Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park
By Marla Laine Brown:
When a ship anchors offshore, a tender is used to transport passengers to the dock. This was precisely our predicament during our visit to Bar Harbor, Maine. Fortunately, our tender arrived promptly, allowing us ample time to check in for our tour and visit the nearby Walgreens.
Our planned excursion stated it would whisk us off to explore Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Honestly, after a series of substandard tours, the “Bar” (no pun intended) was set low. So, after checking in, we wandered over to our transport vehicle, which turned out to be a brand-new luxury minibus. Ummm… are we in the right place I asked? Yes, you are, and please have a seat, the tour guide responded. Alrighty!
As we entered the minibus I could smell that wonderful new cars interior with exquisite leather seats…. Well it could have been pleather but it didn’t matter. I’d already died and went to heaven. The seats were comfortable, the windows were clean, water was provided and the tour guide Chris was funny. What else could I have wanted? We could’ve stayed parked for the entire 3 1/2 hours and been totally satisfied. Yes that is sick.
Our tour route today would depend upon the weather and our guide, who was also our driver, elected to visit Cadillac Mountain first. The weather was holding out and we had a good chance the fog wouldn’t obstruct our views.
Cadillac Mountain is about 1,530 feet and is the tallest mountain on Mount Desert Island or as our guide kept referring to it as MDI for short. Our guide Chris navigated our drive to the top while recounting amusing stories and amassed us with his knowledge of the surrounding flora and fauna. Did I mention his side gig is a 4th grade teacher? So he was able to handle us Boomers with ease. Once the summit was reached we could see amazing views in all directions. We had about 40 minutes or so to explore the area and I was grateful that the nearby paths were easy and well maintained.
Next we visited The Wild Gardens of Acadia in Sieur de Monts Springs. Although my walking was limited I did find the gardens enchanting….. Or perhaps I was just high from inhaling the tour bus’s interior.
A local docent joined us on our stroll to talk about the various plants and history of the surrounding area. We didn’t have a lot of time before catching the bus, but I did enjoy listening to the volunteer speak while considering this to be my dream job. Hmmm??
After returning to our vehicle Chris drove us to Thunder Hole, which is a small inlet where the sea crashes against a low rocky cavern. The result is often a thunderous sound, hence its name, with water spouting some 40 feet. There is also an easy walking path with rails to experience this natural phenomenon. Today however the ocean was calm.
Our final destination was Jordan Pond. We never saw the pond because the walk was too far, but we did visit the gift shop and bought the best root beer in the entire world. After that I just wanted to go back and continue sniffing the leather seats before returning to the village at Bar Harbor. What a great day!
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