Living Our Dream

Portland Lighthouse Tour

Topsham, ME - Events of Tuesday, August 27, 2013

On Tuesday, we headed south to Portland, ME to see some of the lighthouses located in that area. We found a guided, mini-bus tour of several lighthouses we considered taking; but in the end, we decided we preferred to go at our own pace and on our own schedule. We also figured photography would be easier if we were by ourselves instead of with a group of people. Paul was able to find the locations of several lighthouses, program them into our GPS and plot a course around the Portland waterfront.

Our first stop was at the South Portland Breakwater Light, which sits at the end of the breakwater at the entrance to Portland Harbor. This lighthouse is also called Bug Light because of its small size.

South Portland Breakwater Light

Six Corinthian columns cover the joints in the cast iron plates that form the walls of the lighthouse structure.

Corinthian columns cover joints in cast iron plates.

Less than half a mile to the southeast of Bug Light is Spring Point Ledge Light. The area around it is occupied by Southern Maine Technical College, and since students were arriving for the fall term, we couldn't find a place to park. Therefore, Paul had to run over and quickly snap a couple of photos while Margery stayed with the car since the only place we could find to stop was in a faculty parking lot.

Spring Point Ledge Light was built in 1897 to mark an underwater obstruction at the west side of the main shipping channel into Portland Harbor. A granite breakwater has since been constructed to connect the lighthouse to the mainland.

Spring Point Ledge Light

From Spring Point, we headed in a southerly direction around Cape Elizabeth, which lies to the southeast of the city of Portland and Portland Harbor. We were headed to Fort Williams Park where the Portland Head Light is located. The park is also the location of Fort Williams.

Fort Williams was built in the late 1800s as part of the coastal defenses for all the shipyards in and around Portland. Fort Williams was a sub-post to Fort Preble, which was located at Spring Point. We could see remnants of some of the old fort walls when we were at Spring Point; but since the remnants of the fort are now on the college campus, we weren't able to investigate.

Fort Williams was active during WWI and WWII. In case you don't think our coast was threatened, in 1945, a German U-boat torpedoed and sunk the USS Eagle, which was a sub chaser, about 9 miles southeast of Fort Williams.  Forty-nine officers and crewmen were lost, and 13 survivors were rescued.

Fort Williams was closed in 1962. It was sold to the town of Cape Elizabeth in 1964 and was turned into a park. At Fort Williams Park, there are gun batteries and a few buildings that remain from the fort, but we were there to see Portland Head Light. The lighthouse is so picturesque, we didn't even get any photos of the remnants of the fort.

Portland Head Light from the south

Portland Head Light, which was commissioned by President George Washington, was completed in 1791. It was initially illuminated by a whale oil lamps.

Closer view of the tower

Portland Head Light from the north

Margery and Paul at the northern side of Portland Head Light

Our stop at Fort Williams Park resulted in a "two-fer." Ram Island Ledge Light sits a little over a mile offshore marking another navigational hazard.

Ram Island Ledge Light

We had one more stop to make on our lighthouse tour, and that was at the Cape Elizabeth Lights, also known as Two Lights. Two stone-tower lighthouses were first built here in 1828. We're not sure why there were two lighthouses except that Cape Elizabeth was the location of many shipwrecks, and perhaps they thought two beacons would provide a better warning.

In 1874, the two stone towers were replaced with 67-foot high, cast iron towers. In 1924, the use of multiple lights was discontinued. The eastern light is still in service, but the western light was sold to a private party in 1970 and is now a residence.

Cape Elizabeth Light - eastern tower

Above the trees and rooftops, we could also see the western tower. The glass at the top has been enclosed.

Cape Elizabeth Light - western tower, now a private residence

The coast in this area, while very rocky, has a different appearance from the pink granite farther north at Acadia National Park. The rocks here are metamorphic as opposed to the igneous (volcanic) granite farther north. The rock at Cape Elizabeth began as sedimentary layers and were transformed by geological forces. Microscopic mineral grains became aligned to produce sheets and layers that make the rock look like the grain of petrified wood.

