Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island are the number one most popular tourist destinations in Maine. For good reason too – they’re spectacular and like nothing else. Laura and I have visited a number of locations on the island and have yet to be let down. On Mount Desert Island, there are a few small villages. Bar Harbor is the largest and most popular. If you ever find yourself in a conversation discussing Maine, you’ll likely either mention or hear about Bar Harbor. With over 4 million visitors in 2021, there’s no doubt it’s the place to be during the summer months.
Laura and I visited Bar Harbor with her parents. It was a quick day trip, but I was able to take a few photos to capture the essence of the village. It really is like so many other New England coastal villages – it’s got its main street and its great lawn. In this post, I’ll show you some of the sights and then tell you a humorous story at the end.
The most famous (or most well known) area of Bar Harbor is its center where the fountain is.
Another famous landmark is the clock along one of the streets. Laura took this photo.
While we were in the area, we ate lunch at a really great restaurant called, “Paddy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant.” Since it was a heavy meat eating establishment, Laura and I opted to try the fish and chips. That choice fed us well and gave us the energy to check out more of the area and to drive through Acadia a bit, although, now that I think about it, the two Guinness we drank probably didn’t help on the energy front that much.
Here are two photos of across the street from the restaurant.
This is my humorous story:
I had no idea that each car was required to purchase a pass in order to drive around Acadia to take in the sights. After all, we were brand new to Maine. We simply didn’t know. I thought that we’d be at liberty to visit Bar Harbor, eat some lunch, and then head out to find a quiet place to relax. Apparently, the rules and regulations said differently.
Right after lunch, we got in the car to drive south along Schooner Head Road. I found a small loop turnaround on my phone that I thought would give us a taste of what Acadia was all about. We drove and we stopped in a parking area. Right before parking, I noticed a sign that said something like, “Jay, you need to pay to stop here. Don’t do it without paying.” I ignored the sign. I stopped and figured that we could get away with a quick five minute stop. While we were there and while I was guarding the car from the park police, Laura took the following photos.
As it turns out, not more than three and a half minutes after we got out of the car and were enjoying the sights, a park policeman drove by. I became concerned and started calling everyone back. They had no idea what was going on until I had them in the car and explained that the police were in the area. It wasn’t until we passed the cop checking out the interior of a pickup truck parked somewhat past us that everyone else knew what was going on. I left quickly and we got away.
Very dramatic.
The visit was good. For the uninitiated, Bar Harbor is much like Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. If you’ve been to either of those, you’ll know what to expect.
If you’ve visited Bar Harbor or Acadia, please leave a comment to tell me about your experience. If you haven’t visited yet, please leave a comment as well. You may ask me any questions you’d like. Thanks!
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