A Harbor that Sets the Bar for Tourism

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 25:
IN WHICH WE SEE THE TRAP

Day 25: Bar Harbor, ME & Northeast Harbor, ME. Along the shore in Bar Harbor, there's a rock that's just sitting there defying gravity (pictured above). Called Balance Rock, of course, it has become a tourist attraction and the inspiration for the nearby the Balance Rock Inn.

If you find the Balance Rock or one of the numerous other luxury inns lining the shore in Bar Harbor a bit too pricey, tourists can book a vacation cabin or cottage. There are hundreds in and around Bar Harbor, with prices beginning below $35 per night.

Bar Harbor rental cottages

Once you're settled in your lodging, you can book a spot on the Margaret Todd, a 150-foot schooner, cruises among the islands of Frenchman's Bay, taking tourists to view sights unseen by landlubbers.

The Margaret Todd

And, of course, there are the whale watching cruises for tourists. For a mere $56, you can go for a ride with some other tourists and harrass any whales your captain and a dozen other whale watching boats may find and surround.

Get your tickets here

You may even get to glimpse a whale if you can elbow your way to a viewing spot through the other tourists plus the hundreds of other tourists on all the other boats.

Once you've unnerved the whales, you can go bother some puffins.

After your whale watching cruise, you can probably find a place in Bar Harbor to buy some souvenirs. Ship replicas are very popular, as are lighthouses. And you can find any item with an image of a lobster-- from pajamas to mugs.

Souvenirs don't come cheap in Bar Harbor.

Some of the souvenir shops have so much to offer tourists, they have to display some items on the ceiling.

Double your display area; never mind that some items are out of reach.

No tourist can leave Bah Hahbah without having some lobstah. Dozens of lobster pounds are available, and of course most every other restaurant will be delighted to serve any tourist their own version of lobstah.

Like a dog pound, except with lobsters waiting to be sold.

The wise tourist will also spend some time in nearby Acadia National Park. Hunters Beach would be a scenic choice.

Hunters Beach, Acadia National Park

While there, one can check out the amazingly smooth rocks on the beach and wonder how they took on such shapes. But be sure to put that rock back on the beach in the same spot where you found it. This is a national park, after all, and rock hunting (or shifting) is not permitted.