Category Archives: Maine

Bar Harbor, walkin’ the walk

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Bar Harbor is a beautiful area sitting like it is in the heart of Acadia National Park.

Acadia is a bit different from most of the National Parks. It’s a patchwork made up mostly of land  and islands that have been donated for preservation. As I understand it, no more land is being accepted into the park although there are other preservation projects that may be available to potential donors.

The eastern portion of the park includes the 27 mile long loop road and 45 miles of carriage roads. The carriage roads are closed to automobiles but you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride or walk the well maintained roads.

We started our day with a traditional Maine breakfast at the Great Maine Breakfast. The traditional breakfast is the lumberjack breakfast, meat and potatoes, eggs and  pancakes. They had a jar of Berrylicious native blueberry jam on the table too.

Oh so good but neither JR or I could finish  our meal. It was a shame too because they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had in a restaurant…no offense to Denny’s or IHop.

After breakfast we (I anyway) waddled out to the car and picked up the cameras. I was hoping I’d see  a fellow we’d spotted the night before when I didn’t have my camera. He was providing me with my “kitty fix” for this trip. He had a pretty white and black cat that he was walking on a lease. I really wanted to take their picture but I didn’t see them this morning.

We moved the car to a better parking spot near a little park on the waterfront and began to explore.

There was a trail that reminded me of the Cliff Walk in Newport.

It ran along the water on one side and large homes and Inns on the other. I think it was about a mile long. We took our time taking plenty of pictures along the way.

Back at the car we decided to find the marina with the boat for the Puffin Tour. It looked to be too far to walk when we checked the map which is why we had the car this morning. It turned out that it would have been quite a hike.

From there we found our way to the visitor center at the park.  I forgot my National Park passport book in the room but I can get the stamp when we come back.  We picked up loads of handouts and information about the park, the trails and the activities. By then it was time to drive JR back to town where he planned to explore while I went looking for some funny little birds called Puffins!

First Night in Bar Harbor

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Leaving Breakwater behind we took the “scenic “ Rt 1 the rest of the way to Bar Harbor. We crossed the Penobscot Narrows on a what looked like a brand new bridge.

It was a 2 lane bridge with a center “spine”. It was a really neat bridge . I commented that I wanted to stop right there in the road and take a picture. JR didn’t think that was a very good idea and as if to prove it another car pulled onto the bridge behind us.

The other interesting thing was that the old bridge was still standing right next to the new one. As was once said on a show from the 60’s/ 70’s…Veeeery Interesting!

A little bit farther on was a scenic pull out where we could see the bridge and satisfy my need for a picture.

Back on the road we found the scenic RT 1 to be ok but there weren’t any spectacular vistas so it was a bit of a let down.

We made our first mistake just before we got to the motel and had to go around the block. Not bad for a drive of over 300 miles. I guess my GPS works ok.

The motel , The Anchorage, was so retro 70’s it was funny but the room was clean and the folks running it were very nice.

The air conditioner worked and there was a shower and bath. We checked in and unloaded our stuff. Our room was a corner  room on the 2nd level.

We had a map from the front desk and decided to walk down to the center of town to find a place for dinner.

About 3 blocks down we came to a little town green. There was a bandstand like so many bandstands on little town greens but this one was different. It had a band. Of course being tired from the drive neither JR nor I were carrying our cameras. (I know better too. Never go out without your camera!) The band was quite good. I’m sure if it hadn’t been so late and we so tired and hungry that we would have enjoyed sitting in that little park and listening for a while.

As we crossed through the green and moved on down the street it got busier with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants. Eventually we settled on the RT 66 restaurant. I was wearing my Rt 66 sweat shirt so it seemed appropriate.

For the 2nd time that night I was sorry I didn’t have my camera. The restaurant was adorable. It was filled with RT 66 memorabilia but the best part was the little model train that actually ran on tracks above our heads. The waitress was fun too. She was friendly and outgoing. I was surprised when she said it was her first night and that she had never waited table before. She will do well.

My dinner was really good. I’m ashamed to say I don’t know what JR ordered. ( Fine food reporter I am…NOT) except that he ordered something called potato planks or something similar. It was thick sliced potatoes with cheese similar to potato skins. We ended up splitting the order. They were really good.

My main course was baked scallops in white wine and garlic sauce with a side of mashed potatoes. A side salad came with the meal. Now you can see why I wasn’t paying that much attention to JR’s meal. My mouth was watering over my scallops! We both had a drink with our meal. I enjoyed a house chardonnay. After all we were on vacation. By the time we wandered back to the Anchorage I was ready for a good night’s sleep.

The Puffin Cruise was on the agenda for the next afternoon and I wanted to be well rested for that.

