July 16-20                  Southwest Harbor, Maine

The days seem to pass too quickly.  We are perfectly content to stay on the boat, walk on the dock, read, work, and enjoy the incredible Maine ambiance.  Several guys from Ellis Boat Company are working to complete projects that David had planned to do but cannot due to his limited mobility.  He was frustrated by having this work unfinished.  He can’t do the work but he loves to supervise!

On Tuesday, Linda and I took the Island Express bus into Bar Harbor.  There are many buses who run seven routes around the island and all are free due to the generosity of  L.L. Bean  On our trip we visited several campgrounds in Acadia Park and I could see the wonderful accommodations made for campers, hikers, and bikers.  There were many people in the park but it seemed to be well-organized without crowding.

Bar Harbor was a different scene from my earlier visit.  There were no cruise ships in the harbor and we were not overwhelmed by tourists.  Linda and I love to visit book stores so we headed for Sherman’s, the oldest bookstore in Maine.  I found a great new puzzle.  We had lunch at the lovely Bar Harbor Inn overlooking the small beach and the beautiful harbor filled with small boats.  My steamed clams were horrible—filled with sand and overcooked.  I should have sent them back and ordered something else but was not in the mood for a confrontation.  

Linda is a trained librarian and an experienced art historian.  She was a museum curator for many years and now is employed by the Tobin Foundation, which has contributed some outstanding art works to the McNay Museum in San Antonio.  She was instrumental in establishing a very successful community gardens movement and continues to be active in the cultural scene of San Antonio.  As a testament to her self-determination, she daily walks more than three miles. 

Since David cannot walk well without pain, we decided to keep the car over the weekend and visit some of the beautiful areas nearby.  A two-hour trip to Camden was delightful.  We traveled State Highway 1, which follows the coastline.  It is a good road but has only two lanes.  Fortunately, we did not encounter traffic and the drive was very pleasant. Most of the journey was through thick woods of pines, fir, spruce, cedars, maples, other trees.  Lovely woodland ferns lined the roadways (the same ferns we buy exorbitant prices for at home) with occasional profusions of multicolored day lilies.

We were amazed to encounter the incredible Penobscot Narrows Bridge near Bucksport.  It was not designed by Santiago Calatrava but is definitely inspired by his futuristic creations. Over two thousand feet in length, the height of the cable structure is awesome and dominates the landscape.  It is significantly more impressive and beautiful than the new bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas.

Camden is one of Maine’s favorite destinations.  The shops are upscale, the town is charming, and the many bed and breakfasts and inns are beautiful.  We loved walking the streets, doing a little shopping (for more puzzles), and having lunch at Cappy’s Chowder House, a local favorite.  Camden has many lovely homes surrounded by lush lawns and gardens of ferns, hydrangeas with white blooms as large as dinner plates, hostas the size of small bushes, daisies, and daylilies.  The largest church building is the magnificent Chestnut Street Baptist Church, a white wooden structure on a hill with many beautiful stained glass windows.  The equally beautiful Episcopal church reflects English influence in its Gothic architecture of gray granite.

On the route from Southwest Harbor to Bar Harbor, one must travel through the postcard beautiful village of Somesville, the oldest community on Mount Desert Island.  The road passes the Acadia Community Theater, which showcases local performers and productions, the lovely white wooden church, where pies are sold on Wednesdays, and a small park with an arched bridge over the pond leading to the local historical museum.  All about are traditional white wooden homes with dark green or black shutters surrounded by gorgeous gardens.  The village overlooks tranquil Somes Cove, a shallow area favored by small sailboats.  Flowers are everywhere and motorists are frequently seen stopping for picture taking.    

We returned to Southwest Harbor to find we had been joined by some huge new yachts.  Our favorite was a 75’ Hatteras with a double stair to the swim platform.  We had seen it more than a month ago in Mystic.  It is a gorgeous boat but I convinced David it was not for us as it  would require a crew.  Another neighbor was a 143’ yacht that had cruised in Europe before coming to America.