Seal Harbor, Little Long Pond and my neighborhood...

Along Route 3, before arriving in the village of Seal Harbor, I came upon Bracy Cove on my right (above) and Little Long Pond on my left.

Little Long Pond has 17 acres of meadows, 12 acres of marsh, a bog, crystal clear streams, and nearly 1,000 acres of forest.  On a one-hour walk you can hear croaking frogs, watch an osprey fish, spot a pileated woodpecker, and take in breathtaking views of surrounding mountains. John D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased the land around Little Long Pond for its scenic value. The land was privately owned until 2015 when, in celebration of his 100th birthday, David Rockefeller Sr. donated it to the Land Garden Preserve. Martha Stewart has a mansion nestled in the hillside above Seal Beach, and you can read about it and see pictures here:   https://flowermag.com/martha-stewarts-summer-getaway-skylands/

It was originally built in 1925 for Henry Ford's son, Edsel. 

Instead of following Rt 3 into the tiny village, I hooked around to the south onto a winding residential road call Cooksey Drive because it hugged the water and looked more interesting. It was a thick forest,  hilly with huge homes and beautiful views. Worth the detour... 

                                   An old cemetery on the way back into Bar Harbor... 

A few blocks up the hill from the house where I'm living is the Kebo Valley Golf Club. It's a public course now, very challenging, with an interesting history. 

It is currently the 8th oldest golf course in the United States and was started in 1894. Among its amenities were a Shingle-style clubhouse with a theater/ballroom, reading room, dining room, horse racetrack, and the golf course. 

The popular summer club was typically the first to announce the official start of the social season for Maine’s summer visitors, and the New York Times often published the results of Kebo’s weekly golf tournaments. Herbert Leeds, sportsman, golfer, and golf course designer, laid out the first six holes four years after the club was incorporated. Following national trends, in the early 1920s, this course was expanded and revised to 18 holes. Here's an old post card/photo:

 A block down the hill is one of the many "lobster pound" places. This one is a bit more reasonable than some. They only had live lobsters and I couldn't imagine boiling it myself, so I got blueberry jam instead ;)

 

 

 

Lighthouse and Puffins boat tour and Oli's Trolly

This weekend, I decided to take a 40 minute narrated Oli's Trolly tour of downtown Bar Harbor. It was great! The guide told us about local lore and the devastating 1947 fire that burned most of the huge "cottages". He said his ancestors were original rusticators here 6+ generations ago and he retired here with his wife after a NASA career in DC. They winter in Key West. It was a really informative tour and he had lots of great stories. On Saturday, what's left of my guide class (3 out of 9 have dropped out now) took their 3rd and final ALL day paddle to practice tandem kayak capsizes and cold water rescues. Bundled in fleece, I was grateful to hop on the 9:30AM Lighthouse and Puffins 2 1/2 hour boat tour! 😁

Our tour vessel... Friendship V, a jet powered catamaran

On the way out of the harbor...the Margaret Todd Schooner and Bar Harbor Inn

View of the mountainous coastline of Frenchman Bay, named for Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who mapped and explored the area in 1604. As archaeological evidence has shown in the form of Native American artifacts and several hundred shell heaps, the area also served as the summer home for Wabanaki tribes. The Abbe Museum here has one of the best collections of their artifacts anywhere, and I hope to visit it soon.

 

Our first stop was Egg Rock Lighthouse. It was built in 1875 and is one of coastal Maine's architecturally unique lighthouses, with a square tower projecting through the square keeper's house. Located on Egg Rock, midway between MDI and the Schoodic Peninsula, it is an active aid to navigation, flashing red every 40 seconds. The island is owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and is surrounded by rocks covered with sunning seals. Porpoises also frequent the waters around it.

