Hi everyone. Happy new week to you. And if you're stopping by for T over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog , happy T day to you.
Today I am sharing a few more views from my September trip. Last week I shared some photos from a Friday evening in Acadia National Park. (That post is here if you're interested: Acadia National Park-part 1.) Today I have a few more photos from the park that I took Saturday morning. Because our ferry to Nova Scotia wasn't leaving until after lunch, we had a couple of hours in the morning to do a little more sightseeing as well as having a bit of time to get some lunch too.
My favorite part of the park is the Seawall area, which is where we started driving towards. However, we knew we didn't have time to go all the way across the island to that area. Instead we poked around in Seal Harbor and then went on to Northeast Harbor. You can see from my photos it was a really beautiful morning.
First let's start off in Seal Harbor.
See this interesting little building in the above photo. It's actually a rest room. I'm sharing it not because the building itself is anything wildly fantastic (although it is pretty fancy compared to modern restrooms), but because
look at the tiling inside the woman's side of the building in the photo below. It's obviously vintage, and when I looked it up, I discovered this building and interior was built in 1921 with funds from John D. Rockfeller and his neighbor Edsel Ford. (Rockefeller is the person who donated land and pushed for Acadia National Park to be created.) The fixtures have all been updated, but this tile work is just beautiful. I also read online that at one time this building was in disrepair, but because of its history it was fixed up and brought back to life.
It's always good to see things fixed up and saved, especially those with some kind of story and those that have such beautiful tiling. And it was certainly much better than using a porta-potty too. 😏
Besides building beautiful bathrooms, there are some really lovely old stone bridges in the park too. Many of them were build for carriage roads, so visitors did not have to cross streets with cars on them.
And then we were off to Northeast Harbor where we saw some very nice boats and harbor views.
Finally, we left the actual park and headed into Bar Harbor (the main town near the park) to get some lunch. Bar Harbor was an absolute ZOO! I've never seen it with so many people there. Since my last visit (which was maybe 12 years ago), the town has changed a lot. No more cute quaint little town. It was now filled with trendy little cafes (which are OK) and lots of big resorts (which totally changed the town's atmosphere). I guess it's how you view things, and I'm sure it brings in money, but one woman told me the town changed when the big hotel chains came in and started buying up a lot of the land. It ran the locals right out of town.
And that's very sad in my opinion. Aren't locals part of the visiting experience?
I didn't take a single photograph in town, except for lunch. I guess if you want to see Bar Harbor you'll need to search it online or go visit it. Sorry.😒
As we were driving through town, we noticed a Pat's Pizza on one of the side streets. Pat's doesn't make the world's best pizza, but, when I was in college in Orono, Maine, it was about the only pizza place around. Eating it is very nostalgic for me and my husband, as it must also be for many other graduates because there are now several Pat's Pizzas scattered around the state.
Plus, there was parking. We decided to go in and get pizza for lunch.
It was a very tasty pizza, but sadly, it was NOT a Pat's Pizza. When you visit a chain you want the food to be what the chain is known for, right? And having eaten in several different Pat's Pizza's in Maine, we have always had that predictable pizza. On top of it, single pizzas (which is what we each ordered since we figured it would probably be dinner also) always fill out to the edge of the pan. As you can see, it didn't do that. Although as I said it was a good pizza, it wasn't 100% satisfying because it wasn't what we hoped to have.
You can also see my Diet Coke as well as a water, which are my T day drinks this week.
I guess I won't be rushing back to Bar Harbor. 😓 But I hope I get back to Acadia National Park before another 12 years pass.
After lunch it was time to drive just a bit out of town and get in line to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia. This is a bit of a tease since I think this post has gotten long enough. Next time I do a trip post, we'll be sailing across the Gulf of Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Have a great T day and week ahead.
17 comments:
When we were in Acadia we actually stayed in the Seawall campground. It was lovely and I can easily understand that this is your favorite part in the national park. Bar Harbor was a zoo when we were there as well, we didn't particularly like it. This was in 2007, so I guess it's even worse today. Happy T day!
...could take my own Pepsi to Pat's?
I was confused about this because I confused it with Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor where we have visited. Beautiful photos! Happy T Day.
I enjoyed your photos!
What a beautiful harbour view with all those boats! I like the tiling too.
Wonderful pics and nice loo(-story). I so read you. I was thinking about pushing to re-visit Broome which we so loved in 1995 and 1999 bu then thought, hmmm, maybe better keep it in your heart as it was, a small, cozy place ... Could imagine it´s a busy, bustling town now and would likely be disappointed.
Sad, too, about the pizza. I had a harsh ending - Nico went back to Italy. No more "Pizza da Nico".
Looking forward to a hopefully better experience of that trip soon! Have a great T-Day and week ahead, hugs
I visited Acadia National Park many years ago and remember it fondly. I wonder if it is being managed properly with all the drastic cuts in funding and the layoffs in the National Park Service. It would be a tragedy to not respect and care for such a wonderful spot. All the best - David
Erika, too bad about Bar Harbor no longer being a quaint New England place to visit. It has been years since we visited and not in a hurry to return. We have never tried a Pat’s pizza and unlikely we will even if it has Patrick’s name😏
We've eaten in Pat's Pizza--not sure where. Maybe somewhere around Ellsworth or Eastport. It is a bummer when you go somewhere expecting he usual and find that it's changed. I guess it's more than 20 years since we were in Bar Harbor. I have a vague recollection of being in a bookshop and I may have bought a book or two, but nothing else sticks in my mind.
I loved seeing your travels, you've made some very happy memories and that pizza looks so yummy 😊. Thanks for sharing your travels, I remember the places you visited well. Take care and 😊. Happy T Day wishes my friend ❤️. Hugs, Jo x
I'm sorry Bar Harbour was a disappointment. Unfortunately that's the way. it goes. Same with Pat's Pizzas, i suppose it's all 'progress'.
But I love seeing your photos and it is certainly a beautiful area.
Happy T-Day,
Lisca
Your photo shoot is gorgeous. Interesting about learning about the building. That tile work is beautiful. When I was there decades ago, we just camped in the park so we never got to see the town. Too bad about your pizza. What a great way to illustrate shrinkflation. I hope you are staying dry today. Happy T Day
Happy TDay Erika! Lovely photos and even though your food and drink didn't taste the same it sure looks delicious! I do hate it when things don't taste the way they are supposed to. Lovely photos and it is so nice you get to travel! :) Have a lovely rest of the week and oh the tiles are fabulous!
We stayed in downtown Bar Harbor a few years ago, but it was a small old-time motel. Didn’t seem that bad. We made our reservations very late so no B&B available. We had a few pretty good meals, with the famous berries. I suspect that our expectations just weren’t that high so it all seemed fine to us.
I enjoyed seeing your photographs.
Happy T Day.
All the best Jan
Seeing those seals reminded me of Seal Beach in CA. Not as many, but still a great photo. Lovely shots around the beach, too.
Loved the tile work in that restroom. Just stunning.
Your description of Bar Harbor reminds me of when I worked in Columbus, KS. WalMart built one of those super stores, one of the first to be built. Businesses on the town square dried up, sold, or just closed down. What had been a vibrant and friendly community was taken over by a super store on the edge of town. Sorry about your pizza, too. At least you got some fun shots elsewhere and drinks for T this week, too.
I love that stone bridge. The pizza looks fantastic!
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