Crossing over to the American side, our first stop was Bar Harbor in Maine, a picturesque town on Mount Desert Island, along Frenchman Bay. It derives its name from the famous sandbar that connects Bar Island to mainland Maine at low tide. It is also the gateway to Acadia National Park, one of America’s most visited parks.
We decided to do the “Best of Both Worlds” tour which encompassed a visit to Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park to enjoy the beautiful fall season vistas, and a stopover at Oceanarium to learn about the fascinating world of lobster fishing, one of the state’s main industries.
We started with a scenic drive along the Park Loop Road where the fall foliage colours were so pronounced that the whole area looked like a giant painting. We stopped to take pictures at Thunder Hole, where the winds and the tides send flumes of ocean spray high into the air. The spectacle is often described as, "a dance between the granite rock and the ocean...from a lullaby, to classical, to hard rock." At the time of our visit, the waves seem to be dancing to the tune of Mozart's "Turkish Rondo." My husband explored the solid granite cavern that surrounded the channel, while I admired the waves and imagined how it would be like if Mother Nature played a hard rock tune. It must be frightening and exciting at the same time to watch an ocean storm and hear the thunderous reverberations of the water lashing against the rocks.
Then we climbed up the summit of Cadillac Mountain to marvel at the 360-degree view of the coastal Maine. It is the tallest point, both in Acadia and along the Atlantic Coast. On the way down, we passed by High Seas, the stately cottage built by a Princeton professor for his English bride who booked passage on the Titanic and never saw her dream home. We also drove by Sand Beach, the Otter Cliffs, Eagle Lake, and the Jordan Pond House, the famous restaurant where tea on the lawn has been a tradition for more than a century. It’s a pity there was no time to stop and admire them from up close.
Our next destination was the Oceanarium. Inside, a lobster expert demonstrated lobster fishing with the use of authentic traps and showed us the tricks they employ to catch the succulent creatures. He also showed us a couple of unique lobsters – a periwinkle blue lobster, and a lobster that has a split orange and black colour. He told us that there was no trick to these. The lobsters were caught looking like that.
The last stop was at a beautifully-restored La Rochelle Mansion and Museum, reminiscent of the Gilded Age. It is one of the remaining summers mansions in Bar Harbor’s historic district that was brought back to its Victorian elegance. Our guide shared tales of a by-gone era, when America’s wealthiest families made Bar Harbor their summer playground.
All that talk about lobsters and maritime dinners got me hungry. That night, at dinner time, we had lobster from Maine on the menu!
Photo Credits:
VisitTheUSA.com, Boston Globe, planetware.com, acadianationalpark.com, mdislander.com, greatlakescruises.com
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