Brief visit to Bar Harbor

Returned home very late Thursday night after a highly enjoyable four days in Maine -- an enjoyment only slightly tarnished by the inability of United Airlines to transfer my baggage in Newark from my Seattle flight on Alaska to their own short flight from Newark to Portland, Maine.  After a couple of days of receiving only automated messages that they were still "searching" for it, it was finally delivered to me in Bar Harbor late Wednesday evening, just in time for my Thursday morning flight home.

After shopping for a few clean socks, and other clothes in Portland, and arranging contact between my doctor in Seattle and a pharmacist in Bar Harbor, I was able to fully enjoy my destination.

I spent Monday night at a La Quinta motel in Portland, and then drove a rental car north to Bar Harbor

on Tuesday.  My GPS said that the trip should take three hours, but workers were doing a lot of road work on U.S. 1 and their temporary road closures -- plus the fact that I was enjoying the drive and was in no hurry -- stretched the journey out to 5½ hours.  As I drove across the short, almost unnoticeable bridge separating Mount Desert Island from the mainland, I was feverishly recalling sights from my only other visit to Maine, in 2008.

The town of Bar Harbor lies adjacent to Acadia National Park, which occupies the center of the island and a portion of the coastal area.  

State Highway 3 which crosses that bridge onto the island continues all the way to Bar Harbor, down Mt. Desert Street through the middle of the town of Bar Harbor, and then loops about the island.  My hotel -- a fairly recently-constructed building, but one built in the style of a traditional New England inn, with just 31 rooms -- was itself on Mt. Desert Street, within easy walking distance of the central business area with all its restaurants.

I spent Tuesday evening, after my arrival, walking about the town, orienting myself, dealing at some length with a local pharmacist, and finally having dinner at a pub that makes the claim of being "The Irish pub closest to Ireland in the U.S."

Wednesday was my one full day in Bar Harbor.  I did the Highway 3 loop around the island, which runs primarily outside the park.  Back in town, I had for lunch an excellent Maine lobster roll on the outdoor deck of the Reading Room, overlooking the harbor.  The "Reading Room" was a famous hang-out and cultural retreat for nationally-prominent leading families in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Its clientele is less exclusive these days, but the restaurant still has a genteel atmosphere, especially compared to the pub culture that pervades most of the town center.

That afternoon after lunch was to be the best part of my stay, and the  part that most makes me anxious to return.  The park service has its own loop road, somewhat parallel to Highway 3 but located entirely within the park.  I stopped at various areas, especially along the coast -- Sand Beach, which is one of the rare sandy beaches in New England, and Otter Point, with its highly scenic coastal walk above the ocean.

That night, I noted that the path from town to Bar Island seemed to have emerged from the sea -- it's open for only four hours during each low tide, and I'd been hoping to make the crossing.  By the time I reached the approach, however, the sea was already sweeping across the lowest point of the path.  One brave person on the other side took off his shoes and waded across, rather than spending the night stranded on the island -- he was successful, but the current was strong.  The isthmus is actually the "bar" that gives Bar Harbor its name.

Thursday morning, I had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, wandered through town one last time, and headed back to Portland -- this time on I-95, rather than risk arriving late for my flight by traveling U.S. 1 again.

It was a short three days in Bar Harbor, but I felt I had seen and experienced a lot.  The Maine coast is somewhat similar to the Washington coast physically, but is different culturally and has a long and interesting history worth absorbing during one's travels.  I definitely hope to return again soon -- next time, for a much longer stay.

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Photos (top to bottom)

1.  Map of Bar Harbor and environs

2.  Hikers on eastern edge of island, looking out to sea.

3.  Lobster roll and IPA, at the "Reading Room"

4.  On trail near Otter Point

5.  Watching the trail to Bar Island close as tide comes in