The Maid Goes to Maine: Part 7 – Lobsters, Cadillacs, and Walking on Water

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Acadia National Park is located just outside Bar Harbor, Maine. This makes it very easy to spend a fun filled day doing something both in town and in the park.

When we decided to go to Maine, Mr. Maid half-jokingly said he wanted to go out on a lobster boat. While researching things to do on our vacation I came across the website for Lulu Lobster Boat. Mr. Maid may have been imagining exciting scenes from The Deadliest Catch or The Perfect Storm. What we got instead was a very enjoyable and educational trip and neither of us had to risk our lives.

See the boat tucked in under the walkway?

Captain John Nicolai knows his stuff and is great at making it fun for all ages. Along with about 20 others, we first sailed out to Egg Rock, which we had seen from the coast the previous day. There we saw seals swimming and sunning themselves all around. When buying your tickets, you can choose times that correspond with either low-tide, mid-tide, or high-tide. At low-tide you’re likely to see the seals laying on the rocks and not doing much else. During high-tide, they’ll most likely be swimming. We chose a mid-tide cruise, and just as predicted we were able to see them doing a bit of both.

Egg Rock

See all of the seals!

If you look closely, you’ll see a bunch of seals hanging out on the rocks. 

Hello there!

From Egg Rock we then headed across Frenchman Bay to the three Porcupine Islands. It is around these islands where Captain John has his lobster traps. Along the way he told us all about the lobster industry and the efforts that are put in place to protect the species and the environment along the coast of Maine. He imparted his vast knowledge of all things lobster while entertaining us with stories and teasing the kids on board.

Captain John Nicolai aboard the Lulu Lobster Boat.

Bonus! Saw the second bald eagle on our trip.

As it was early in the season, it took us awhile before finding anything. As he joked, that’s why they call it lobster fishing, not lobster catching! The third trap was the charm and he pulled up a few lobsters as well as a large crab. He explained how the lobsters are measured and thrown back if they are too small or too large (thus keeping the species from being over fished). He was very patient, giving us all a chance to take an up close look and snap our photos.

Captain John instructing us about all things “lobstery.”

A crab that hitched a ride in the lobster trap.

Watch out for the claws!

This one’s a hair too small – it’s his lucky day and he gets thrown back.

 

We heard a lot of mixed reviews about the jam-packed and expensive whale and puffin watching excursions that are offered in the area. Our cruise was the perfect duration at two hours, and was very reasonably priced. We had fun and learned a lot. If you ever find yourself in Bar Harbor, I highly recommend the Lulu Lobster Boat.

We had chosen the morning boat ride, so once we were back on shore and had a light lunch, we still had the rest of the day ahead of us. We decided to go back to Acadia National Park and drive up to Cadillac Mountain.

When I say you can drive up to Cadillac Mountain, you really can drive almost all the way to its summit. A short walk from the parking lot takes you to the top and the paths are paved and mostly handicap accessible. The views are beautiful. We could see Bar Harbor below, as well as the islands we had visited on our morning boat ride.

The view from atop Cadillac Mountain.

Zooming in on the Porcupine Islands – is that Captain John’s boat on its mid-day cruise?

Mr. Maid had to get in the picture somehow. Doesn’t he know it’s not polite to point?

Looking down on Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain.

 

We had planned to go on a hike after our Cadillac Mountain visit, but it started to rain – hard – with no signs of letting up anytime soon. We decided to head back to town.

Of course, once we arrived back at the Manor House Inn, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to shine again. It was only about 3:30 in the afternoon, so we had time for one more adventure.

When I plan a trip, much to Mr. Maid’s annoyance, I become somewhat obsessed. I read all that I can about our destination and use Google Maps to check locations and distances. I use Google Earth and street view on Google Maps to see ahead of time what places look like and how to get around.

While I was spying on investigating our Bed & Breakfast, I noticed something called the Bar Island Trail just a block away. On the map it appeared to go out to little uninhabited Bar Island. Switching over to Google Earth, the path was marked, but I saw nothing but ocean. I was perplexed.

You have to understand – I’m a Midwestern girl. We have lots of lakes and rivers, but I don’t know jack about the ocean and tides. It never occurred to me that low tide could be low enough to create a walkway – or land bridge – nearly a mile out to an island for a few hours. That’s exactly what happens with the Bar Island Trail.

The trail crosses Mt. Dessert Narrows and continues onto Bar Island and up to its highest point. In addition to experiencing the treat of walking across the ocean floor, the views of Bar Harbor from the summit are gorgeous.

Just an hour before, this was covered by water. That’s Bar Island in the distance.

As the ultimate rule follower, I was annoyed to see that car, as it is clearly posted that you should NOT drive on the path! Why do people have to be such jerks?

The payoff of our short hike to Bar Island was this beautiful view of the town.

A rare Maid sighting.

We capped off our busy day by eating – you guessed it – lobster! We figured we’d put into practice all of the lobster knowledge we’d gained that morning with Captain John. All in the name of research of course!

Quit looking at me with those beady eyes of yours and get in my belly!