There
is something wrong with being on vacation and having to set a clock, especially
if you typically wake up at a certain time every day. I couldn’t risk sleeping in this particular
day since I was scheduled for the 9:30am boat tour of Acadia National Park and
the five lighthouses in the surrounding area of Bar Harbor.
I
was awake before the alarm went off so it was all good. I headed into town, about 20 minutes from my
cottage. It’s a funny thing traveling
and doing touristy type things near the end of the season. You can feel the impatience of those who have
endured a full season of visitors. The
counter staff at the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company was no exception. Thank goodness I was in town on a day that
had no cruise ships in port, or it might have been really ugly.
Mr.
Cranky that waited on me, felt compelled to tell me that I was late since folks
were to arrive half an hour early for the 9:30am trip. I stood up to the counter at 9:05am to pay
for my pre-booked reservation and to get my ticket. With ticket in hand, I was told to head out
to the pier where I then stood in line for 10 minutes before boarding. Honestly, I don’t know what the big deal
was. Maybe it was their fear that they
wouldn’t be able to get everyone through the mandatory photo stop. You know
what I mean . . . those photos they take and then after the tour you can pay
$20 for your 5x7 photo with their cheap advertising foreground. A polite “NO THANK YOU?” would be in their
future!
Once
aboard, it was actually nice to have the boat relatively empty. I would have to guess there were less than 50
people aboard the two level catamaran.
There was plenty of space for people to move about, including inside and
out, and on either side of the vessel for the various photo ops. I always find it nice to be able to see the
natural landscape from the water, so any time I have a chance to take a boat tour;
I try to schedule it into my itinerary.
The
name of the tour was the “Lighthouse and National Park” tour. The beginning was along the coastline, with
the guide providing narration about the history and geological features of
Acadia National Park. He pointed out
several of the cottages owned by prominent residents, past and present. With that part of the tour completed, it was
time to visit the five island lighthouses and a USCG Life Saving Station. All but one of the lighthouses were clearly
visible from the water. With the winds
and choppy water, getting decent photos was a bit of a challenge. Here are a couple that turned out pretty
nice.
During
the 10-15 minutes between lighthouse stops we learned about the lobster fishing
industry in the area. The regulations
and seasons in Maine are different than what is down the coast in Massachusetts
or up north in Canada. The preserve the
future of the lobster industry, only those caught within a certain range are
allowed to be kept. Also, egg carrying
females must be “notched” in their tail and returned to the water.
I
enjoyed the three hours on the tour and would say it was worth the $45
price. For anyone interested in seeing a
few lighthouses and learning about this area of Maine, it is a very good value.
After
we docked, I headed into the park to explore to the top of Cadillac Mountain
and to walk to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse at the far southern end of the
park. As with what I saw in New
Hampshire and Vermont, the leaves were just starting to change over. Most of the trees were still fully green, with
a few here and there starting to show reds and oranges on the tops and tips. I would say probably another good week or so
before the colorful leaf peeping season would be in full swing.
As I headed back towards my cottage, I saw a "lobster pound" where they retail sale live lobsters or you can order one to be cooked to dine in or carry out. I spent some time with the guys there to learn about the lobster industry in Maine. They were very nice and informative.
For
dinner, I enjoyed a nice treat at a local seafood place near Trenton. I had bought a Restaurant.com dining
certificate for Jaspers. Needing to
spend $30 to apply the $15 discount was impossible to accomplish without
overeating so I opted for a simple fish and shrimp dinner. My meal was very good, although the fish was
a tad on the greasy side. With iced tea,
it came to $22. The lovely waitress
allowed me to use my dining certificate anyway.
A first in my over 10 years of dining with Restaurant.com.
Originally
my Monday evening was to include watching the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night
Football at a local tavern.
Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a convenient place to go, not to
mention with the 8:30pm kick-off time, I didn’t think I’d want to be up for the
entire game. I was right . . . as the
game seemed in hand at half-time; I went to bed around 10pm. I was glad to have watched the game in my
cottage, even if it was on a 13” flat screen TV mounted on the wall about eight
feet away.
Not
sure how many miles I drove today since I didn’t zero out the trip meter. I’d have to guess something around 100, but
I’m not really sure.
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