36 Hours in Bar Harbor, Me.

36 Hours in Bar Harbor, Me.
By GERALDINE FABRIKANT
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: July 14, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/travel/36-hours-in-bar-harbor.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210


THERE are summer resorts that get busier and more chic over the years. And then there are the ones, like Bar Harbor, Me., that feel deliciously frozen in time. Don’t look for Starbucks, McDonald’s or Ralph Lauren here. Fashion shoppers stop at places with names like Cool as a Moose. Carmen Verandah and the Thirsty Whale are among the evening hot spots. Bar Harbor is the largest town on Mount Desert Island, and nearby Acadia National Park encompasses some 50 square miles. The rest of Mount Desert belongs to residents and a tony array of summer tenants: Brooke Astor summered here, as did myriad Rockefellers and, once upon a time, the town of Northeast Harbor had so many Philadelphia families that it was dubbed “Philadelphia on the rocks.” They all came lured by the striking setting of mountains, woodlands, lakes and ocean waves crashing against granite cliffs. Then and now, Mount Desert has served as a glorious nature camp for biking, hiking and boating. At day’s end, a visitor can cozy up with a blueberry beer and lobster. Evening strollers can watch sailboats drop anchor and the mist slip down over the hundreds of islands that dot the water.


Friday

6 p.m.
1) TOAST THE SUNSET

Take the two-hour cruise on the Margaret Todd, a four-masted windjammer that sails through Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands (207-288-4585; downeastwindjammer.com; $37.50). You’ll pass Ironbound Island, still owned by descendants of the painter Dwight Blaney, who with his contemporary John Singer Sargent and others painted the remarkable vistas of the bay and Acadia. A guitarist may serenade you, but if you want to toast the sunset, bring your own wine.

8:30 p.m.
2) SEAFOOD EXTRAVAGANZA

It may be called the Reading Room (7 Newport Drive; 207-288-3351; barharborinn.com/dining.html), but dining in a rotunda that overlooks the harbor feels more like eating on a ship than in a library. On weekends, a pianist usually plays old favorites. Lobster lovers can opt for the lobster pie ($36), but the broiled Maine haddock with butter crumb crust ($24) is also a treat. For something more exotic, try the red-walled Havana (318 Main Street; 207-288-2822; havanamaine.com), the Obamas’ choice when they visited last summer. The paella with lobster, mussels, clams and chorizo ($29) is worth the stop.

10 p.m.
3) BLUEBERRY BEER

Hang with the locals at Geddy’s (19 Main Street; 207-288-5077; geddys.com), a fun, funky pub filled with old photographs and local signage. Blueberry aficionados can try the Sea Dog blueberry draft beer ($5.30) or a blueberry margarita ($9.50).

Saturday

8:30 a.m.
4) MAINE BREAKFAST

By 8 o’clock the line is already forming at the cheerful Cafe This Way (14 ½ Mount Desert Street; 207-288-4483; cafethisway.com) on a tiny back street off the square, with bookshelves filled with classics and poetry. Mainers don’t stint on breakfast, nor should you; fill up on French toast with real maple syrup ($5.95) or a McThisWay sandwich of fried eggs, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese and bacon ($7.25). Those who want some oomph can try a mimosa or bloody mary ($6.50).

10 a.m.
5) EXPLORING ACADIA

There are numerous entrances to Acadia National Park (check nps.gov; 207-288-3338; $20 per car for seven days). Take a drive around the 27-mile Park Loop Road and head to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard. It was named after the French explorer who called himself Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac. He went on to help found Detroit, where the Cadillac was named after him. You cannot rent bikes or canoes within the park, but in Bar Harbor, Acadia Bike (48 Cottage Street; 207 288-9605; acadiabike.com) rents bikes for $21 a day. If you are not inclined to bike the steep 2.5 miles into the park, pack your bike on the free Island Explorer Shuttle (207-667-5796; exploreacadia.com; daily service from 9:15 a.m. at the Village Green to the Eagle Lake Carriage Road entrance). There are 45 miles of biking paths that wind through forests, along beaver dams and around lakes. Take a map — even the road signs can get tricky.

1 p.m.
6) POPOVERS IN THE PARK

Lunch at the Jordan Pond House (207-276-3316; thejordanpondhouse.com) shouldn’t be missed, with views across the park’s Jordan Pond to the Bubble Mountains. Popovers as rounded as the mountaintops are a specialty and come with everything from lobster salad ($20) to vegetable quiche ($12). If you bring your kayak or canoe, you can use them on the pond.