Breakwater Vineyards

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Leaving the wine casks behind we returned to see what Jeanne had in mind to show us. She led us to another barn where we could see a small chicken coop and some fencing.

 She began calling and suddenly a head popped up, and then another and then some goats came into view followed closely by the rambunctious kids.

Oh they were sooo cute.

One of the mama goats climbed up the fence and tried to eat my shirt sleeve. After some sweet talking and ear scratching she seemed to “zone out” and released the clothing, content to just stand there while I cooed and scratched. Goat Whispering! 🙂

Jeanne explained that Breakwater Vineyards was committed to being environmentally  conscious. She envisioned a time when she would be able to make goat cheese to offer for sale along with her wines.

The chickens seemed happy next to the goats and Jeanne confirmed that they were good egg producing hens.

The animals are all part of the goal to be closer to the natural world and utilize the land’s resources more effectively.

The Vineyard is about 5 minutes from downtown Rockland, Me. The name Breakwater Vineyards comes from the mile long barrier that protects the harbor called a breakwater. A portion of the profits of the vineyard are donated to help the restoration efforts of the historic lighthouse.

More than 3000 grapevines grow on the 32 acres of farmland that make up the winery. It is well worth the stop if you’re in the Owl’s Head area.

If you are a oenophile (wine connoisseur) I’m sure you will be interested to know that there is a Maine Wine Trail for Maine Vineyards just as there is a Coastal Wine Trail of New England covering southern Massachusetts.

There are 19 wineries on the Maine Wine Trail.  They offer wines that range from Fruit Wines to Distilled spirits.

If you are interested in more information you can check out www.mainewinetrail.com

and don’t forget the winery that introduced us to all of this. www.breakwatervineyard.com

As much as we enjoyed this little visit, the afternoon was passing quickly and we still had quite a drive ahead of us. It was time to say goodbye and hit the road again.

On the road to Bar Harbor

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Was it only Monday that I packed up my car to head to Maine?  Seems so much longer ago than that! The sun was shining and I was on my way by 9:30 am . 3 stops later for gas, cash and miscellaneous and I was on Route 24 for the first leg of my trip. My GPS routed me through Boston via the expressway (known locally as the “distressway”) but other than a slow-down by the Granite Ave exit because of an accident, (not me) I made good time.  On the north side of Boston the traffic was clear and it was smooth sailing up 93N to 495.  A quick hit on 495 and I was following the GPS directions to Joe (JR)’s house in Plaistow. I pulled up right at 11:30 exactly as the GPS predicted.

JR saw me pull up and came right out. WOW looks like we’re really running smooth here but no, a glitch. JR was so anxious to get going that he locked his car keys in the house. He wasn’t driving so he didn’t need them… except his luggage was locked in his car…OOPS! A quick call to his parents brought the cavalry to the rescue and in short order we had his gear in my car and we were back on the road.

First stop was at the rest area in Maine where we met our first Moose.

Then it was on to Owls Head, Maine. This was JR’s pick of the day. He worked at the Thornton Burgess Society for a time and really liked the people there. He visits as often as he can to keep in touch. JR’s really good about nurturing friendships. He doesn’t let distance interfere and really puts a great deal of time and effort in keeping his network strong. In any case, at his last visit he was told that Jean, a former co-worker, had moved to Maine to open a Winery and he wanted to drop in to see how she was doing and renew the contact.

He had the address so into the GPS it went and we were off. It was a pretty nice day for a drive. It had been sunny in Taunton, overcast in New Hampshire but as  we moved farther north it cleared again. I’d never even heard of Owl’s Head much less been there so I didn’t know what to expect .

Owl”s Head appeared, by our drive through, to be a quaint New England town, a nice tourist destination, not too crowded or urban. Owl’s Head is located on Owl’s Head peninsula which extends into Penobscot Bay. As you can imagine, it was quite picturesque.

The Vineyard is Breakwater Vineyards located at 35 Ash Point Dr, Owls Head Me. It was easy to find with it’s gleaming white house located on a hill overlooking the water.

The house and it’s lawns and gardens are elegant and beautiful.

I could have stopped our trip and stayed right there, it was that lovely.

Jeanne greeted JR with enthusiasm then invited  us into a beautiful room where wine tastings are held.

JR did the sampling, as I was designated driver, and pronounced the wine very good. We bought a bottle of American Riesling to take with us to Bar Harbor. We had visions of sitting outside sipping our wine at the end of the day. While JR sampled the wine, I made friends with the black lab that was keeping Jeanne company. When they were done  “catching up” Jeanne took us out to a big barn which had been converted into the winery and turned us over to Jake to show us around.

Jake did a great job of explaining the process of wine making but soon we were going back to meet up with Jeanne.

She wanted to show us one more thing before we went on our way.

Website: www.breakwatervineyards.com