Metamorphic rock at Two Lights with the appearance of wood grain

From Cape Elizabeth Lights, we headed about 30 miles farther south to Kennebunkport, ME. Our friends, Janice and Dave, were staying near there. We wanted to catch up with them again to hear about their travels since we last saw them at Acadia, so we had made arrangements to meet Janice and Dave in Kennebunkport for lupper.

Kennebunkport is the summer home of the Bush family. It is also a tourist town if ever there was one. Quaint, expensive shops line the streets. Parking is definitely at a premium with most of the spaces in the main tourist areas limited to one hour or less. That wouldn't do if we wanted to have time to meet Janice and Dave, have lupper and walk the streets a little. We ended up finding a spot with no time limit several blocks outside the main tourist area.

Shops along the main street in Kennebunkport

Another view of some of the shops in Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport harbor area along the Kennebunk River

We met Janice and Dave for lupper at the Clam Shack, which is technically in the town of Kennebunk, not Kennebunkport. The bridge over the Kennebunk River, which marks the boundary between the two towns, is to the immediate left of the Clam Shack in the next photo.

The Clam Shack

Margery had seen the Clam Shack written up online as having the best lobster rolls. They are available with either mayo or butter and contain the meat from a one-pound lobster. The two of us split a lobster roll with butter (lobster rolls with mayo are good, but we prefer butter), a pint of fried clam strips and an order of fries.

Dave, Janice and Margery at the Clam Shack

The food was definitely worth the trip down from Topsham. The lobster roll was far and away the best of the three we have had. The meat on this roll was firm, but not tough like some of the meat we had at the other places.

We hung around chatting with Janice and Dave outside after we finished eating, then we made the drive back to Topsham where we relaxed in the evening and the following day. On Thursday, we headed out to our next destination.

Maine Maritime Museum

Topsham, ME - Events of Monday, August 26, 2013

Bath, ME, which is located on the banks of the Kennebec River only about 10 minutes from Topsham Fairgrounds where we were staying, is best known for its role in shipbuilding. The Maine Maritime Museum located in Bath has extensive exhibits that let visitors explore Bath's maritime heritage. We headed there on Monday.

The first ship was built in the area around 1608 when members of Popham Colony located a few miles south of Bath at the mouth of the Kennebec River decided to abandon their colony. They successfully built the New World's first ocean-going ship and returned to England.

Commercial shipbuilding in Bath began in 1743. Since that time, approximately 5,000 ships have been launched in the area. At one time, there were as many as 200 shipbuilders in and around Bath.

The Maine Maritime Museum was founded as the Marine Research Society of Bath in 1962. For the first two years, they rented a storefront to display their collection of marine artifacts until the Sewall family, who were prominent in Bath shipbuilding, donated their mansion to use as a museum. In the 1980s, the museum occupied two separate sites, and visitors were transported by ferry between the sites.

In 1989, a new 30,000 square foot museum building was completed. The new building is located on the banks of the Kennebec River and includes the site of the Percy & Small Shipyard, which was a builder of wooden ships back in the day.

Maine Maritime Museum

In addition to their many exhibits, the museum offers nature and lighthouse boat cruises. There is also a trolley tour (actually a small bus dressed up to look like a trolley) of the neighboring Bath Iron Works. Bath Iron Works is a major shipyard and builds private and commercial vessels as well as ships for the U.S. Navy.

The trolley tours are offered from mid-May through late-October. There are only two tours a day during summer (one per day in spring and fall), and there are only 26 seats on the trolley, so tours sell out quickly. If you want to take the trolley tour (which we highly recommend), buy your tickets online or by phone at least a couple of days in advance.

We pre-purchased tickets for the 12:30 tour of Bath Iron Works on Monday. The tour of Bath Iron Works costs $35 and includes admission to the museum. Admission to the museum only is $15 ($12 for seniors 65+).

