Hotel Indigo No Go

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Bar Harbor Bar None


Photos by H. Darr Beiser



Home...

I recently postulated that I would be entirely happy if I had an oceanfront house. I tested this theory for a week in Bar Harbor, Maine, and my hypothesis is correct. I was happy every day and every minute. I had a view of the ocean from my bedroom, my living room, and even my bathroom. And it was heaven.

Sweet...

In Maine the whole state screams at you to calm the f down. Except it says cam. You will be broken in by the slow movements of the service community, the tendency toward chattiness at the rental car counter, the lackadaisical way businesses answer the phone, if at all. 


Home


Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park turned out to be the have-it-all vacation that I was hoping for. The mountain lovers got mountains, the ocean lovers got ocean, the active got activity, and everyone got all the lobster they could eat.


Atop Mt. Champlain

Hiking

I'm not a hiker per se, but I guess I am one now. I studied the trails and hikes in advance to rule out anything that said “vertical exposure” or “iron rungs."  We started with Mount Champlain,  "a fairly strenuous day hike" and I did it. It was good cardio and I got a feeling of accomplishment and I received many hands by the boys, both of help and fist bumps. Every hike has a built in reward of ocean view at the top.


Jordan Pond from the Bubbles


The Bubbles at Jordan Pond, I thought, what the hell they are only nice round Bubbles, I can do this. Well the south face of South Bubble was challenging even by my son’s standards. There was a narrow crevasse to shimmy through, there was steep hiking, and scrambling. And then, at one point, I saw the dreaded Iron Lung. That’s what I am calling them. And then onto North Bubble, piece of cake after South. But the biggest Bubble Trouble was coming down on slippery rocks. I fell without incident a couple of times, but then I almost had a 127 Hours moment when my hiking boot got caught between two rocks. I didn’t have to cut my foot off, but almost.


Bubble Up

We rewarded ourselves Post Bubble with a stop at The Jordan Pond House, for the famous airheaded popovers. Our waiter was Ziggy from Vilnius, Lithuania. When he asked us for our order, Peter said “I will have as many popovers as mountains I climbed today…two.” Ziggy asked what mountains Peter had climbed and he said "The Bubbles." We are all quite certain that Ziggy acted unimpressed. I think it could have been a simple case of Bein’ European, but the others insisted that Ziggy didn't think the Bubbles warranted two popovers.


Woodsy

Eating

From the airport I googled Lobster Rolls Around Me and found McLaughlin's within half a mile. It was a classic roadside stand with a classic Mainer with no teeth and rings on every finger talking about his classic 1972 Oldsmobile, which he peeled out in. We bought lobsters to cook at home three times at the charming Parson's Lobsters and Seafood Shop. Big fat lobsters fresh as babies. We got our wild Maine blueberry pies there. Because we are a family of lily-gilders we would often go out to Mt. Desert Island Ice CreamWe stocked the house with ice cream and Reddi Wip. One morning Franky came sliding into the living room in his socks, Tom Cruise style, spraying Reddi Wip into his mouth. We ate at Galyn's (solid), Jordan's Restaurant (breakfast) Testa’s (best pie) and Havana where Obama dined and put on the tiny map. It was a little fancy-pants but the paella was top-notch.

 

Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain

First light in the US

This free event is sponsored daily by, I don't know who...some one, some thing in nature? People arrive up to an hour before dawn. They bring blankets and grab a rock, and then they sit silently and watch the magic happen. Something like Druids observing an ancient ritual, with selfie sticks.


Behold

Swimming

“But the water in Maine, why would you go there, it’s too cold to go in.” I've heard this for years and I always say ‘Not for me, I grew up on it,” and indeed I had very early exposure in Old Orchard Beach, and like grasping a new language as a child, I retained this ability. And I gave the gene to my boys. I led the plunge into the ocean and the boys joined in and stayed in. So proud.  Acadia has a tiny but breathtaking sliver of ocean access called Sand Beach. 


Bracing and refreshing!


Rainy Day in Bar Harbor

We went to the Independent Café and had fancy coffees and read books; we stopped by Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars and dipped bread bites into various flavors. We ate at the merry Side Street Café where Franky ordered a lobster roll that contained the meat of two lobsters. We drove to a bowling alley in Ellsworth, Maine, to enjoy a few frames of candlepin bowling at one of the worst dives I have ever seen.


Sand Beach in the rain


Other Fun Stuff

Improv Acadia has a very talented troupe that provides lots of hilarity. When they asked the audience for a song lyric, Franky piped up with “Cadillac, ack, ack, ack, ack, ack.”  One actor said "How many acks is that, again?  The other actor responded “You ought to know by now.” We did the obligatory beach house jigsaw puzzle. We went to Yoga for Runners. We shopped at Cadillac Mountain Sports. We took a harbor cruise.You can rent bikes, kayaks, an scooters at Acadia Outfitters, you can rent a Colonial Dame to give you a historical tour. You can rent a mountain climbing expert.


Schooner cruise



Le Piece de Resistance 

One night we went stargazing on our zero-light pollution rocky beach and Peter spotted a meteor. It was so big we could see that it was orange and green, it lasted so long we all started to scream at it. Darr broke into “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”

Yup, in addition to an exquisite vacation we had a little outer space action.  That’s something the four of us will share the rest of our lives. I’ve decided to call it The Pete-eor.


The beach where we made the sighting



Sunset on Bar Island


Born-again hiker


2 comments:

  1. Ive been thinking about the best place to survive climate change. This is now on my list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the humor you found in your travels around Bar Harbor. Now I want to go and spend more time there. A few hours ashore on a cruise was not enough.
    Lina

    ReplyDelete