Acadia (sorta)

It has been a good day!

We were up early to watch the sun rise from our balcony, breakfast, and then walking through Bar Harbor.  It is quiet early in the morning, especially without the cruise ships in harbor.  We did have two more ships to come in during the day and it makes a huge impact on the traffic.

Sunrise

We talked with the Chamber of Commerce and learned that many roads on Mt. Desert Island (Acadia is scattered throughout Mt. Desert Island) were open because there are small towns on the island and can not be cut off.

We took a chance and drove to Southwest Harbor.  This took us through Sommesville and the iconic bridge which you see with almost any photo of Acadia.

The Sommesville Bridge

We traveled on to Southwest Harbor (a small lobster fishing town) and on to Bath Harbor.  Bath Harbor also has a busy lobster dock, but also has the Bass Harbor light.  The lighthouse is located on the southern most tip of Mt. Desert Island and is a location I wanted to see.  The area was barricaded to traffic, but we walked in along with some 25 others and the sight was spectacular.

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

We traveled on to Northeast Harbor (just across the bay from Southwest Harbor, but 16 miles by road) for lunch and then drove back to Bar Harbor.

Northwest Harbor Marina

Just before sundown, we boarded the Margaret Todd which is a 151 foot schooner and sailed for approximately 90 minutes.  The bay was relatively calm with good winds and the only noise was the wind flapping the sails (and the live musician who played the guitar and fiddle).

Hoisting the sails

 

Sunset on the water

We talked with others on board and learned they had gone into the park in different areas by walking off the public roads.  So tomorrow we will try to get into another area of the park and check off some more of our planned areas.