Bah Hah-bah, Maine

We arrived in Bar Harbor (or Bah Hah-bah as the locals say) a little later than scheduled due to “weather conditions” overnight. I put that in quotes because Bill & I didn’t feel anything, and neither did any of the other passengers we spoke to. Apparently Hurricane Igor is causing swells. Our ship is handling them so well that we didn’t notice at all so far.

As we cruised into the harbor, we were amazed at the number of lobster traps and lobster boats on BOTH sides of the ship. We followed a ‘path’ so that we didn’t disturb them. I hope you can see the white buoys (which look like tiny dots) all over in the photo below. The very bottom of the photo shows the ship’s railing, so you can get an idea of how close we were.

Our activity for today was bicycling through part of Acadia National Park. We were with a group of 18 (plus 2 guides) and picked up the bikes near the Visitors Center. We couldn’t have asked for better weather!

After everybody made sure they knew how to operate their bikes(there were 24 gears!) we headed up a REALLY STEEP hill. Now the group was down to 17. When we stopped at the top, I was so hot I zipped off the bottom of my pant legs and took off my polar fleece top. Bill was smart to start out in shorts and a t-shirt!

Along the way we saw a pond created by a beaver dam. Hopefully you can see the beaver lodge (the mound of branches) on the left-hand side of the photo below. The creation of the pond caused the trees to die, which in turn provides materials for the beavers.

Here’s a close-up of the beaver lodge . . .

. . . and here’s the beaver dam. Amazing construction!

Our grandchildren would have loved this pond, because although we didn’t see any beavers, we did see ducks and bullfrogs taking advantage of the habitat created by the beavers.

Another stop was made at one of the 16 stone-faced concrete bridges funded by the Rockefellers, who vacationed in Bar Harbor and wanted the bridges on the carriage trails throughout the park to look rustic and natural-looking.

From here, we were given the option of completing the 6-mile ride by continuing up Paradise Hill, or returning to the starting point. Our group dropped to 8 (plus 1 guide) and those of us who continued were rewarded with a spectacular view of the harbor where our ship was anchored. Look over Bill’s left shoulder to see the Crown Princess.

We were taken back into town where we still had enough energy to walk around Bar Harbor for awhile to enjoy the atmosphere of this energetic, friendly town on an unbelievably beautiful day.