They want you to check in at least 30 minutes before the tour, but we arrived about an hour and a half early so we would have time to look around the museum first. Paul had to try out the tow boat pilot house that was located right inside the door.

Paul trying his hand at the wheel of a tow boat

The museum building has displays of artifacts relating to sailing and shipbuilding. Whaling was an important business in the late 1700s and early 1800s because of the great demand for whale oil for lighting. One area of the museum was devoted to whaling.

Margery checking out a whaling harpoon

On long whaling voyages, sailors often passed the time by doing scrimshaw on whale teeth or bone. Fine lines were engraved into the surface, and the designs were highlighted with dark pigment.

Scrimshaw on whale teeth

Another display that caught our eye was a ditty bag. We had heard the term, but never knew what it meant. A ditty bag is a bag that contained tools and supplies that a sailor would need while working, especially when he was aloft in the ship's rigging. This bag contained mostly materials for mending sails.

Ditty bag and contents

Paul loved seeing the details in the dozens of ship models in the museum. There were models of yachts, fishing boats, sailing boats, steamers and naval vessels. Unfortunately, it was hard to get good pictures because of all the reflections from the plastic cases.

Schooner - one of many ship models

One of the temporary exhibits was a salute to the U.S. Coast Guard. It featured many signaling devices and equipment used for search and rescue. There were also videos that detailed several rescue missions.

Coast Guard exhibit

There was a model that depicted the launching of the schooner Joseph Zeman from the Percy & Small Shipyard. The Joseph Zeman was the second to last wooden ship launched in the south Bath area. The last was the Carroll Deering launched in 1919 from the shipyard to the right of Percy & Small. All ships after 1919 were steel.

Launching of the next to last wooden ship

Only one major shipyard in the Bath area made the switch from wooden to steel-hulled ships because the methods and skills for building of each type of ship were so different. Steel hulls require metal cutting, welding and pipe fitting. Workers with those skills would have come from engine plants and from boiler factories. Shipwrights used to cutting and fitting wooden pieces together would not likely have been able to learn metalworking skills, so the entire workforce and almost all the equipment in the shipyard would have had to be replaced.

Bath Iron Works is located a short distance down the road from the museum, and many ship models in the museum represent ships built there. Bath Iron Works is one of the largest defense contractors in the world, so many of their models are Navy vessels.

Model of a destroyer built by Bath Iron Works

We finished up the indoor part of the museum at just about the right time for the trolley tour of Bath Iron Works. Because the plant is a secure defense facility, photography is not permitted. You are not even allowed to carry a camera or cell phone on the tour, so Paul took ours out to the car before the tour started.

The tour began with a short video about the Bath Iron Works. The company began in 1826 as Bath Iron Foundry making anchors, anchor chain and other metal parts for wooden sailing ships. The foundry was bought by Thomas Hyde of Bath in 1865. In 1884, Hyde expanded into the iron shipbuilding business and changed the name of the company to Bath Iron Works. The first ship launched was a 232-foot passenger steamer in 1890.

Bath Iron Works has built over 425 ships including around 245 military ships, mostly destroyers and frigates for the U.S. Navy. During WWII, one quarter of all warships were built at Bath Iron Works. During the war, they launched a ship on the average of every 17 days.

Bath Iron Works was bought out by General Dynamics in 1995. In 2001, General Dynamics revamped the entire shipyard.

On the trolley tour, we not only learned about the history of the company, but we also learned about modern shipbuilding. Steel plates and beams are cut at a facility about three miles away from the main shipyard. These components, as well as some sub-assemblies, are brought to Bath Iron Works on flatbed trailers. All parts are received on a just-in-time basis, meaning parts are made and delivered as they are needed and are not stockpiled in advance.

