Saturday, October 6, 2018 (Bar Harbor Campground, Bar Harbor, Maine)

We left the trailer this morning just after 9 to catch the 9:28 shuttle from the campground…we’re off for a day of sightseeing! There is a free shuttle service that transports visitors around the area and the Acadia Nation Park. And it’s not just a couple of buses that continually do a loop…

The Island Explorer features nine bus routes linking hotels, inns, and campgrounds with destinations in Acadia National Park and neighboring village centers. Clean propane-powered vehicles offer Mount Desert Island visitors and residents free transportation to hiking trails, carriage roads, island beaches, and in-town shops and restaurants.

What a wonderful service for the area who obviously receive millions of tourists each year. Here we are visiting the area in October and it’s just packed with people…mind you, it is the Columbus Day long weekend here.

We took the shuttle to the Acadia National Park Visitor Center...
Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine's Mount Desert Island. Its landscape is marked by woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast. Among the wildlife are moose, bear, whales and seabirds. The bayside town of Bar Harbor, with restaurants and shops, is a popular gateway.

After checking out a very busy visitor center, we took the #4 loop bus. We are taking it to the Sand Beach stop and then hiking a trail that goes along the waterfront towards Otter Cliff.

Sand Beach...breathtaking!

Way too many people...

A tour boat approaching...

Thunder Hole....how come nobody is standing out on the point?

Sounds of the Sea
Hearing the thunder here is all about timing. The best time to witness the boom and spray is two hours before high tide. If the ocean is calm or the tide is low, you may just hear gurgling. What causes the thunder? Over eons the relentless force of the ocean has gouged a narrow cave in this granite ledge. This cave traps air when it suddenly fills with water and creates a thunderous burst of ocean spray. Formations like Thunder Hole are just one way to experience the sheer power of these coastal waves and currents.

There she blows!

A few people got a little wet...

A tour company trolley....

As we passed by you could hear the crunching of these large rocks rolling back and forth in the surf...

Wave watching...

These girls were sitting on the rock right at the edge and watching how high the waves would come up...

Silly girls...we waited to see if they were going to be swept right off the rocks! Luckily for them they moved just in time...

The trail continues along to that point where people are standing...

But first we have to go through the forest. Most of the trail so far has been beside the road...

View from the point...

After a couple of hours of walking along this beautiful coastline, we picked up the loop bus again, continuing a sightseeing tour around the park.

Eagle Lake comes into view...

You can go horseback riding...

Another view of Eagle Lake. Unfortunately the shuttles don't go up to Cadillac Mountain and there was no way we would attempt it in our truck. The shuttle driver said she had never seen the traffic so bad in the park, even during the summer and parking anywhere was at a premium.

Once back at the visitors center, we transferred to the bus that goes into Bar Harbor. The town is jammed packed with tourists….this is one of the 2 cruise ships that were in port...

After getting off the bus at the Village Stop, our first priority was to find a restaurant for a good feast of seafood.

We walked down the main street...

We decided on Stewman’s Lobster Pound, downtown waterfront location...

We managed to get a table out on the deck...

Wow...used to be food for the poor!

Steam rising from the lobster pots...

After a great late lunch, we walked along the waterfront...

View of the restaurant...

Another view of the restaurant...the tide is out...

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Signs here are in French too!

Bar Harbor Inn and Spa...

Holland America Line Zuiderdam...

Tenders running passengers back to the cruise ship...

We stopped at Thirsty Whale Tavern for a beer...

And then continued walking...back up main street...

Then we stopped at another pub...

Cottage Street Pub...

We spotted another pub that looked interesting, so we decided to go in for another beer...we're not driving, after all! Bar Harbor Beerworks...

We sat up at the bar and ordered a beer...

...and then struck up a conversation with a fellow sitting beside us. Jeff was also just visiting...but was here on business. Of course, we ordered another beer and continued our conversation...

I had to take a picture of this sign on the pub wall. Steve's nickname is Baba!

We finished our beer and said goodbye to Jeff and headed out to catch the bus back to the campground but when we got to the bus stop, we found out that the next scheduled bus wasn't for another hour...so we went back to the pub, had another beer and continued chatting with Jeff.
So we had a little bar hopping experience in Bar Harbor…haven’t done that in a long time! 

That was a great day!