Month: August 2017 (Page 1 of 2)

I scoffed at the people who told us they spend weeks or even a month on Mt Desert, but we’re now at Day 11 so I’m not one to talk anymore.   Anchoring has made a big difference, not having to pay a nightly mooring fee makes this much more affordable.

Somes Sound, Post Sunset

Realities of owning a boat set in on Wednesday.  Despite having both a solar panel and a wind generator, we noticed the battery levels dropping daily and barely registering input.  Trip originally thought it might be a bad regulator for the wind generator and started looking into options.  We’re nowhere near Florida for a technician to look at it directly and the company would have to fedex a new one ($250+) to us in Maine and only reimburse us after we send the defective one and have it confirmed faulty.  After some more inspection Trip suspected something was wrong with the batteries after two days of bright sun and almost no increase from the solar panel.  Which meant pulling everything out of the aft cabin (which we’ve been using as a temporary storage unit) so Trip could inspect the batteries.  Which started the worrying anew – our batteries are only at 50% of their shelf life and would cost $1,600 to replace.  Fortunately Trip discovered a lot of corrosion which he could manage with a bit of elbow grease.  Half an hour later everything was cleaned and reassembled and two days later we’re back to 99.5% battery charge.  Whew.

Leftover Chicken Noodle Soup over Cheddar Polenta with Sourdough Croutons

The nights are really cool here, so I had  made my favorite version of a chicken noodle soup (I think the recipe has more notes than ingredients and instruction so bear with me).  With the battery problems our day got screwed up so I mixed up a batch of cheddar polenta and served the leftover soup over it.  The leftover focaccia got toasted up as croutons and all was good in the world again.

Birchbark Canoe at the Abbe Museum

We finally made it back into Bar Harbor to visit the Abbe Museum, specializing in the history, culture and artwork of the Wabanaki, the original collection of native American tribes that lived in northern Maine.  The history is somewhat depressing as it follows the same path as many other native tribes in this country, but recent attempts to preserve the culture and the artwork look to have been well received.  One collection at the museum was of artwork done by local students – there were pieces by 6-10 year olds I would have happily bought if they were for sale!

Trip at Bubble Rock

The weather was finally cooling down during the day so we also decided to do some hikes.  We climbed both Bubble Peaks at the northern end of Jordan Pond and were duly impressed by Bubble Rock, a huge boulder that looks like it’s ready to drop off the side of the mountain.   Trip with his mountaineering days was more adventurous than I was and ventured out to the rock directly.  We also decided to do the Northridge Trail up Cadillac Mountain which gave us spectacular views from all sides.

Near the Cadillac Mountain Summit

Cadillac Summit, Almost

We’re doing a final day in Bar Harbor today catching up on wifi, paying bills, sipping cocktails and then taking in a movie – The Big Sick has made it to little old Bar Harbor.  Tomorrow we’re heading back to Southwest Harbor to do laundry, re-provision, get organized and take off to meet James & Jenny who are sailing east on vacation today.

I admit it, we just can’t seem to leave.  Between the towns, the buses, the walks, the biking, there’s always something new to do each day.  And then there’s the weather.  We had predictions again for high winds and high seas, so we knew we were going to sit tight for a day or two.  We also needed to get the boat head holding tank pumped out (just like a port-a-potty on an RV, same thing applies to a boat), get groceries, and do some laundry.  All of which take a lot more time on a boat than when you’re at home.

loon taking flight

Since all of the above took a good portion of the day, and then the winds began picking up.  We decided to hang out and enjoy being on the boat.  The porpoises obliged and came by several times.  I also finally got a photo of one of the loons we’ve been hearing for days.  And we got a new neighbor – the schooner Ladona from Camden dropped anchor for the evening.

Schooner Ladona

It was a baking kind of afternoon, so I made a batch of sourdough focaccia with carmelized shallots.  Since the oven was on I went through our leftovers and came up with two types of naan pizza – 1) bacon, roasted garlic, ricotta, pesto and tomatoes, and 2) smoked salmon, lemon, local chevre, and capers.  Trip wasn’t complaining.

I went through my usual rigamarole worrying about the winds but Trip kindly got up at 2 AM this time and confirmed that none of the boats were dragging, we were all holding tight and we could sleep soundly from then on.

loading the bikes onto the bus

As I mentioned in the previous post, Trip didn’t bring along good hiking shoes for the park. However, as we rode the buses from town to town we noticed signs for carriage roads. Remember the Rockefellers I mentioned from the gardens in Northeast Harbor? Turned out David Rockefeller owned all this property and had carriage roads built throughout. They’re crushed granite, not too steep in incline so that horse drawn carriages could manage them (they still have stables on the island), and lined with granite boulders as markers (nicknamed “Rockefeller’s teeth”) anywhere that someone could have gone off the road. And they’re perfect for bikes, so we hauled them out.

Acadia Gate

One of the local travel guides recommended a particular route as a good day ride. James had also cautioned us to stay to the western side of the island to have more space to ourselves, as the crowds stay east. Our first mistake was thinking we could bike to the entrance of the trails. The first mile wasn’t bad, but then the road narrowed so there was no shoulder, only a gravel/sand mixture which was deadly. And did I mention the uphill sections? And the lack of shade? We finally got to one of the entrances and beat it into the park to escape the traffic.

Second mistake – the maps aren’t written nearly as clearly as we had hoped (although this piece could be operator error as well). We accidentally did the ride in reverse. Which turned out to be a huge bonus, because we had several downhill slides at the end instead of uphill slogs. We still had to get out and walk periodically, which I blame on the fact that we were nearly summiting a few peaks, the small tires on our bikes (but which was much more likely due to our legs being woefully out of shape).

bike ride visitor

All in all it was a fabulous ride. We coasted down the hill past the gardens into Northeast Harbor and grabbed a bus to take us back home. I love the fact that the buses all have bike racks so no need to jeopardize our lives on the roads.