Steel ships are assembled as modules that start upside down. Unlike the early days of shipbuilding when all work was done outside, modules are assembled inside large buildings. After assembly progresses to a certain point, the large pieces of the hull are turned right side up, and assembly continues. All permanent, internal parts such as bulkheads and piping are assembled into the module as it is being built.

Picture from the Bath Iron Works website of a module being assembled

Once completed, modules are moved outside and joined together with other modules to form the completed hull. When the basic ship is complete, heavy-duty trolley wheels roll under the the metal supports that are holding the hull upright. Jacks built into the trolley assemblies raise the ship, and it is then rolled onto the drydock, which is sitting on a concrete and steel base under the water. The drydock and ship are then floated by emptying the drydock's ballast tanks.

A picture from Bath Iron Works website of the huge cranes used when the modules are being put together and the drydock used to launch the ships

The drydock is then winched out into the deepest part of the river where the ballast tanks of the drydock are refilled causing it to sink thus allowing the newly-completed ship to float on its own. Tugs then push the ship to a dock where it will spend another year undergoing final fitting and testing of all systems.

Ships are a lot bigger, more complicated and way more expensive than they used to be. Of course, they are capable of much more, too. Destroyers used to have big guns mounted on the deck. They still do, but now they also carry guided missles. Ship guidance systems and sonar are a lot more sophisticated as well.

Bath Iron Works is currently building several destroyers. Some are a more traditional type of destroyer known as the Arliegh Burke-Class, named for a famous WWII destroyer officer, Admiral Arleigh Burke. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers currently being built are 509 feet long and have a top speed of over 30 knots (35 mph).

Bath Iron Works also has contracts for three of the newest type of futuristic-looking guided missle destroyers known as the Zumwalt-Class, which is named for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt who was a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and who was the youngest man to ever serve as Chief of Naval Operations. With their tapered superstructure, these ships look like the Confederate ironclad ship the Merrimac from the Civil War. The sharp-pointed hull is designed to cut through waves rather than to ride on top of them, and the angular design and composite superstructure are less visible to enemy radar. The Zumwalt-class destroyers are 600 feet long and have a top speed of over 30 knots (35 mph).

USS Zumwalt (souvenir photo from the tour courtesy of General Dynamics)

The photo below shows the Bath Iron Works shipyard as seen from the grounds of the Maine Maritime Museum. The blue structure to the right is the drydock. The white structure is one of the assembly buildings, and the gray object between the two is the first Zumwalt-class destroyer the USS Zumwalt. The Zumwalt will go onto the drydock in a couple of weeks. Launch is set for October.

Bath Iron Works as seen from the Maine Maritime Museum

We really enjoyed the tour of the Bath Iron Works. The tour lasted about an hour, after which the trolley returned us to the museum. We still wanted to see the outdoor portion of the museum that includes several buildings of the old Percy & Small Shipyard. We'll tell you about the rest of our visit to the Maine Maritime Museum in our next post.

Boothbay Harbor

Topsham, ME - Events of Sunday, August 25, 2013

From the botanical gardens, we headed into Boothbay Harbor. Not only did we want to have a look around, but it was mid-afternoon, and we were hungry.

Boothbay was first settled in the early 1600s as an English fishing camp. It was later abandoned, but was re-settled in 1730 and incorporated as Townsend in 1764. It was renamed Boothbay in 1842 for the hamlet of Boothby in England.

Boothbay Harbor continued to grow. By the 1880s, it had a fish oil company, an ice company, a cannery, a fertilizer manufacturer and two marine railways. The harbor itself could provide shelter for up to 500 vessels in bad weather.

In 1889, the harbor area was incorporated as a separate community known as Boothbay Harbor. During WWII, Boothbay Harbor had a small shipyard that built minesweepers for the U.S. Navy.

Today, the Boothbay Harbor region is a thriving summer tourist area. It is especially popular as a yachting destination.

