World United States Maine Bar Harbor

Northeast and Maritime Canada 2011

On the Water and then On the Water Again! Aug 9, 2011

Today was a sunny day and we decided to go on a water tour leaving from Northeast Harbor and cruising around the park. In addition, we will stop at Little Cranberry Island to see the Island. A National Park Ranger came on the tour to tell us about the area. We saw alot of lobster pot buoys and several lobster man out gathering in the lobsters. The Ranger told us that the lobsters move into the more shallow water in the summer to molt and grow new shells. The lobster man take advantage of this and catch alot of them if they meet the size limit. After growing a new shell, the lobsters move out to deeper water--usually in the winter. We saw seals, ospreys, and other sea birds while on the tour. Little Cranberry Island has a year round population of about 75 and a summer population of 350. There is a 2 room school house with 2 teachers and about 15 students for K thru 8th grade. For grades 9 to 12 the students take the ferry to the schools on the mainland. With today's modern electronics, the schools use alot of computers to teach the children. An unusual aspect is that these students meet other "island students" by the Internet and then actually meet them during trips in the school year. We did not see any stores on the island--so the islanders must eat alot of lobsters!

After a wonderful morning on the water, we drove over to Bass Harbor to see a lighthouse and have lunch. The lunch was great--again seafood. While we were eating outside, we watched one of the restaurant workers carry a bushel basket full of lobsters across the parking lot to the restaurant--that is FRESH! The lobster boats off loaded their catch next to the restaurant. That evening, we took a sail on a 4 masted sailing ship from Bar Harbor. We were aboard the 140 foot vessel with about 100 other vacationers. It was a nice evening on the water and it got very cool.