BAR HARBOR REDUX PT 1 …

Bar Harbor viewed from
Bar Island

So it’s back to Bar Harbor where we hope that Dave is: a) fixed and has no further problems with the DEF system (least likely scenario) or b) throws another error code and hopefully the techs at Darling GMC in Ellsworth can get to the bottom of what ails him.  We make it from Lubec to the Bar Harbor campground with no problems.  After we get checked in we head across the highway to the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound.  Last time we had two of their lobster dinners but this time we opt for their crab cake with a side of fries and fried whole clams & fries.  The crab cake was amazing all crab with hardly any fillers– one of the best ever! However, the clams left a bit to be desired…

Bass Harbor Head Light

The next morning we head into Acadia NP to pick up a current car pass then head over to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.  This is the only lighthouse on Desert Island.  There are two paths leading to the sea from the parking lot.  One paved that takes us to the base of the lighthouse, the other winds through the woods to the rocky cliffs on the other side of the lighthouse.  Both end with spectacular views of the harbor and the sea.  The keeper’s house here is the current residence for the commander of the local Coast Guard Unit.

Brewery where they
Save The Ales

On the way back we stop at the Atlantic BrewingCompany.   Following the signs we turn into the driveway next to a typical New England white clapboard house and are assaulted by the aroma of BBQ… (WTF this is lobsta country???)  It feels like we’re at a family get together in grandma’s back yard… (If gramps was a microbrewer and granny was a BBQ queen that is…) This place is a twofer… Atlantic Brewery and Mainely Meat BBQ. 

We sign up for a brewery tour that will start in about 45 min… so… while we’re waiting for our tour to start we order up a couple of pints and a half rack of ribs. The ribs are dry rubbed and super smoky… falling off the bone tender and juicy.  There are two BBQ sauces in squirt bottles on the table, one sweet and one hot and tangy.  We discover that a combination of the two is perfect for our taste buds.  

After our snack we do the brewery tour.  It’s informational and finishes with a tasting of Atlantic and Bar Harbor Brews. (Atlantic bought out Bar Harbor Brewery a few years back when the Bar Harbor folks retired and continue to produce the BHB ales in addition to their products.)  Since we’re dark ales and stouts drinkers this gives us a nice selection of brews for out taste.  Now we know that this can be our one stop shopping for Atlantic and Bar Harbor Brews while we’re here… YEA! 

A few days later we return to buy more beer and have the Mainely Meat Sampler plate, a super deal… Ribs, chicken, sausage and pulled pork with corn bread, Cole slaw, potato salad and beans… one order is plenty for two (unless you are a really big eater or want to take home leftovers.)  Maine may not be the BBQ capital of the world… we’ll let Texas, Kansas and North Carolina duke that out… but Mainely Meats dishes up some pretty fine Q, and a nice antidote for Lobster overload!

So far Dave is acting fine, but we are not fully confident… we need more miles and a re-gen cycle… so we head over to the Petit MananWildlife Refuge some 47 miles east to do some hiking.   On the way Dave does a re-gen… cross our fingers and hope for the best.  It’s a beautiful day we start the Hollingsworth trail through a field of ferns and wild flowers and continue through a forest of jack pines and onto wooden walkways over wetland vegetation back through forest to a sandy beach.  We scramble along the rocky coast for a bit and then rejoin the trail back through forest and over wetlands and loop back to the parking area.  A great hike with lots of photo ops… PERFECT!  Once we get back onto highway one Dave throws an error code… SHIT… SHIT… SHIT!

The next morning we call the dealer and make arrangements for Dave to go in the next day.  OK… for today we do stuff geographically closer….

Blue Lobster

The Mount Desert Oceanarium is just down the road.  This attraction is different from other aquariums or museums in that they don’t have any self guided tours.  The basic price of admission includes three modules: Lobster trapping, a touch pool of local sea life and a lobster hatchery.   A fourth module, a docent led hike of the sea marsh can be added for a nominal fee.  Since we are of the “WTF GO FOR IT” mindset we do all four. 

Lobster mama with eggs

The Lobster trapping lecture is intriguing with a real clear explanation of the physical, social, economic and political aspects of this career.  The touch pool is unique.  The docent pulls creatures from the tank, talks about them and allows visitors to touch or hold… this actually is better for the animals… touch tanks where kids reach into the water and indiscriminately touch or pick up is really not a great model for the animals.  There are also a few aquarium tanks with local sea life including some rare blue lobsters.  The Lobster hatchery is absolutely fascinating.  Females loaded with fertilized eggs are caught in the wild in lobster pots and delivered to the hatchery where they are held until the eggs hatch.  The hatchlings are raised first in aerated tanks and then individual lobster condos until they are released into the sea.  This increases the number of juveniles in the area and hopefully the end harvest of legal lobster. 

While we have been hanging out on the coast of Maine we have been curious about the relationship between the lobsters, their food supply and the catchers.  YouTube has a number of videos showing lobsters going in and out of traps.  So it’s basically: drop a pot and hope that when you pull it up, there is a lobster in it. Ironically the Lobster traps are the major food source for the lobsters as they move toward the coast and warmer waters in the summer months.  (Lobster ranching? Lobster farming? What shall we call it?)  Finally, the hike/tour of the marsh is interesting, informative, dot connecting and worth the extra few coins.

Cairn smasher

Cairns on Bar Island 

One of the benefits of staying here is the free shuttle.  After checking the tide charts, we take the bus into town and walk to the land bridge that connects Bar Island to the mainland during lowtide.  A truck on the bar is renting kayaks.  Once we get to the Island, we watch the National Park Ranger smashing pseudo cairns that folks have build along the shore… ok we get it… leave no trace… but WTF this just seems mean!  OK what ever… We hike up to the summit of Bar Island, great views of the harbor on the way back down we spot a yearling deer buck and a doe in a meadow. Like most National Park Wild Life they have no fear of humans.  They lift their heads, look at us and go back to eating.  Once we get back to the sand bar, the sun is setting and the kayakers are heading back to the truck.  Soon the tide will be in and it will be another six hours before folks can walk to the island.

Kayaks at Sunset

Lobstapalooza at the
Cottage St. Pub

Back in Bar Harbor we head up to Cottage St and swing by the Cottage St. Bakery for some pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast and then head to the Cottage St Pub.  The place is packed but the window seats have just been vacated, so we grab these and order our first round.  Folks come and go and we chat with most of them.  One group arrives sporting lobster hats. It’s an annual family reunion. They live all over the U.S. and they meet in different locations each year. The 78 year-old matriarch is celebrating along with them. (She had open-heart surgery 6 weeks ago and had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it.)  We join in with their celebration.  Suddenly it’s 10:15 and the last shuttle bus leaves at 10:30.  So we quickly pay or tab and dash to the bus stop where our Island Explorer designated driver is ready to take us home.

Dave goes back into the shop.  All the diagnostics can’t seem to pinpoint his ailment.  A possible culprit may be bad fuel. So to rule this out they clear the error message and instruct us to get a fresh tank of fuel once we’re down to a quarter tank or so and see if the error comes back.   Looks like we’ll be here for a bit and explore some of the outlying towns and attractions…