Our friends, Janice and Dave, had taken a day trip to Boothbay from Bar Harbor a while back. They ate at the Lobster Dock, which they recommended, so that's where we ended up.

Lobster Dock Restaurant

The Lobster Dock has a variety of sandwiches starting as low as $6, and there are dinners that range from about $15 to $27 (surf 'n' turf). There are also à la carte seafood items (clams, mussels, fish, crab cakes) available. We split a lobster roll ($16), a pint of fried clam strips ($9) and an order of sweet potato fries ($6).

Paul at the Lobster Dock

The lobster rolls are available warm with butter or cold with mayo. We had already had a lobster roll with mayo, so this time we tried butter. It was yummy, but some of the lobster pieces were a little chewy. The clams were good, too, but nothing can compare to the Ipswich Clambake Company.

The lobster Dock is located right along the harbor, and we could watch the boats come and go from our table.

View from our table at the Lobster Dock

Watching boats come and go in the harbor from the Lobster Dock

The Lobster Dock is located on the less-crowded, eastern side of the harbor. We could see lots of activity going on over on the western side, so we hopped in the car and headed over to the western side after lupper to check it out. As is typical in a small tourist town like this, parking was hard to come by. There were a couple of pay lots, and there were also a good bit of free, on-street parking; but it took a little looking to find one of the free spaces that was empty. We drove around a little bit and found one a little out of the way near the Tugboat Inn.

Tugboat Inn in Boothbay Harbor

We walked the main street lined with quaint (but pricey) shops.

Tourist area in Boothbay Harbor

While walking the streets of Boothbay Harbor, we came across a nicely restored Triumph TR3. Paul had one of these cars when he was in college. The TR3 was produced by Standard-Triumph in England from 1955 to 1962. Paul's was a '57. The TR3 produced from 1955 to late 1957 had a narrower grill and no exterior door handles.

Triumph TR3

As we walked down near the waterfront, we saw three labs chasing tennis balls into the water. The owner had a gun that she pumped up with air to shoot the balls. One of the dogs (the one looking the wrong way) never seemed to be able to get a ball.

Dogs chasing tennis balls

Sailboat in Boothbay Harbor

From the waterfront, we headed back to the car and drove back to Topsham Fairgrounds where we relaxed with an evening of TV. We had more sightseeing planned for the next day. Stay tuned.

Acadia National Park Loop Road

Trenton, ME - Events of Thursday, August 15, 2013

On Thursday, we finally got to drive the main part of the loop road in Acadia National Park. We were on the western part of the loop on Monday when we returned from our ranger-led walk, but we were especially looking forward to driving the eastern part that runs down along the shore.

As we learned from our friends, Janice and Dave, the park gets crowded, so we headed into the park relatively early. Janice and Dave also gave us an audio CD with a narrated tour of the loop road. It was very well done with lots of interesting facts. It also had precise driving distances to the next point of interest, directions for where to park, and instructions for when to pause and restart the CD.

The first major stop was at Sieur de Monts. Sieur de Monts was named for the Lieutenant Governor of New France in the early 1800s.

George B. Dorr, who was one of the wealthy summer residents of Mount Desert Island back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, built a springhouse at Sieur de Monts.

Springhouse at Sieur de Monts

George Dorr helped establish a corporation in 1901 for the purpose of preserving land on Mount Desert Island for public use. He is generally considered to be the father of Acadia National Park. By 1913, the corporation had acquired 6,000 acres that it offered to the Federal Government. President Woodrow Wilson created Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916; and in 1919, Congress passed a bill to create the first national park east of the Mississippi changing the name to Lafayette National Park. Dorr was named the first superintendent. The name was later changed to Acadia National Park. Acadia was the original name of the area that encompassed eastern Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

Also at Sieur de Monts is a nature center, the Abbe Museum of Native American culture and the Wild Gardens of Acadia. The garden has native plants including wildflowers, ferns and bog plants.

