Beautiful Bar Harbor

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Happy Birthday to McKamie in Bar Harbor, Maine!



Today was supposed to be a so-so day. I didn’t think there was too much in Bar Harbor and so we had nothing planned. I had read it would be raining and our coldest stop of the cruise. Today was a pleasant surprise. Bar Harbor is an enclave of small islands connected by a sand bar… when the tide is low, you can walk to one of the islands but if the tide rises, you are stuck on the island. Bar Harbor is also a small hideaway for the wealthy. We could easily see why today. This little piece of America is nothing short of glorious in the autumn and it is easy to look around and imagine the fun in the sun of summer, too.



Backing up…. Last night we watched the Washington Nationals lose again. Dang. I am pulling for the Nationals so we’ll see. This cabin, by the way, has a 42” HDTV in front of the cabin bed. Kamie is impressed. I fell asleep sometime after the Nationals lost while Kamie watched the Chiefs (they were winning last I saw) ...and I woke-up around 6:15am your time. I looked out the balcony and I was staring at a wall of white fog. We arrived in Bar Harbor a bit late because the ocean was rough. Our ship had to anchor farther away from the town than normal and we all had to ride smaller boats to get into the town. By the time we got off the ship, it was cool (mid-40s) but no rain, no sprinkles, and the fog was lifting. The scenery was an explosion of orange and red trees with waves splashing high against the tide walls. We were in awe. We took a walk along a small trail that winds in front of the Bar Harbor Inn and then in front of some of the waterfront homes. The homes are beautiful and of course not small but some of the other waterfront homes we saw along the various shorelines looked like mini lodges. Almost unbelievable how families can afford these mega mansions as second homes. The small boat captain told us today that like Portland yesterday, most of the “summer boats” aka yachts and sailing boats have been moved south for the winter. We walked about a half mile down the waterfront path and then looped through the back paths/small streets back to the main town. We shopped a bit then Kamie decided he wanted clam chowder for his Birthday lunch. We asked a local for a recommendation and walked to a charming restaurant that ended-up being perfect. We started with a locally made blueberry soda (me) and a blueberry lemondrop martini (him) and we both enjoyed our choices. We shared clam chowder and crab-stuffed mushrooms. Yummo! Kamie ordered Oysters Rockefeller for his Birthday. I didn’t say it to him but….GROSS. He loved them! We walked around for about another hour after eating and then barely made it back to the boat in time for Kamie’s Swedish massage – my Birthday gift to him. He had a personal massage that was supposed to last one hour but he was at the spa for over 90 minutes. Maybe I should check his wallet and see if he tipped for a little extra? ? Ha



Overall, we loved our visit to Bar Harbor. The scenery. The homes. The feel of the island. Nice. We came back to the room and I bought Kamie a chocolate oreo cupcake and Birthday macaroon for his Birthday. While he was getting his massage, I left them in the cabin along with a card I had bought him and hidden in the suitcase. While I was waiting out on the deck for him, two older gentleman talked my head off… the first one said he loved Bar Harbor too and I can’t remember what all we talked about… the second one told me Bar Harbor also surprised him. We have met some super friendly people on this boat. We talked to a guy today who retired from his job in the Silicon Valley at 52. He’s 55. He lives in Arizona now and says he’s made 18% on his investments this year. He says his interest checks are enough to spend, travel, and still save even more. He has a silver Labrador named Riley that looks like the most laid back dog you’ve ever seen. We saw pics of his dog and of his son’s dog who is a Labrador/Pit/Mutt named Ike. People are interesting. I like it.



We both skipped dinner tonight. Too much seafood today for lunch. It’s almost time for us to run to the 3D theater. They are showing the “newest” Spiderman movie and Kamie hasn’t seen it yet so we are going to see that at 9pm. I am not for sure what tomorrow is because I’ve completely lost track of time. I do know we won’t have our cell phones on again until we are back in New Jersey. Hope you enjoy the photos – there are a lot of them today!



PS – 9,196 steps today. I’ve yet to hit 10,000 however, I haven’t been trying to hit 10,000 steps. I probably should do that the next day we are at sea all day just so I can say I did.

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Photos

Path leading to all the min-mansions
These homes were actually the smaller ones on the waterfront. Some of the homes (not these) look like giant lodges.