Maine 2026 Day 3: Bar Harbor Sunset

 

Sunset from Town Pier, Bar Harbor

6 July 2026

When we arrived in Bar Harbor on May 27, the first thing I did after unloading the car was to go out onto the balcony and take pictures of the Porcupine Islands.

Even little cruise ships are too big.

It was chilly. I'd packed an assortment of layers, one of which is a denim jacket that permanently houses a pair of gloves. 

We walked down the Shore Path to get to the southern side of town.

I'd forgotten that repairs are being made to the breakwater between Mount Desert Island and Bald Porcupine Island. 

We passed a raft of eider ducks. Or the raft of eider ducks passed us.

The Shore Path turns inland at Wayman Lane, the site of Party House. The house has been sold and is no longer available for rentals. The new owners have torn down the fence, removed the wooden overhang and the long table on the side, and have ripped up the front yard.

I glanced over at Snow Street as we passed, but Exile House, where I stayed, wasn't visible from where we were. All I could see was the hedges.

We went to McKay's for dinner, as we often do on our first night. They have heaters, and it was just warm enough to sit outdoors.

The cloud cover wasn't complete. The sky was starting to light up. I figured there might be a worthy sunset. We had to scurry, but I got there in time.

I lay on my stomach on the floating dock and aimed my Canon PowerShot through the hole of a cleat. Unlike last year, I checked the focus this time.

The Canon makes the sky too orange, especially when I zoom in. My phone ends up too pink. I was switching between the two as the sun went down.

After the sun had gone behind the trees, I turned around and looked up to see the moon. This photo was freehand with the Canon.

Windows facing the harbor reflected the last of the day's light.

The Geddy's moose, its antler LEDs in need of adjustment, was lit.

What's a Bar Harbor photo without that boat, the Margaret Todd?

On the pier's boat ramp, someone had chalked an elaborate bird, which, best we could figure, was trying to say "skwawk."

Now that it was dark, it was time to check the balcony for spiders. Given the temperature, I wasn't expecting much, and that's what I got. There was one young Zygiella atrica with a web against the wall by the railing.

One evening, one sunset, one Ziggy. We were off to a good start.

Maine 2026 Day 3: On the Way to Bar Harbor

 

Penobscot Narrows Bridge

6 July 2026

On May 27, we set off from Brunswick to Bar Harbor, aiming for bookstores along the way. The one Jack wanted to get to was one we'd visited a few years ago. But it was now permanently closed. So we aimed for the coastal town of Belfast, where there were two we could get to.

Because of the exposed bikes, I was a little nervous about parking the car on the street. The spot we found happened to be next to a police station, Jack pointed out.

We had lunch at Traci's Diner, which did not at all appear to be a tourist trap. The servers seemed to know the patrons. There were black tennis balls on every foot of every chair. This led me to wonder if one could buy chair tennis balls on Amazon. One can buy chair tennis balls on Amazon.

Like Bar Harbor, Belfast's main street slopes down to the water. Unlike Bar Harbor, the street is not lined with souvenir shops. I tried to get a view of the harbor from the street, but there was too much in the way, and I didn't want to take the time to walk all the way down to the water. Jack was in and out of the first book shop in no time.

In the second bookstore was a coffee table book on dogs with a puli on the cover. I don't know what it's like to own a dog like this.

We drove along the coast, which led us to the Penobscot Narrows bridge. I stopped for a minute at the scenic turnoff because the sky.

When we got near the Big Chicken Barn, we decided why not, and went inside.

The entire second level is devoted to books and magazines. It's very organized. Jack didn't get a thing last time nor this time either.

The ground floor is antique chaos. This is one of the two main passageways. There are regular bump-outs on either side, all stuffed with stuff. At one end was a rolltop desk that I was curious about last year. If I'd had a pickup truck and $1100, I might have enquired. This time, the desk was still there, and with some of the clutter rearranged, I could see that it wasn't in as good a condition as I remembered. Maybe someday I'll get one, but not this one.

I didn't take a picture of it, but, zooming in, and very pixellated, it's sort of visible:

We rolled into Bar Harbor in the late afternoon. After unloading the car, it was time to move Janice to the hotel room and Fozzie to the inside of the car so that we could drive around the island with the rack folded up.

Fozzie wasn't budging. It was struggle to loosen Janice from the too-tightly-pressed arms, especially with Fozzie in the way. The thought crossed my mind to let air out of the tires, but I was determined to do this properly. I must have looked a right fool, but I got her loose eventually. For Fozzie, I had to summon Jack to press on the rear arm while I squeezed the release mechanism. Lesson learned. Not so tight next time.