day 3
acadia national park, maine

"Mommy, is she a big girl or a little girl?" -little girl asking about aimee.
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Criterion Theatre:
Claim to Fame: Located on Cottage St. in downtown Bar Harbor, this theatre is a National Historical Landmark. For what reason, we don't exactly know, but the balcony was nice.

Curse of the Jade Scorpion

This was actually the first Woody Allen movie we'd ever seen. And you know, we liked it. We'd never heard of the movie before seeing the poster here, but what the hell, we like detective movies. Clever dialogue, great sets, nice atmosphere, but he stole the plot from an episode of Inspector Gadget.




Theme Calendar of the Day


Top 5 Clever Names of Bar Harbor Businesses:
5. Get Clocked
A clock store
4. Carmen Verandah
Restaurant with terrace
3. Bark Harbor
Pet store for obsessives
2. My Maine Bag
Gift Shop
1. Chowdah's
Self Explanatory

Mustard Dip-off!

2 out of 2 campers agree that Basil Pesto Mustard far outshines Roasted Garlic Mustard. Hands down.

Pahked the Cah in Bah Hahbah
Aug 29 - Ask me who that girl is later.

After a couple of days in the wilderness of Northern Maine, we decided to head to the pre-packaged fun of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. At Acadia, we used our National Parks Pass for the first time.
Cost of Card: $50.
Total Savings so far: $10.

We started our morning by doing the one thing that everyone else was doing: driving up to Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise. Okay, we missed the sunrise because we woke up at eight, but that didn't seem to eliminate the crowds when we finally got there. We joined in with a hawk watching tour that was being given by the park rangers. An hour and two hawks later, we left to explore the yuppie haven of Bar Harbor (you don't know how much it hurts to spell that without the 'u').

It was exactly as we expected. The harbour (ahhh...) was filled with yachts and kayakers while the strip was loaded down with quaint gift shops mostly stuffed with homemade jam and jellies. Speaking of which, what exactly is the difference between a jam and a jelly?

After some work on the site and a cute movie (see side panel), you know what time it was? Time to bust a rhyme? No! Time to shoot a mime? No! It was time for LOBSTAH! We decided to put into action one of the lessons we've learned on this trip: when looking for a good local restaurant, you don't want to trust the first Joe you meet on the street. He might be an obsessive compulsive who only eats at one restaurant because of his daily pattern. Disastrous. No, the best way to avoid being sent to a haven of sociopaths is to approach everyone you meet on the street. Chances are, three or more of them will say the same place. This is where you'll want to head for dinner. Everyone we asked said: if you want good lobster, head to Thurston's.

Lovin' Lobster
Lobster Pound: Thurston's
Recommendations: 3
Ate 1lb of Mussels: 1.25 min
Size of Lobster: 2.35 lbs
Gave up on Cracker: 3.5 min
Gave up on Forks: 7 min
Gave up on Napkins: 7.5 min
Gave up on Decency: 7.55 min
Satisfaction Rating: 9
Thurston's is near the southern tip of the island in Bass Harbor, and is, as they say, "the shit" when it comes to lobster (that's a good thing, being "the shit". Now, "the shits" is a whole other story). It's a little harbourfront hut with patio furniture, with trays and little plastic forks and lots and lots of napkins. Ah yes... the way lobster was meant to be eaten: with your bare hands. I swear, lobster must be the most fun rich folk have with their food.

We kicked off the meal with a pound of mussels, then dove into the main course: a two and a half pound hard shell lobster. The difference between soft and hard shell? Apparently, soft shell has a lot more water in it once you crack it open, though they say the meat is sweeter. The hard shell meat is, well, meatier. Hey, the dude at the hat shop suggested the hard shell, and I'm not one to mess with the dude from the hat shop.

The meal was definitely excellent. A couple sitting next to us commented that it was the best they've ever had, and they'd been around the block a few times. In fact, they'd just come from Nova Scotia, had lobster there, but this lobster blew it away. Must be damn good lobster.

Since there was nothing we could do that would ever top that dinner, we turned in for the night. Or in Kev's case, tossed and turned. Maybe his champagne wishes and lobster dreams were turning into giant crustacean-based nightmares....


take it or leave it?

Hard Shell or Soft Shell?

Large Boat or Tiny Island?

Bald Porcupine or Burnt Porcupine?

Good Idea or Poor Market Test?
more photos in the archive...

Current Location
(get out your push pins)

Acadia National Park, ME

Next Stop: Bangor, Maine

see the full map...

Today's Weather:
Does the sun ever stop?

Daily Stats
Distance:89.2km
Gas: $0.00
Whale tours: 31
Lobster Pounds: 84
Gift Shops: 167
Yachts: 388
Rich Yappy Dogs: 1364
Yuppies: Uncountable

Sleeping Quarters
Acadia National Park

Things were sunny in the morning and we enjoyed a nice jam bagel with our friend, Bee. But that night, oooh boy, Kevin tossed and turned and was a Grumpy Gus in the morning.

Cost: $12.00

Bkfast: 
Campground
Acadia
Bagel with Raspberry Jam
Lunch: 
Tourist Shop
Bar Harbor
Crackers and Dips
Dinner: 
Thurston's
Bass Harbor
1lb of Mussels
2.35lb Hard Shell Lobster
Blueberry Pie
Blueberry Cake
Blueberry Ale
Coke
Cost:$46.25


© 2001. Kevin Beimers and Aimee Lingman. It's not "Chow-DERE", it's CHOWDAH. Say it!