Exploring Bar HarborJul 22, 2009
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Thunder Hole in Bar Harbor, Maine
Thunder Hole. Ryan is holding onto me because I don't like heights!
watching the waves crash against the rocks
| Bar Harbor is a wonderful place to explore! It is very beautiful here and one minute you are driving next to the water overlooking boots moored and the next you are driving through hilly roads with high trees on either side. Two extremes! We went with the Jackson’s to a National Park Ranger Program this morning titled “Tidepool School.” You would think this was walking along the shore exploring tidepools. NOT! We pulled up into a picnic area and they had touch tanks filled with all kinds of critters that the kids could touch and then they sat the kids down and gave a talk on each of the sea life. It was very interesting and we all learned something, but it wasn’t the exploration we expected. When that was over, we made our way to Thunder Hole, a rock formation where the incoming waves make a crashing sound against the rocks. The tide was actually going out while we were there, but we had a blast climbing on all the massive rocks. So much fun that we spent about 2 ½ hours there! Russell and the kids challenged themselves to climb and jump across rocks they weren’t sure they could conquer, but they did! I was satisfied to stay in my safe zone and take pictures!!! From there we went to Jordan Pond House. This is a restaurant owned and operated by the National Park Service. Here we had a delicious lunch out on the patio overlooking a beautiful lawn and gardens. I decided to try the crab cakes instead of the lobster since they were made with local crab. They were extremely delicious, but we all decided the best thing there was their famous popovers. These are a light pastry type roll that are steaming hot and literally melt in your mouth. They are served with homemade strawberry jam and we couldn’t get enough of them. We had them with our lunch and then we ordered them with ice cream and homemade blueberry sauce for dessert! Yum! After we ate, we walked around the grounds. There is a HUGE blueberry patch with paths cut through it where you can walk and pick your own blueberries for free! We just picked and ate as we walked. We also found a geocache on the edge of Jordan Pond. We then decided to try and find our own tide pools to explore. Russell had asked the park ranger where a good place was and they told us Seawall Park. This is on the complete opposite side of the island, but it was a beautiful drive and not really too far. The tide was low, so there was a lot of rocky area to explore. We found a ton of interesting critters here! Crabs, snails, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, mussels, kelp, and so much more! Then all of a sudden Jimmy yelled “I found a lobster!” We all rushed over and he had uncovered a baby lobster about 6” long. He even picked it up – pincher claws and all! Then Amy said “we have found almost everything except a starfish.” The next instant, Ryan yells out “I found a starfish!” Now our search was complete! We wound up finding 3 baby lobsters, a lot more starfish and 2 little eels once we realized the trick was to flip over the rocks. When we got back to the campground, Russell & the kids decided to order pizza, but I had other plans in mind . . . they have an area set up right in the campground that sells and steams live lobster, corn on the cob and coleslaw. That was my dinner and I sat at our picnic table watching the sun set over the water eating a delicious meal! We had another campfire tonight and we were actually cold sitting around the fire! The weather here has been beautiful! |
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