Day 13: Acadia

Matt and Sara regaled us with the stories of Agnes at the Bagel
Factory and her fantastic bagels. Luckily, we there were bagels for
sale today when we arrived. I can never return to chain bagels again.

The Queen Mary 2 landed in Bar Harbor for the day. I saw the
original back in 1984. This one looks newer (ha ha). I'm told that
there are around 100 cruise ships in Harbor every year, to the dismay
of local outfitters and the delight of t-shirt sellers.


Every time I've visited Vacationland i've swam in her colder than a
bathtub waters. Despite warnings from everyone that this was no
longer the 'warm' water of southern Maine, I chose to hop in at Sand
Beach. There were lots of folks on the beach and some folks playing
in the waves (I noticed later that none of them were deeper than
their knees). I waded determinedly to about mid-thigh, then dove
into an oncoming wave. The water literally takes your breath away. I
stayed in long enough to settle my breathing, got out, walked the
beach, then dove in again, just to prove to myself that I could. I'm
glad I didn't read until afterwards that water temps in the summer
are between 50 and 55. I found out later that my cousin gained some
celebrity by diving in here on January 1st - I feel a little less
bold about diving in on July 5th.

For my hikes today, I set about to go to Otter point and the Otter
cliffs. I really enjoyed myself and snapped lots of photos, but was
disappointed to see no otters ;)

Checked out the Great Harbor Maritime Museum and after emptying their
trash, saw some very nice boat models, and all before opening day.

The afternoon Fenway hike was to the top of Bald Mountain. I've
realized that Matt and Sara see this scenery so frequently that they
sometimes forget how unique it is.

Dinner tonight was at McKay's, a fantastic year-round establishment
in town. The risotto was awesome.