What a glorious day! The sun was out despite our doubts when we went to bed last night and the sky was cloudy and dark. When we awoke, we were ready to shower and skeedaddle because one of Bob's bucket list experiences was on the schedule.
Parking in Bar Harbor is very difficult. Even when you find a place, you can only park for two or three hours depending on the signs. We had to be at the dock for our cruise by 1:30 PM for the 2:00 cruise. We got to Bar Harbor at 12:10 because the tourists (listen to me) had arrived and traffic was ridiculous. All of the roads are only two lanes so there's little one can do except enjoy the beautiful scenery. Many of our favorite parking spots were either full or roped off because of incoming tour buses. However, my sharp-eyed driver (Bob) spied a "Pay to Park" place not too far from where we had to go. So what? Two dollars an hour but no danger of a ticket nor did we have to move the car after two or three hours. SCORE!
Because we got out of the cottage as soon as we were ready, we were starving and had just enough time to get some lunch. Paddy's Pub and Restaurant, part of the West Street Hotel, didn't look too crowded, so we sat outside. Bob got--guess what? a hamburger and I got a lobster salad. The food was delicious! I had a gin and tonic and Bob had--what else? a beer.
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| On top of one of the restaurants--prettier at night lit up |
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| A park overlooking the harbor |
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| Bob at Paddy's |
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| More art on a Bar Harbor gift shop |
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Lunch was delicious and we had plenty of time to board the ship. The walk was pleasant and we were allowed to board immediately since we had bought tickets online.
Onboard was a captain from Bayshore, NY and a park ranger to tell us about the history of the area and the islands and to point out any wildlife that Bob doesn't see first. Hahaha.
Bob got to help hoist the sail (or throw his weight around which is where that saying originated).
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| So hoist up the Margaret T sail! |
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| Atta boy, Bob. One and two! |
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| One and Two |
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| Thanks, sailor ;-) |
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and it was so quiet since the wind moved the ship rather than the engine once we were away. It is a beautiful 4-masted schooner. It has a steel hull, so it's a windjammer. It's the only one on the east coast. Bob had quite a conversation with the captain who was tickled to have someone asking about sailing and the ship rather than eagles and lobsters and whales (oh my).
150 feet long at about 150 tons.
We learned about the islands in Frenchmen's Bay and about the Watanabe Indians. Also, I was educated about the geology of the reason and the formation of the Bay and the islands (which Bob had already told me).
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| Heading out |
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| Sheep's Island |
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| A party fishing boat next to the Margaret Todd |
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| A panoramic shot I botched (one shot left) |
At the end of our cruise, we saw a bald eagle near its nest. It was at the very top of the island on the very top of the tallest evergreen. Remarkable! Amazing! The next was there too but I couldn't make out the fledgling in the nest.
Once we disembarked, we continued to explore places we hadn't visited previously. But we did stop for more custard ice cream--I got caramel and Bob got chocolate. Yummy. A couple of drinks at Testa's to see our favorite bartenders, Glenn and Debbie (who remembered us from two years ago): I had a blueberry mojito and a creamsicle martini and Bob had two beers. And off we went toward home.
Since it looks like nice weather tomorrow, and high tide is at the right time, we're kayaking. Yaaaayyy! Finally.
