August 8, 2019 Bar Harbor, ME (day 5)

 

Today marks the start of our second month of vacation and it's been an awesome trip so far.  We both caught up on some needed rest last and got up at 8:00 this morning.  The gusty winds got us out of bed, so we could adjust the awning on the trailer.  We checked the awning and saw the dark skies to the north.  

About 8:20, the rain arrived and was expected to last most of the morning. This was really the first daytime rain on our trip.   It wouldn't spoil our plans for today which was to drive to Southwest Harbor and Bass Harbor to take a look.  Bob wanted to look at some of the boat builders in the area–Hinckley, Ellis, and Wilbur. They all specialize in downeast-style boats, based on the traditional lobster boats.  I wanted to see the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.  We left the campground around 11:00 when there was a break in the rain, with our raincoats and umbrellas, and drove to the town of Southwest Harbor.

When we arrived, the rain had subsided.  Low tide was at 11:38, so some areas of the harbor were high and dry.  

Many of the docks were also high and dry, stretching far out into the harbor waiting for the tide to return the water to the dock.

We sat and looked at all the working lobster boats in the harbor from the Upper Town Dock.

This unusual boat caught our eyes.  Bob said it was a wave-piercing trimaran, based on proa outrigger boats from Polynesia. 

 We drove farther down Clark Point Road to the Lower Town Dock.  At the end of the road, we found Beal's Lobster Pier and its "working" dock.

We were curious and walked around the dock to check it out.  The tide was definitely out.

We went inside the restaurant to get a beer and ended up with a bowl of clam chowder and an order of mussels.

The chowder hit the spot on this cool, windy day.

The fog, rain, and 64 degree temp reminded us of a typical Maine day, but we enjoyed our time to explore.  While we ate, this bus tour group came in.  Their guide was carrying a plastic lobster, so they could all see where he was going and be able to follow him.

Waiting for our order, we saw this fishing boat with a "scarecrow" tied to the top outside our window.  The boat had just come in from a fishing charter.

This restaurant was a very popular place and by the time we finished our lunch, the place was jammed with a line of people going out the door.

Walking along the pier, we noticed all these lobster traps floating in the water containing live lobsters.

Many of the working boats were in the harbor today probably due to the weather.

Walking back to our truck, we noticed this sweet dog waiting for his master.  I hoped he would come back soon.

From there, we drove through town on our way to Bass Harbor.  There were a few tourists in town.

We stopped at Dysart's Marina to check it out and look at the boats.

The Black Ledge Lobster Pound was closed today, but it looked like a cute place.

We continued on to the Ellis, Wilbur, and Hinckley Boatbuilders.

There were lots of boats sitting out in the Hinckley Boatyard that we enjoyed looking at, but there wasn't much building going on.

The highway took us farther around the bay–through the towns of Manset and Seawall.  Seawall has a rocky shoreline and the wind had really kicked up the waves.  There were some brave souls checking the rocks for sea creatures.

Our next stop was the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.  We turned down the road to the lighthouse and ran into a row of cars waiting to get into the lighthouse parking lot.  The line was long so I hopped out of the truck and walked the few blocks to the lighthouse while Bob waited in the truck.  I walked down the path to the water where I could get a view of the lighthouse.  I took a few pictures and walked back to the truck, which by now had moved a little closer in the line.  We turned the truck around and left.

This house sat on the road to the lighthouse and was very unusual.  Some might think "ugly" and we would agree.

We had finished our driving tour for today and started heading back to the campground.  At Southwest Harbor, we noticed that the tide had come in.  Some boats and piers that weren't floating when we went past the first time, were now.  

At the end of the road to our campground is Hadley Point.  We made one last stop to check it out.  There was a boat launch and picnic area there.

Back at the campsite, we quickly took Auggie out for a bathroom break before it started to rain again.  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching a little TV while it rained off and on.  Tomorrow we leave for 5 days at Boothbay Harbor.  Thankfully, the forecast does not call for rain. I made chili for dinner which would also hit the spot on a cool day.  No lobster for us today.  I guess the mussels and clam chowder would have to do.  Auggie got his evening walk in-between the rain showers and we packed up what we could for our move tomorrow.