Margery in the Wild Gardens of Acadia

Bog plants

Our next stop was at Beaver Dam Pond. Beavers are fairly common in Acadia, and this pond is located near the road where visitors can see the dam and several beaver lodges. We didn't see any beavers because they are usually only active at dawn and dusk.

Beaver lodge at Beaver Dam Pond

At another overlook a little farther along, we could see one of the many lighthouses around Mount Desert Island. This one was located on Egg Rock. What a desolate place that must be in winter!

Egg Rock Lighthouse

Because the coast of Mount Desert Island is relatively young, there are few sandy beaches. Most beaches consist of gravel or larger cobbles. However, there is one location that is well protected where the current has deposited large quantities of sand. The sand is a combination of ground up rock and bits of shells. Sand Beach is a popular place for swimming, although most of the swimmers are quite young because the summertime water temperature averages only 50 to 55ºF.

Sand Beach

View of Sand Beach from above

This one of the most popular areas in the park because of the spectacular views of the coast. Consequently, it can be pretty crowded. People like to stop here and take folding chairs to the beach or out onto the rocks and just sit and watch the waves. Another popular activity at low tide is to scramble down over the rocks to look for sea life in the tidal pools.

This side of the loop road is one way, so in order to provide additional parking, parking is permitted in the right lane in some areas. Drivers in the right lane need to be aware they could round a bend and encounter a lane full of parked cars. Drivers in the left lane need to be careful, too, because everything can come to a screeching halt if someone in the left lane slows down to gawk or if someone stops to back into a parking place.

We found a parking space and walked along Shore Trail for a short distance.

View to the south toward Otter Point

Looking north toward Great Head Point

Sailboat rounding Great Head Point

Sailboats aren't the only boats in the waters around Mount Desert Island. We saw many lobster boats out checking their traps. Colorful buoys dot the water marking the location of traps. Each lobsterman has his own, unique combination of colors on his buoys to identify his traps, and each pattern is registered with the state.

Lobsterman checking traps

Our next stop was Thunder Hole. There is a narrow slot between the rocks, and the end of the slot is undercut to form a chamber that traps air. As waves rush in, the air gets compressed and sometimes escapes with a loud boom. Larger waves make for a bigger show because there tends to be more noise and because the water can sometimes spray quite high. The consensus seems to be the best time to see Thunder Hole is about two hours before high tide. We were there about two hours after low tide (four hours before high tide) with relatively calm seas, and we still got to hear a few muffled booms.

Thunder Hole - narrow slot between the rocks

Air chamber at the end of the slot

Compressed air escaping and blowing water back out of the chamber

Water draining from the chamber between waves

We continued our way around the loop with more beautiful ocean views. The road then begins to turn north to Jordan Pond where it also switches to two-way traffic.

Jordan Pond is named for the Jordan family who built a farmhouse nearby in 1847. In the 1870s, a restaurant called Jordan Pond House was built at the south end of Jordan Pond. The restaurant has a nice view of two, small, rounded mountains called The Bubbles that sit at the north end of Jordan Pond.

Jordan Pond and The Bubbles

Jordan Pond House is in the vicinity of the first carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the restaurant became a favorite stop for afternoon tea.

In 1946, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. bought the restaurant and gave it to the Federal Government to preserve it. Following the destruction of the original restaurant by fire in 1979, a new restaurant was built by private donations. The new restaurant continues many of the traditions of the original Jordan Pond House.

One of those traditions is serving tea and popovers on the enclosed veranda or outside on the lawn overlooking Jordan Pond and The Bubbles. Margery likes to have tea, but it was around 1:00, so we decided to stop for lunch. The traditional popovers are also served with some of the lunches.

Parking is very difficult near Jordan Pond House, but we lucked out again and found a spot in the main lot even though cars were parked for a distance of half a mile down the side of the road. We gave our name at the desk and were told it would be a wait of about an hour for an outside table. We wandered around and checked out the gift shop and some of the flowers around the grounds.