Well we loved it so much we studied the maps that night and decided on another ride the next day. We took the bus down to Jordan Pond and biked a series of carriage roads north past Jordan Pond, Eagle Lake, and several other small ponds up to the visitors center.

summit view

We then caught a bus into Bar Harbor for lunch. During lunch we were suddenly reminded of the solar eclipse (we hadn’t given it much thought because Maine was only expected to get 50% coverage by the moon). People standing out on the sidewalks were freely sharing their viewing glasses. Trip and I each took a look and I have to admit the sight was cool. No luck getting any pictures on my camera, with or without the filter, I’ll leave that to all the professionals who were in the right place at the right time with the proper equipment.

View of Somes Harbor from bike ride

We took a walk after lunch across to Bar Island. For 3 hours surrounding low tide every day, a rocky sand bar emerges and you can walk across from Bar Harbor to the island. Signs are posted everywhere not to get stranded on the island, but listed water taxi info for those unfortunate souls.

Sand Bar to Bar Island

We do like to hike, but Trip didn’t bring proper footwear on the boat for the cruise. We did the walk that everyone does from Sand Beach down to Otter Cliffs and it was congested with people, which was to be expected. Thunder Hole (IMG_4341) was pretty cool, given the high seas that were still in effect from the passing hurricane.

Northeast Harbor

Next on our list for exploring was Northeast Harbor. The town is much quainter than Southwest Harbor with better shopping, but I noticed that all the good restaurants and funkier shops are down in Southwest Harbor.

But Northeast Harbor is home to the Asticou and Thuya Gardens. A short walk out of town, the Asticou Azalea Gardens were the first stop. Founded by the Rockefellers in 1970 (get used to hearing about the Rockefellers, they are one of the primary reasons this island is as special as it is), the garden is designed to look like a Japanese garden for strolling.

Thuya Garden Gate

Just up the road and even more spectacular is the Thuya Gardens. The dock that looks out over Northeast Harbor is nice because it allows visitors to dinghy over, but the best views are 200+ steps up the terrace. The initial climb on granite steps gives pause every once in a while to offer better and better views of the harbor. At the top are formal English gardens that make for a lovely quiet afternoon stroll.

English Gardens at Thuya

Monarch

Common Good Cafe

The next morning I needed to do a bit of provisioning so we came into Southwest Harbor again. We stopped for breakfast at the Common Good Café, a café that serves coffee, fresh popovers and irish oatmeal. Live music from a traditional/native duo was just starting as we sat down. The café operates on donations only that go to supporting the local community during the off-season (which is long, this is Maine). It felt similar to our soup kitchen back home in New Jersey so it not only was a good solid breakfast but also a very good cause.

racing sailboats (aft one lost the race)

We popped into the library (what is it with Maine and all these beautiful libraries?) for wifi after the market and then headed back to the boat. We dropped the mooring and headed north up into Somes Sound. While the descriptions comparing it to fjords in Norway seem a bit exaggerated (I haven’t been to Norway but I’ve been in Milford Sound in New Zealand and these are just hints of that type of topography), it’s a beautiful area. The wind was coming out of the northwest so we opted to motor, but two crazy local sailboats were racing right behind us, tacking back and forth across the sound. Maine sailors are nuts – it’s common for them to heel so hard their keel is showing. The race came to an abrupt end when one of the boats ran aground. I’m hoping it was Maine mud and not rock, he should have been floating again within the hour as the tide came in.

Somes Harbor

We were told about Somes Harbor when we were back in the Isle of Shoals by someone who had cruised Maine for years. The moorings are all private, but there is room to anchor for at least a dozen boats. Lawrence described it as Block Island rather than Maine anchoring, which is true – you’re a bit closer to your neighbor than at other wide open anchorages, but we found a good spot near the harbor entrance, and it would still be a short dinghy ride to shore.

precious cargo – sourdough bread

In the meantime I finally hit the sweet spot with baking bread on board. I had been feeding my sourdough starter for a few days. The previous night before going to bed I mixed up a batch of sourdough bread. You don’t have to sit around and let it rise to bake the next morning, you can let it continue to proof during the day. I didn’t shape the loaf for a second proofing till we dropped anchor mid afternoon, which meant it was baked off with plenty of time to cool for dinner. This gave me more time for cocktails, reading, and watching the eagles, ospreys & porpoises in the harbor while Trip was out for a row.

Creamy Pesto Pasta w/ Chicken & Onions

house in the harbor – that’s a glass winterized deck that’s cantilevered out over the water!

I made a creamy pesto chicken pasta dish for dinner. One apology while I figure out food photography. We don’t tend to eat dinner till after the sun has gone down which means lighting for photography has been an issue. While my dear dear husband (note: former professional photographer) sorts this issue out, you’ll have to deal with less than ideal pictures from the recipes. I promise the food tastes good!

Somesville Historic Society

The next morning we dinghied around the harbor and headed into Somesville, which is one of those charming towns so tiny if you blink you’ll miss it.  The historical society has a small but interesting museum and lovely gardens that sit on either side of the Mill Creek.  Further up the road along the creek is a beautiful little cemetery that makes for a quiet little walk off the main drag.    And just around the bend is the Acadia Repertory Theatre where we’ll be taking in Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee (featuring Hercule Poirot).

Update: we had a chance to visit the Mt Desert Island historical society right in Somesville. Turns out we have a bunch of wealthy Harvard students to thank for the founding of Acadia. They started coming up during their summers to explore and study all elements of the natural sciences, and were smart enough to recognize as tourism grew that the land needed to be protected for the public. Acadia was established in 1916.

charming gravestone at the local cemetery