30 May 2018
Today was my first full day at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I decided to do the tourist thing and take Oli’s Trolleys for their 2 1/2 hour trip along the Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain Road.
I walked down to the waterfront from the B&B and purchased my ticket and then walked to the departure point on West street. I was 45 minutes early and fell into a conversation with Andrea who works with the trolley company and who proceeded to show me on the map great hiking areas within the park. The 45 minutes went fast with pleasant conversation. Andrea moved to Bar Harbor from NYC four years ago and laughingly related she saw her very first moose on a trip to Yellowstone this year. The moose is the state mammal of Maine and there are plenty on the island.
Bar Harbor is called Bar Harbor because of a sand bar leading to Bar Island that is exposed at low tide. You can actually drive across it if you are 1 1/2 hours before and after low tide. Woe unto you if you get stuck in the sand or caught with the incoming tide. Todays tidal surge is listed at 11.7 feet so you, you vehicle, and your cargo box would be underwater.
Perhaps an apocryphal story is a lobster fisherman noticed a kayak afloat. Upon investigation and trying to get it out of the water, he found a car attached. Andrea was very insistent it was not a good idea to try to cross other than walk across.
The tour guides (Sindy and Gary) said you were ok 2 hours on either side of low tide and encouraged everyone to drive across it. I think I’ll stick with Andrea’s suggestion.
The trolley made three stops: Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Mountain. All three were interesting. Sindy was breaking in as driver and tour guide and you could tell she had trouble memorizing her spiel but she was game and kept at it. Gary filled in when she drew a blank. It was a little disconcerting but the talk was full of history of the island.
John D. Rockerfeller was a major mover and shaker on the island and there are miles of carriage trails (he hated automobiles) still in use today. You can stop at the stables within the park and take a carriage ride through the park’s trails.
The rich and super rich made this their playground in the summer and built “cottages” for them and their friends. The cottages, of course, are small castles. Sindy used the term “conspicuous consumption” over and over on the trip.
Thunder Hole was the first stop but unfortunately for us, it was not thundering. The ocean was fairly calm and there was virtually no wind so we didn’t get to hear anything.
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Next was Jordan Pond which is a massive freshwater lake that provides drinking water for Northeast and Southwest Harbor. It is also sometimes called “The Bubbles” for two mountains at one end of the lake. I’m surprised, with the French influence in this area from French explorers, they were not called Les Grandes Tetons!
Our last stop was the most impressive_A Cadillac Mountain at 1530 feet above sea level. You got expansive vistas of the Atlantic Ocean, Cranberry Island and Little Cranberry Island, Sutton Island, Greening Island and Baker Island in one direction and in the other direction, Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor.
The weather was cooperating and it was crystal clear so you view was only limited by line of sight.
After the tour, I walked to the local post office and sent off some post cards, then purchased a wildflower book on Acadia National Park (very well done) and then headed to Galyn’s again to partake of Holley’s suggestion of a blueberry martini.
Gayle, the bartender, said I had two choices: Sky blueberry vodka or a locally brewed vodka of native Maine blueberries. Of course, I opted for the local version.
I think I mentioned before I had been in the Boundary Waters canoe area three times in the past. My first trip happened to hit the height of blueberry season and we had blueberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I got tired of them. Only recently have I been able to eat fresh blueberries with cereal in the morning and don’t ask me to try a blueberry muffin, pancake, or bagel.
To my amazement, the martini was excellent. I was the only one in the bar so Gayle and I had quite the conversation. I may even order another for happy hour when they are half price.
In exploring the downtown area, I found Cadillac Mountain Climbing, a sports store. I walked in and was just looking and ran across an ankle brace for the left ankle. I decided to spend the $40 for the brace. I got it back to the B&B and was about to try it on when I found an antitheft device still attached. Strangely, the alarm did not sound when I walked out of the store. I had to trudge back to the store to get them to remove it. The brace seems to work and I can fit my shoe over the brace. I’ll try it out for the day and see if it helps my ankle.
Tomorrow, I intend to head to the park visitor center, pick up some information, and perhaps do some short day hikes around the areas I saw from the trolley. I then may head to Southwest Harbor – where Martha Stewart has a house – and do some short hikes there. Maybe I’ll get to meet Martha!