Garden area at Jordan Pond House

Closeup of one of the flowers in the garden

Planter box near Jordan Pond House

After almost 1¼ hours, our pager went off, and we got our table with a nice view of the pond and The Bubbles in the distance. Janice and Dave had already gone to Jordan Pond House, and they recommended the lobster stew. It is made with big chunks of lobster, cream, butter and sherry. It was yummy as were the popovers with butter and strawberry preserves.

Outside seating area behind the restaurant

Margery at Jordan Pond House with The Bubbles off in the distance

Prices at Jordan Pond House aren't cheap. Lunches range from about $10 to $20. The price for lobster stew and popovers is $15.75 for a cup and $21.25 for a bowl. Margery had to keep reminding Paul, it's all about the experience.

From Jordan Pond House, we continued up the park loop road past The Bubbles. On the side of South Bubble is a large, balanced boulder called Bubble Rock that was deposited there when the glacier that once covered this area melted.

Balanced boulder deposited by the glacier on the side of South Bubble

The road passes several other ponds and lakes with numerous hiking trails as it travels north from Jordan Pond and The Bubbles. It also passes the side road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, but since we drove up there on Monday, we passed on by and headed back to the motor home to rest up for out next outing. We'll tell you about it in our next post.

Downtown Bar Harbor

Trenton, ME - Events of Tuesday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 14, 2013

It was sunny very early on Tuesday morning; but it quickly clouded up, and there was a chance of rain in the forecast. Because of the clouds, we decided not to go to Acadia National Park, but to head into downtown Bar Harbor to have a look around instead.

Bar Harbor was first settled by Europeans in 1763, and the town was incorporated in 1796 as Eden. It was named for Sir Richard Eden, an English statesman. Early settlers were fishermen, shipbuilders, lumbermen and farmers. There was little soil on the barren peaks of the mountains, but the valleys were fertile, and there were once 45 dairies on Mount Desert Island. The town was renamed Bar Harbor in 1818 for the sand/gravel bar that exists at the western end of the harbor.

In the mid 1800s, the rugged coastal scenery attracted many artists and sportsmen to the area. The first hotel was built in 1855. The first summer estate was built in 1868 followed by many others. The wealthy tried to outdo each other with their summer homes, gardens and yachts.

The late 1800s and early 1900s was the hey-day of Bar Harbor. In 1880, there were 30 hotels on the island. A devastating fire in 1947 that destroyed many acres of forest as well as numerous estates and hotels brought an end to the golden age.

A new generation of tourists has discovered the beauty of the rugged Maine coast and of Acadia National Park. The park attracts about 2 million visitors a year. Bar Harbor is the center of the commercialized tourist activities with shops, eateries, boat cruises and other attractions.

There are a few pay parking lots in Bar Harbor, mostly around the harbor area where there are lots of boat cruises. We saw one sign for $2 an hour. However, there are also many free parking spaces along the streets, most of which have a two-hour limit. Unfortunately, empty parking spaces are hard to find because of the crowds. We lucked out and finally found a spot several blocks from the main shopping area.

We parked right beside St. Saviour's Episcopal Church. The existing church building was completed in 1878, although there have been several additions since that time.

St. Saviour's Episcopal Church

The cemetery adjacent to the church had many graves dating back to the 1800s like the one shown below for Captain Stephen Higgins born 1804, died 1862.

Headstone for Capt. Stephen Higgins - born 1804

The church has Tiffany stained glass windows. The sign outside said the church was open to the public, so we went inside to check it out.

Tiffany stained glass windows

The church's organ had unusual pipes that projected horizontally out over the organist's head.

St. Saviour pipe organ

A few doors down from St. Savoiur Episcopal Church was the Bar Harbor Congregational Church, which is designed in a more traditional New England style.

Bar Harbor Congregational Church

As we approached the shopping district, we came to the Village Green where there is a 17th century, bronze, Italian fountain flanked by a small garden area in the green.

