August 21: Fog...Again....

After breakfast (more Corn Pops!) and Bird-Friendly coffee, it was time to hike a bit before we shot off to Bar Harbor for whale watching.

The Bass Harbor Head Light Station dates back to 1858.  Congress put $5000 in the pot after they determined that “sufficient need” existed to have a lighthouse near the entrance to Bass Harbor (you can tell they are quite original with naming these things).  On January 21, 1988, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of HistoricPlaces.  While there are occasionally tours, we did not secure any.  A delicate scramble on the rocks was all it took for me secure the classic view seen on postcards and calendars.  Sadly, the fog was still pea soup and the view was less than post-cardie….

Jordan Pond, named for the family, has been the site of a restaurant/tea house since the 1870s. While the original buildings are long gone (fire got them), new building still serve up to 60% of the visitors that come to Acadia. Apparently, it is just the place to be (for those that care about those things).  Natalie and I just enjoyed the opportunity to poke around the trails. 

With parking in Bar Harbor a known disaster, we opted to head to town early for our 1:00pm  whale watching excursion. Oh wait. The fog was still thick. So thick, in fact, that the trip was cancelled and everyone was issued a full refund.

That’s right folks. Our trip was cancelled. Let’s put that into perspective.  I would rank this activity as one of the dimensions of the trip that I was most looking forward to doing.  I have done pelagic trips and whale watches in the past.  I had visions of shearwaters and storm petrels dancing in my head. I had visions of decks staying clean and people not looking green.  I had visions of whales blowing and people not blowing chunks.  I had visions of calendar quality photos. I had it all planned out and they cancelled it…

But what are you going to, right?  Move along.

With the thought of gifts for family now dancing in our heads and parking secured, a short bit of shopping turned up mostly nothing.  Why do people by that crap? 

Rumbling bellies told us it was basically dinner time.  Still coveting the difficult-to-secure parking, we opted to stay in town and eat at Blaze.  Lobster Paninis (me) and Heirloom Tomato Panini (Natalie) made for a perfect meal. Oh, don’t forget the beer!  The Black Bear Pale Ale (#1600!!!) from the BlackBear Brewing Company and Wanderlust (#1601) (a saison) from the FoundationBrewing Company were both average but complimented the dinner well.  

From there it was a short walk to the BarHarbor Brewing Company’s tasting room. They are actually owned by the Atlantic Brewing Company.  Whatever. They make good beer who ever they are.  The True Blue Blueberry Beer (#1602) was outstanding. So many blueberry beers just suck. This one was quite good and would have been great with a dessert.  Thunder Hole (#1603) is named for a feature in the Park where the surf crashes the rocks and makes some impressive nose. The beer was not impressive as the feature but it was certainly okay.  Cadillac Mountain Stout (#1604) and the New Guy IPA (#1605) were both a “4” even though the namesake of the New Guy doesn’t work there anymore!

Camp, with the setting sun, was all the more nice with another campfire. That’s right, folks.  Two campfires in two nights. Better call the fire department.