We had every intention of going to Lunt Harbor in Frenchboro, but boats aren’t allowed to anchor and there are only 5 moorings available for transients, all of which were occupied by the time we arrived. We regretfully spun in the pretty little harbor and assessed our options as we left. After some quick calculations taking into account the wind, we opted to head north ten miles to Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island.

Coming into MDI

Coda tapas dinner

 

We took a mooring through Hinckley Yacht Services and headed into town. The harbor is larger than we expected, but the dinghy ride to the town dock wasn’t any longer than that which we have when we’re in Block Island (10 minutes tops). It’s a 10 minute walk to Main Street, and we enjoyed the stroll through the local neighborhood. Houses are small, many are summer rentals, and all were full. People were really enjoying where they were – kids were out playing on lawns, people were sitting on wraparound porches talking, it all lent a really nice vibe. Town was the typical mix of tourist shops and restaurants. I did a quick search and we wound up wandering over to Coda for a great relaxed dinner tapas style out on their patio (I highly recommend their ricotta fritters, the housemade sausage platter, the smoked leeks, and the lobster grits with poached egg). Conveniently the restaurant was across the street from the library which offers free wifi so we stopped off and took care of some internet stuff. Then it was back to the boat, fending off the usual hoard of mosquitos and down below for a movie.

Sunset in Southwest Harbor

Sometime in the middle of the night the temperature dropped what felt like 20 degrees, as a massive bank of fog moved in. We woke up to visibility limited to one or two boats past us in each direction. It finally started to lift late morning so we went ashore to take showers and do laundry.

Old & New in Bar Harbor

Then we hopped the bus to explore MDI (Mt Desert Island). The island itself was designated as a national park 101 years ago and LL Bean coincidentally was founded just 4 years after the designation. LL Bean today provides a series of free buses called the Island Explorer to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic and provide access to the island in general. We took it south to Bass Harbor and Bernard (both rather anti-climactic as towns), and then up and across the island past Echo Lake, around Somesville, and into Bar Harbor. As touristy as Bar Harbor is, it is still a lovely little town and there’s quite a bit of history to explore. After lunch at the Thirsty Whale we walked out to West Street where many of the homes that were once owned by the fabulously wealthy (Rockefellers, Morgans, etc.) have been preserved in one form or another. Plaques have been placed nicely for a self-guided walking tour of the area, and it easily allows you to forget you’re just a few blocks away from lobster rolls and t-shirt stores.

We took the bus back across the island that night and settled in for another evening. I can only think of one negative thing about Maine evenings and that is the mosquitos. Once the sun goes down you can’t enjoy anything outside because of the swarms. Luckily we have screens for the boat, plus a TV/DVD player and 100 or so DVDs, books, projects, etc, so it’s easy to make the best of it.