Google provides a good map of Maine. Bar Harbor is located on the island of Mount Desert and is connected to the mainland by the Bar Harbor Road sometimes called the Acadia Byway that runs between Thomas Bay and the Western Bay. Bar Harbor is on the coast alongside Frenchman Bay. Acadia National Park is just minutes to the west and south.
On Friday, August 17, 2012, the ms Maasdam was late getting to Bar Harbor, Maine. Instead of anchoring at 8:00 am, we anchored at 9:30 am. We were late because several tour groups were late getting back to the ship in St. John’s delaying our departure and with strong seas and wind over the last two days, it was impossible to make up the time. This made the US Immigration officials late boarding the ship. They first checked the passports for the crew who would be working on the tendering. To make sure that all passengers went through the US immigration process, each passenger had his or her cruise card scanned by a Maasdam crew member. Then each passenger showed his or her passport to a US official who usually asked about birth place and current residence. Once the immigration process began for passengers, it went pretty quickly. It was obvious that Granby and Henry would not be able to get on shore by 9:30 am for their Oli’s Trolley tour at 10 am. Granby used her cell phone to call while waiting in the immigration line and changed the tour time to 1:00 pm. After going through immigration, Granby and Henry went to their cabin and locked their passports in their room safe. Then, they went to the Showroom at Sea to get a tender ticket to go ashore. The Maasdam only uses four of its life boats for tendering and even with tendering on both port and starboard sides of the ship, it was taking each life boat about 10 minutes to load, 10 minutes to get to shore, 10 minutes to unload, and 10 minutes to return to the ship. When two tender boats were running, it cut the wait time for each boat to 20 minutes. Granby commented that had more life boats been used during the tendering operation, it would have been a much quicker operation, especially if a life boat was waiting and ready to tie up at the ship to board passengers as soon as one left as we have seen before when tendering in the Caribbean from much larger cruise ships with 3600 passengers. Also, 4 star Mariner passengers have priority for tendering ashore. Granby and Henry are just 3 star Mariners and will have to sail 62 more days on Holland America ships before earning 4 star status. As it was with tender ticket #10 and all the Holland America shore excursion passengers and 4 star Mariners going first, Granby and Henry had a long wait and finally got to shore at 11:30 am. Our Captain apologized for the delay and announced that our “shore leave” would be extended from 4:30 to 5:00 pm for the last tender.
After checking in with Oli’s Trolley to get new tickets for the 1:00 pm tour, Granby, Henry, and Newfie decided to have lunch outside at a restaurant located right on the water.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Bar Harbor, Maine. The locals pronounce it Baa Hah-bah. Here are some other Maine Speak words.
a yeh – yes
meh-bee – no
bug – lobster
quahog (“ko hog”) – one clam
steamahz – many clams
While Henry was looking over the menu, do you think Newfie was hinting for a taste of lobster?
I think Newfie really did like eating part of Henry’s lunch, a lobster roll!
After lunch, it was time for our 2.5 hour Oli’s Trolley narrated tour of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, the first national park east of the Mississippi River when designated by Congress in 1919. Our driver Mike gave a running commentary about the history, geology, ocean, plant, and animal life of the area.
The earliest indigenous people of Mount Desert Island were hunter-gatherers who depended mostly on the sea for their food source. Some artifacts have been carbon dated to 5,000 years ago. The first European to record exploring Mount Desert was Samuel Champlain in 1604. Europeans did not try to settle in the area until the English established a colony in 1761 after the French and Indian War. Maine was not one of the original 13 colonies in name, but it was a part of Massachusetts until 1820, so Mainers consider themselves a founding state. Today, Maine is the largest New England state and the least populated with most of the population living in the southern portion of the state.
In the mid 1800s, Landscape painters of the Hudson River School came to the area for inspiration for their paintings. Their paintings of Mount Desert Island encouraged many of society’s richest families to come to the area as well to build extravagant summer homes that they called “cottages.” While high society socials and lawn parties were the mainstay for most summer residents, a group headed by Harvard President Charles W. Eliot formed the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations to help preserve some of the beautiful areas on Mount Desert Island. Initially, the group acquired 5,000 acres. Today, Acadia National Park is 47,748 acres of land that has all been donated.
Since it was such a lovely clear day, Granby and Henry were very lucky that our tour was not hindered by fog. We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain for great views of the rugged and rocky coastline and saw Sieur de Mounts Spring and Thunder Hole on Ocean Drive. Mike pointed out where the great forest fire of 1947 had eliminated the original conifer trees and where today there is a deciduous forest. Conifers still are found on the north side of the island where the fire didn’t burn.
Pictures out the trolley window like pictures taken out bus windows do not do justice to the sights and views.
Here are some of the cottages.
Top of Cadillac Mountain.
The ms Maasdam anchored off Bar Harbor’s Town Pier at the foot of Main Street is a tiny white dot in the harbor below Cadillac Mountain at 1,532 feet, the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place to view the sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6.
Along Somes Sound Granby and Henry saw a reconstructed wigwam used by the Wabanaki people 1,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Wabanaki people set up temporary seasonal camps that included birch bark tents called wigwams meaning “home” in Algonquian-based languages. The wigwams had a hole in the top to let out smoke from fires built inside. The interior space was probably blanketed with pelts from deer, moose, and bear.
We also saw the work of beavers busy building dams and their homes.
Some rocky coastline views from Acadia National Park.
After returning to Bar Harbor, Granby and Henry walked to the Town Pier to catch a tender boat back to the ship.
After some more packing, Henry and Granby went to the Crow’s Nest for Happy Hour to say good-bye to the regulars.
Barry and Ann
Ron and Brenda from Sidney, Australia on the left and Ann and Terry on the right.
Carol and Bob
Joan from Colorado with Karen and David from Seattle.
Ellie and Stu from Santa Fe
Newfie said goodbye to Ellie and Stu’s dog Lacey on the computer. Lacey is staying with Ellie and Stu’s son in Tennessee while they are on the VoV. Ellie and Stu received an e-mail message from Lacey that was illustrated with photographs explaining how much fun he was having while they were gone and what he had learned at “camp,” such as swimming in the lake. We saw several pictures of Lacey rolling around on cool green grass after swimming or playing fetch. Lacey wanted to know why Ellie and Stu did not have green grass in Santa Fe like they have in Tennessee.
We all said good-bye to the Crow’s Nest bartenders from left to right, Kris, Romel, and Gus.
After dinner in the Rotterdam dining room, Granby and Henry went to the show in the Showroom at Sea to hear The Unexpected Boys in a musical tribute to Broadway. The Unexpected Boys are similar to the Jersey Boys. It was a good show. After a night cap in the Ocean Bar with John from Texas, Cathy from Texas, and Ron and Brenda from near Sidney, Australia, Granby, Henry, and Newfie went to their cabin for the last night on board the ms Maasdam for the 2012 Voyage of the Vikings.
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