Hobnobbing with the Whatnots

We’re in the US of A! After provisioning at a grocery store in Calais, ME (beer, wine, cider, gin, rum, coke, lemons and limes… oh, and some food items) we made our way to Acadia National Park.

The park, located on Mount Desert Island and flanked by the quaint town of Bar Harbor, is one of the country’s most visited national parks. Even in mid-September, it was very busy and parking was at a premium (especially for an RV), so we chose instead to drive the scenic route around the park and only stopped once to check out the sights at Thunder Hole and Sandy Beach.

View of Sandy Beach from the trail

Sandy Beach at Acadia National Park - the water was COLD!

The next day we took the free shuttle bus from the campground into Bar Harbor - a very convenient way to travel, and saves having to fight for a parking spot! The weather was perfect for a long walk through town, as we followed the Museum in the Street signs to learn about Bar Harbor’s rich (as in Rockefeller rich) history. Since the late 19th Century, the rich and famous have tried to outdo each other in a no expenses spared battle to have the most lavish home on the block in Bar Harbor. 

A lovely outdoor restaurant/bar in an old mansion

D's photo of me taking a photo

The photo I was taking

Some of the famous people and families who own, or have owned property in the town include John D. Rockefeller Jr. (who donated about one-third of the land in Acadia National Park), JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Astor family, Roxanne Quimby (co-founder and CEO of Burt’s Bees), Susan Sarandon, the Roosevelts, the DuPonts, the Pulitzers and the Bouviers (as in first lady Jackie Bouvier Kennedy). That’s pretty impressive roster of socialites!

Today, although you may see local resident Martha Stewart buying fresh produce at the Bar Harbor Farmer’s Market, you’re more likely to run into a mob of middle class grannies in capris and Keds, sporting tour bus ID tags around their necks and shopping bags stuffed with Bar Harbor t-shirts on their wrists. Bar Harbor is still a destination summer resort, though maybe not quite as extravagant as it once was.

When in Maine...! Best lobster cob salad I've ever had.

Crossing the Bar at low tide to visit Bar Island