4 p.m.
7) LOCAL WARES

Window Panes (166 Main Street; 207-288-9550; windowpanesMDI.com) is a good stop for coasters made from local granite ($15). If you get chilly, Cool as a Moose (118 Main Street; 207-288-3904; coolasamoose.com) is a place to grab a sweatshirt ($40). Or immerse yourself in Maine lore at Sherman’s Book and Stationery Store (56 Main Street: 207-288-3161; shermans.com), where you might want to pick up a copy of “Time and Tide in Acadia” by Christopher Camuto ($24.95) and “The Maine Wild Blueberry Cookbook” ($14.99). For the Lilly Pulitzer look of hot pink, orange and blue tops or straw hats and summer bags, pop over to the Romantic Room (130 Main Street, Northeast Harbor; 207-276-4005; theromanticroom.com).

7 p.m.
8) IT’S ALL ABOUT LOBSTER

Any Maine stay is about, well, lobster. Nowhere is that fact driven home more bluntly than at Thurston’s (Steamboat Wharf Road, Bernard; 207-244-7600; thurstonslobster.com), in a half-plastic, half-canvas tent overlooking a working harbor and surrounded by stacks of lobster pots. You choose your live lobster, they cook it and you pick it up on a plastic tray. The result: high turnover and low prices (recently a large lobster went for $12.65 a pound). For variety try the lobster stew ($8.95). If you prefer a cottage setting, try Abel’s Lobster Pound (Abels Lane off Route 198, south of Junction 233; 207-276-5827), a lively family-owned restaurant set in a spruce grove on a fjord, where you eat on picnic tables illuminated by tiki torches overlooking the yacht basin or in the knotty pine dining room. A 1.5-pound lobster is $35 with baked potato.

10 p.m.
9) LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT

To unwind after a day outdoors, climb the steps to Carmen Verandah (119 Main Street; 207-288-2766; carmenverandah.com) for an evening of bands, karaoke or open mike. Cover charge is $2 to $5.

Sunday

9:30 a.m.
10) THE MANICURED SIDE

At the Asticou Azalea Garden (Peabody Drive and Sound Drive; 207-276-3727; gardenpreserve.org; free), a mix of pines, hemlocks, Korean firs, Japanese maples, azaleas and blueberries are set around a pond. The garden’s hybrid of styles includes a small Japanese karesansui garden composed of Maine granite island stones in a sea of raked white sands. Lanterns and stepping stones heighten the Japanese mood. Nearby, on Peabody Drive, is the Thuya Garden (207-276-5130; also gardenpreserve.org; free), named after the house built by the landscape architect Henry Curtis, who summered there. The lodge is now a horticultural library, and the setting features a broad array of trees, shrubs and an English-style garden with everything from wood lilies to Beverly Sills iris. One can drive or climb to the garden, but the climb, which affords broad views of Northeast Harbor, is well worth the effort.

11 a.m.
11) TRULY LOCAL

Take the mail boat to Little Cranberry Island from Northeast Harbor, and you may find yourself helping locals unload their groceries on the dock (207-244-3575; cranberryisles.com/ferries.html; $28 round trip). Stop at the Islesford Historical Museum, with its collection of ship models, tools and dolls (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Marina, 207-244-9224; acadianationalpark.com/bar_harbor_maine_attractions), and then have brunch or a drink at the Islesford Dock Restaurant (Marina, Islesford; 207-244-7494; islesforddock.com). The harbor setting and views capture the Maine atmosphere, and the place was mentioned last summer in Martha Stewart’s blog (she is a Seal Harbor summer resident). Try the Maine lobster fritter and grits ($8).

IF YOU GO

The elegant Asticou Inn overlooks the water in Northeast Harbor (15 Peabody Drive; 207-276- 3344; asticou.com). With its flowered wallpaper, chintz-covered chairs and ruffled curtains, it has the feel of a roomy, old Maine home, but one with a tennis court and heated swimming pool. There are 48 rooms and cottages, with rates from $195 in July, from $220 in August.

For a prettily decorated, cheerful B&B near the water, try The Inns at Ullikana (16 The Field, 207-288-9552; ullikana.com). Each room is decorated with a panoply of colors and fabrics. Rates, including afternoon refreshments, start at $160.