Rainy Day in Acadia

Rainy, foggy day in Acadia National Park. Maine, U.S.A.

It’s a rainy, foggy day here in Bar Harbor, Maine.  Thank goodness we didn’t have a boat tour or anything on the water scheduled for today.  It would be difficult to see anything in that thick fog.

View from the car today

We started our day thinking we’d go ahead and drive the 20-mile Park Loop Road to hit the highlights.  Soon after we started out, the rains came, the fog rolled in, and we decided we wouldn’t be able to see much from the overlooks (or Look Offs, as they are called in Canada and I seem to still be calling things by their Canadian names, including the washroom vs. restroom, and wanting spell things with an extra u).

Asticou Azalea Garden

I did my fair share of taking photos of fog and rain in the Canadian Maritimes, and did take a few today as well, but decided our best bet, if we must be in the rain, was to visit The Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor.  The garden was designed by Charles K. Savage, a life-long resident of Northeast Harbor who had an interest in local plants and Japanese Garden design.

I’ve found one of the best times to visit a Japanese-style garden is in the rain.  The greens look lush, the raindrops are meditative, and there aren’t many other people who agree with me about walking a garden in the rain, meaning crowds are not a problem.  Speaking of crowds, although it is not the high season here, it seems very crowded to us compared to our time in the Canadian Maritimes where a lot of businesses were not even open yet.  Here they are on the tail-end of transitioning to tourist season.

Most of the azaleas in the garden were finished blooming.  The rhododendrons are just getting started.  Quite a contrast to what was going on in The Bogs of Ohio when we left.  Our azaleas and rhododendrons were finished, and the summer flowers were getting ready to bloom.  (I’m trying not to think about what my gardens look like right now.  The weather back home has been very warm and sunny.  I will not be surprised to find the lettuces in the vegetable garden have bolted already.)

I think there were about six other people out there.  If you look closely at the photo above (click on any of the photos for the slightly larger version although I can’t say if they’re any good or not as the laptop screen is not ideal for viewing images), you can see the rain hitting the water.

We got lost a bit trying to find the garden.  The New England states don’t seem to want to help tourists find their way around by providing signage.  (This is our first visit to Maine, but we have been to other New England states in the past.)  I can sort of understand that.  Who wants signs everywhere?  But I imagine the rich folks who own the homes in the area where we were lost don’t appreciate tourists using their driveways as a turn-around, either.  All those “private drive, “private road,” and “private property” signs make that obvious.

A short (2-mile) hike

There is something to be said for getting lost.  We found a beautiful trail that seemed to be off the tourist track that took us through some lovely, green woods and out to the coast.

So really… who needs signs?  Eventually we find our way somewhere.

The magic of getting lost.

We did eventually find our way, and decided to have lunch at The Jordan Pond House which has been serving visitors to Acadia National Park since 1870.  We originally thought we might have lunch in Bar Harbor at the Black Friar Inn, but they’re not open for lunch (breakfast and dinner).  We had a difficult time finding it (we have since acquired a better map), but it was worth the look as even though we were not able to have lunch, we were served some mighty nice beers.  We’ll probably go back for dinner tomorrow or Friday.

Tea and popovers are a tradition at The Jordan Pond House.

The food at The Jordan Pond House was wonderful and I was delighted that our meal included popovers.  I thought we might have to go back for tea or have one for dessert.  (Side note of sorts:  Did you know that Mount Desert Island, where Acadia National Park is located, is often pronounced by the locals as “dessert?”)

Looking out at a rainy day from The Jordan Pond House

We’re back at out cute little cottage now, watching as people stand around on the highway, getting to know each other while traffic is at a standstill.  It’s been that way for over two hours.  We made it back just after an accident between a park shuttle bus and a pick-up truck occurred.  The emergency vehicles had not arrived yet, and the road was still open with people (including us) using a parking lot to get around it.  I’m not sure who was at fault, but it looked like it might be the driver of the truck.  The shuttle buses are not officially running right now.  I feel sorry for the shuttle bus driver as it was probably their first day on the job, making practice runs.

That’s about it from Bar Harbor for today.  Thank you for dropping by on this rainy day.  One of the good things about a rainy day is that it’s allowed us to rest a bit, take a few deep breaths, and spend more time than usual on our yoga practice (yes, M has been practicing with me).  I hope all is well in your world.  🙂

Related articles

• Welcome to Bar Harbor (bogsofohio.wordpress.com)
• Look Up:  In the Japanese Garden (bogsofohio.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/look-up-in-the-japanese-garden/)
• 1-minute hike: The Beehive, Mount Desert Island, Maine (bangordailynews.com)

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