October 5
“It has been too much of a good thing.” “You can’t have it both ways.” Both cliques are applicable to Maine this last week. It has been warm, sunny and glorious. The nights have been calm and warm. We have basked in these blessings as we went about our daily explorations and sat around the campfire at night. However, the byproduct of great weather is that the fall in Maine this year may not be as colorful as most.
It has been some time since I journaled so here is a quick recap.
We are still traveling with our friends but that ends today as we head our separate directions.
Bar Harbor has been a wonderful village. Each day, the shops fill with the passengers of cruise ships. Two ships are docked each day. The harbor is beautiful and teaming with lobster and tourist boats. The name comes from the fact that there is a bar running through the harbor. At low tide the bar is exposed and you can then walk out to Bar Island, which sits in the middle of the harbor. As Barb and I left town on Wednesday, the bar was exposed. Barb walked and I rode my bike out to the island on the exposed isthmus. I felt uncomfortable doing so as the water lapped up within 10 or so feet from us on each side. On arrival at the island we noticed a trail up through the woods. Barb wanted to follow it, I kept looking back over at the causeway. We entered the trail and within a few
minutes we were in the trees. We climbed, rode up a hill and found a sign, “.2 mile, Harbor Island summit”. Barb wanted to keep going. I did not check the tide charts, I know that the Bay of Fundy, site of the world’s larges tidal shift, is nearby, I didn’t want to chance it. On the way down the hill we met two couples climbing the path. They both reported that the path through the water was very wide. As we emerged from the trees, we saw that the path was gone. Water now covered the bar. We went out to the water and were able to walk through about 6 inches of water to the shore and our car. Within minutes the entire path was gone. I am not sure what the couples we met were going to do. It was 12 hours or so until the next low tide. There was no other way off the island unless they could find a boat.
We spent the afternoon bike riding the Acadia Trails which had been built by Rockefeller in the 1930’s and 40’s, for horse carriages. Now the some 40 miles are wonderful bike trails around lakes and along rivers.
We toured the island by car on Friday. The fog lifted in early morning and glorious views filled the day. We ate lunch at a village park in Northeast Harbor, watching the lobster fisherman work on their boats before returning to retrieve their day’s catch.
Saturday found us traveling off the island to the villages of Camden and Rockland. Again, the quaint villages were once just fishing ports which have now been inundated with rich people’s homes, art galleries, restaurants and large yachts and sail boats. As I sat on a bench i
n the town square, I made a comment to Barb that is was hot. (78 degrees). A local who was sitting next to me snickered. She commented, “This is wonderful. Sometimes we have snow by now.” In crossing the Penobscot River, we ascended a 400 foot tower to view the surrounding area. We toured Fort Knox, not the one in Kentucky with the gold, which sat guarding the river.
We leave to begin our southward journey this a.m. It will be a slow progression. There is much to see between here and Atlanta.
“It has been too much of a good thing.” “You can’t have it both ways.” Both cliques are applicable to Maine this last week. It has been warm, sunny and glorious. The nights have been calm and warm. We have basked in these blessings as we went about our daily explorations and sat around the campfire at night. However, the byproduct of great weather is that the fall in Maine this year may not be as colorful as most.
It has been some time since I journaled so here is a quick recap.
We are still traveling with our friends but that ends today as we head our separate directions.
Bar Harbor has been a wonderful village. Each day, the shops fill with the passengers of cruise ships. Two ships are docked each day. The harbor is beautiful and teaming with lobster and tourist boats. The name comes from the fact that there is a bar running through the harbor. At low tide the bar is exposed and you can then walk out to Bar Island, which sits in the middle of the harbor. As Barb and I left town on Wednesday, the bar was exposed. Barb walked and I rode my bike out to the island on the exposed isthmus. I felt uncomfortable doing so as the water lapped up within 10 or so feet from us on each side. On arrival at the island we noticed a trail up through the woods. Barb wanted to follow it, I kept looking back over at the causeway. We entered the trail and within a few
minutes we were in the trees. We climbed, rode up a hill and found a sign, “.2 mile, Harbor Island summit”. Barb wanted to keep going. I did not check the tide charts, I know that the Bay of Fundy, site of the world’s larges tidal shift, is nearby, I didn’t want to chance it. On the way down the hill we met two couples climbing the path. They both reported that the path through the water was very wide. As we emerged from the trees, we saw that the path was gone. Water now covered the bar. We went out to the water and were able to walk through about 6 inches of water to the shore and our car. Within minutes the entire path was gone. I am not sure what the couples we met were going to do. It was 12 hours or so until the next low tide. There was no other way off the island unless they could find a boat.We spent the afternoon bike riding the Acadia Trails which had been built by Rockefeller in the 1930’s and 40’s, for horse carriages. Now the some 40 miles are wonderful bike trails around lakes and along rivers.
We toured the island by car on Friday. The fog lifted in early morning and glorious views filled the day. We ate lunch at a village park in Northeast Harbor, watching the lobster fisherman work on their boats before returning to retrieve their day’s catch.
Saturday found us traveling off the island to the villages of Camden and Rockland. Again, the quaint villages were once just fishing ports which have now been inundated with rich people’s homes, art galleries, restaurants and large yachts and sail boats. As I sat on a bench i
n the town square, I made a comment to Barb that is was hot. (78 degrees). A local who was sitting next to me snickered. She commented, “This is wonderful. Sometimes we have snow by now.” In crossing the Penobscot River, we ascended a 400 foot tower to view the surrounding area. We toured Fort Knox, not the one in Kentucky with the gold, which sat guarding the river.We leave to begin our southward journey this a.m. It will be a slow progression. There is much to see between here and Atlanta.
Pictures: Barb crossing the bar, a cruise ship coming out of the fog in Bar Harbor, a coastal village.
2 comments:
Your descriptions and photos are an inspiration! Loved reading about Bah Hahbah. Reminded me of tidal considerations at Mont St. Michel near Paris.
The bike rides, the boat rides... all sound fabulous!
Hi. I too am living vicariously though you. What a treat to travel with you with your wonderful desriptive prose. I have just been catching up from your posting on 9/30. If you remeber, I lived in Maine for five years. Both my girls were born there. Yes, you are too early for the best of the color. I remember that during that season it literally took my breath away each morning as I stepped outside to do the chores. I did not see the coast--we lived inland near the New Hampshire border. Harrison, Maine, if you care to look it up on a map. I remeber my time there fondly. Glad you are having a good trip. God keep you.
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