat with different areas showing the different climates like the shore, bogs, ponds, forest, etc. This is where Sieur de Monts is located; the spring water that was considered to be a healthy drink during Bar Harbor's hayday. There is also one portion of the Abbe Museum which is dedicated to the Native Americans who inhabited Acadia. (The other part of the museum is in town.) It was very small, but interesting.
From there I headed to the quiet side of the island to the Asticou Azalea Garden and the Thuya Garden. The Asticou was terrific. A very zen asian garden right down to a sand garden. Many of the azalea were in bloom. The Thuya Garden is probably beautiful, too, but nothing was in bloom. Both gardens were pristine.
After all that walking and heat, I decided to go back to the cottage, take a cool shower and go out to eat. I took the shower, but decided to eat in. Was just to tired to go back out.
Tomorrow is the whale watch. It is not going to be as warm as today. Of course, tomorrow, out on the ocean a little warmth would be welcomed. Come back and see if we find a whale!