17th century bronze fountain at Village Green

From the green, we headed up Main Street. There are lots of souvenir shops, plenty of eateries and many artsy boutiques.

The streets in Bar Harbor are narrow, as are the sidewalks. Vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic can both be heavy making negotiating the streets and sidewalks a bit of a pain.

Main Street in Bar Harbor

One of many eateries

More shops along Main Street

We liked the wooden seagull on the front of the shop below.

Wooden seagull sculpture on the front of one shop

At the northern end of Main Street is the harbor where there are several boat cruises that visitors can take including one aboard the 151-foot schooner Margaret Todd.

Four-masted schooner Margaret Todd

Judging by the size of some of the yachts in the harbor, Bar Harbor still attracts its share of wealthy visitors.

Big yachts docked in the harbor

When we got to the harbor, the fog was rolling onto the harbor off Frenchman Bay. As we walked back up Main Street toward the car, the fog was rolling up the street. We made our way back to the car and back to the motor home.

The clouds from Tuesday lingered into Wednesday, so we hung around the motor home all morning. It started to clear in the afternoon, so we decided since we had already tried lobster rolls, we were ready to try whole lobster.

In addition having sit-down restaurants where you can get whole lobster, coastal areas of New England have lobster shacks. The shacks are usually located near the water and usually have an outdoor order window and a few picnic tables, although many also have a combination of indoor and outdoor seating. In the area around Bar Harbor, lobster shacks are called lobster pounds. Lobster pounds were originally pens or tanks through which seawater was circulated where lobstermen could store their catch. As the lobster pounds bagan selling lobsters to the public then began cooking that lobster, the lobster pound evolved to be the same type of casual eatery as a lobster shack.

There are at least 4 lobster pounds within 5 or 6 miles of the campground. Margery did some research and found the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, although a little pricey, got the best reviews of all the ones close by, so that's where we headed.

Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound

You can buy your lobster live at the pound and take it home and cook it yourself, or they will boil it for you. Most of the lobster pounds keep several kettles of seawater boiling outside over a wood fire in which to cook the lobsters. Most of the lobster pounds also have clams and mussels.

Seawater boiling over an outdoor wood fire

We have probably only had whole lobster once before in our lives, and that was years and years ago, so we didn't know what we were doing. That's not a problem, because the lobster pounds are used to tourists and most of them will patiently try to educate you.

There are two types of lobster - soft shell and hard shell. Soft shells are lobsters that have recently molted or shed their shells, and the new shell is still soft. Soft shell lobsters are easier to crack open and the meat is said to be sweeter, but there is also a good bit of water inside their shells. Since lobster is sold by the pound, you are paying for that water. Fortunately, since soft shell lobsters don't ship well, the demand isn't as high, and they are therefore cheaper than hard shells. The meat of hard shell lobsters is also firmer.

The price of lobster varies, but the price for soft shells when we were there was $3.95 a pound uncooked and $5.95 a pound cooked. Hard shells were $7.95 a pound uncooked and $9.95 a pound cooked. Sides were $2 to $3 extra and included slaw and potato salad.

You pick out your lobster, choose your sides and drink if you want them, and then pay. We got two hard shell lobsters that totaled a little over three pounds in weight. Margery got potato salad for her side, and Paul got cole slaw. In about 20 minutes, they called our number, and Paul went to pick up our order. They will pre-crack the shells for you if you ask (a big help, especially with hard shells).

Paul with our order of boiled lobster

Whole lobster dinners

They provide shell crackers, picks, paper plates, bibs and plenty of napkins.

Paul with bib ready to dig in

The lobster was nice and sweet, but some of the meat, especially the tail, was a little tough. At any rate, it was still a fun (but expensive) experience getting in there with our hands and digging out all the meat. Now we really feel like we have been to Maine.

The weather forecast for Thursday predicted a nice, sunny day. Look for our next post to see what we found to do.