August 5
Yes, Lisa’s p
urse was at the B&B and we had a very relieved and happy girl again. Mt. Desert Island, besides being home to the bulk of Acadia National Park, has the long term upscale resort of Bar Harbor. Ever mindful of our vacation budget, we stayed, instead, in the small village of Southwest Harbor, about 30 minutes away from the Park entrance. The Inn at Southwest Harbor is very elegant without being imposing. The woman who owns it and her fulltime staff were gracious and warm, very much the epitome of the personality type you find in most B&Bs. We ate dinner (seafood again, of course) at a small restaurant overlooking the harbor. The meal itself was not all that great, but we got a rainbow as a bonus!
urse was at the B&B and we had a very relieved and happy girl again. Mt. Desert Island, besides being home to the bulk of Acadia National Park, has the long term upscale resort of Bar Harbor. Ever mindful of our vacation budget, we stayed, instead, in the small village of Southwest Harbor, about 30 minutes away from the Park entrance. The Inn at Southwest Harbor is very elegant without being imposing. The woman who owns it and her fulltime staff were gracious and warm, very much the epitome of the personality type you find in most B&Bs. We ate dinner (seafood again, of course) at a small restaurant overlooking the harbor. The meal itself was not all that great, but we got a rainbow as a bonus!
We started our day at Acadia National Park at the Visitor’s Center where we watched a 20 minute introductory film. It explained how Acadia is the only National Park whose land was completely acquired by private citizens and then given to the nation as a way to preserve the natural beauty of the region. The wealthy used to come here and built many “cottages”, a slang term for mansions. In the 1920s one of the Rockefellers built a series of carriage roads where autos would be prohibited (pretty funny when you realize the family made its money thru oil), providing a great place to walk, bike or take carriage rides. That wealthy playground was destroyed in 1947 when Maine had a severe drought and there were large wildfires in many areas. The playground was not rebuilt because of the changes in the income tax structure, and so, it became accessible to people like you and me.
The movie also depicted people hiking up a trail to the top of one of the mountains; a trail so steep that there are metal handrails attached to the rocks. Dan, Lisa and Sam immediately became intrigued and found out where the trailhead was. Graham and I dropped them off, determined that most people hike the trail in about 1.5 hours, and promised to be back. We then went to a winery outside of Bar Harbor and made it back just about 1.5 hours later…in time to receive a cell phone call from Dan telling us that they had not made it to the top. We assured them we would wait. *S* The next call came to inform us that Lisa had hurt her knee, and that Sam was running down the mountain for help. He arrived safely, having missed a turn in the trail and ending up on the road about a mile from where the trail came out, but he just raced up the roadway towards us. By then we knew that Dan was helping Lisa down and she was maneuvering on her own power. No need to call out official assistance. We headed into town, had some lunch (yummy seafood again) at a posh Inn, got ice on her knee and bought a brace. The hike turned out to be a nontechnical CLIMB!
The movie also depicted people hiking up a trail to the top of one of the mountains; a trail so steep that there are metal handrails attached to the rocks. Dan, Lisa and Sam immediately became intrigued and found out where the trailhead was. Graham and I dropped them off, determined that most people hike the trail in about 1.5 hours, and promised to be back. We then went to a winery outside of Bar Harbor and made it back just about 1.5 hours later…in time to receive a cell phone call from Dan telling us that they had not made it to the top. We assured them we would wait. *S* The next call came to inform us that Lisa had hurt her knee, and that Sam was running down the mountain for help. He arrived safely, having missed a turn in the trail and ending up on the road about a mile from where the trail came out, but he just raced up the roadway towards us. By then we knew that Dan was helping Lisa down and she was maneuvering on her own power. No need to call out official assistance. We headed into town, had some lunch (yummy seafood again) at a posh Inn, got ice on her knee and bought a brace. The hike turned out to be a nontechnical CLIMB!
Finally, the top!!! Notice the cruise ship, one of several that come to Bar Harbor daily in the summer.
The summer I was 4-years-old, my parents took us camping at Acadia National Park. It was a pretty amazing experience, especially since we camped through a hurricane. We went on a hike up one of the mountains and I remember the ranger being concerned that we had gotten separated but I was leading the reminaing group down, following the rocks piled as trail signs. I got the family role as trail finder after that. The other memorable experience took place on Sand Beach, the only sandy beach in the park. We had begged mom and dad to let us go swimming but they believed the water would be too 
cold. The did permit us to go wading. I, of course, being the same person I am now, bent the rules a bit, and went in a bit too deep, and ended up soaked. The discipline was a bit of tough love. So my NOW family took me back to the scene of the crime so I could finally work it all out. *G*
The summer I was 4-years-old, my parents took us camping at Acadia National Park. It was a pretty amazing experience, especially since we camped through a hurricane. We went on a hike up one of the mountains and I remember the ranger being concerned that we had gotten separated but I was leading the reminaing group down, following the rocks piled as trail signs. I got the family role as trail finder after that. The other memorable experience took place on Sand Beach, the only sandy beach in the park. We had begged mom and dad to let us go swimming but they believed the water would be too 
cold. The did permit us to go wading. I, of course, being the same person I am now, bent the rules a bit, and went in a bit too deep, and ended up soaked. The discipline was a bit of tough love. So my NOW family took me back to the scene of the crime so I could finally work it all out. *G*The water, needless to say, IS very cold and although Dan, Lisa and Sam got into their swimsuits (far be it for me to forbid THAT activity!!), Lisa opted out pretty quickly.
By then we were fast approaching sunset and the place to be is high atop Cadillac Mountain. We found a smooth rock area and were soon surrounded by about 100 people, all with the same thought. By the way, if you haven’t noticed the dark rainy clouds in the photos already, check them out….we had them with us just about every day!
Lisa picking wild blueberries
We ate dinner in the village of Northwest Harbor at a pub and our waiter was a lot of fun…food was yummy seafood again (of course). On the way home, the clouds parted and we were treated to a view of the Milky Way in the skies.
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