Seals with their pups

Our 2nd stop, above and below, was Petit Manon Island and lighthouse, built in 1855. It is part of the extensive Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Our guide radioed one of the scientists on the island to ask about their activities and bird sightings, allowing us to ask questions. USFWS initiated a seabird restoration effort in 1984, and removed predatory gulls from the island. Terns returned to the island within one week of the predator control effort and have continued to nest on the island every year. In 2005, Petit Manan Island supported 1,007 pairs of common terns, 595 pairs of Arctic terns, nine pairs of roseate terns, 51 pairs of Atlantic puffin, 1,151 pairs of laughing gulls, and one pair of razor bills. Common eider, Leach’s storm-petrel, and black guillemot also nest on the island. Migratory and wintering shorebirds and waterfowl feed on the surrounding inter-tidal ledges throughout the year.

Puffins!

 

 

 

 

Below, our fantastic tour guide. He is from Guatamala and got a geology degree at Rutgers. His knowledge of all the birds we saw was amazing. He was thrilled to spot a trio of oyster catchers flying above, saying it was a rare occurrence in the area, and that they usually fly in pairs.  He said there are 66 lighthouses in Maine and that Michigan has the most with 124. Who knew?

                              Above, a huge eagle's nest in the treetop at 12 o'clock (3 chicks in it!)

Winter Harbor Lighthouse, above, is located on Mark Island, a small island between the Schoodic Peninsula and Turtle Island, near the entry to the town's main harbor. The light was built in 1856 and was deactivated in 1933. It is no longer an aid to navigation and is privately owned with no indoor plumbing, cell service or real amenities. For many years, the station also had a fog bell with automatic striking machinery. Over the years, its owners have included authors, an interior designer and a playwright. It has an interesting history if you have a minute:

http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/winter-harbor-light-history.html

An osprey nest on a channel marker

Then we slowed at the rugged unspoiled cliffs of Ironbound Island. Wild Atlantic dulse, or seaweed, is harvested here and sold. It grows on north-facing cliffs and shady crevices. The blood red plants branch into many small lobed fronds and dry to a deep purple. It has a long tradition in the cuisines of many Northern European cultures. It is rich in potassium, iron, iodine and trace elements. 

This island was owned by Dwight Blaney and if you have a minute, read the story of him, the island and its many famous visitors:

http://thedowneastdilettante.blogspot.com/2010/06/art-down-east-mr-blaney-of-ironbound.html

All in all, another great excursion...

The Asticou Inn

Leaving NE Harbor the other day, I passed the historic Asticou Inn and stopped to take a look. 

The original, built in 1885, burned to the ground in 1900 and was replaced by the current building the next year. It's one of MDI's treasures, so I'm devoting a blog post to it...

I borrowed this history from the Inn's website... (more photos at the end!)

"Asticou is first mentioned in a 1608 English document as headman of an Indian village of what became known as the River of Mount Desert, which was later segmented and renamed Union River, Union Bay River and Blue Hill Bay. Five years later, his name appears in French records as the sakom who welcomed the French to his summer village on the southeastern shore of Somes Sound.In 1798, the Savage family settled their homestead on the land at the head of Northeast Harbor. Those first Savages were industrious and multi-talented. They were seaman, fisherman, hunters, farmers, housekeepers, and lumbermen. Three generations later in 1854, Augustus Chase Savage and Emily Manchester Savage built their home atop a hill overlooking the harbor. This cottage is now known as Cranberry Lodge, and is the oldest of the Asticou-Inn buildings in use today. In 1870, the Savages began housing boarders, and so began the tradition of lodging at the Asticou-Inn. In the 1870’s, a now retired sea captain and entrepreneur, A.C. Savage, foresaw that the rusticator boom, which had built up in Bar Harbor, would soon spill over to neighboring Northeast Harbor. The main Inn was constructed and began welcoming its first guests in 1884. The original building burned down in 1900, but it was rebuilt, grander than ever, and opened in the summer of 1901. Over the years, it has lodged some of America’s greatest social and political leaders. These high-profile guests would stay, not just several days or weeks, but often for the entire summer. In Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, they would speak of, and look forward to the “season” on Mount Desert Island. In 1941, when the United States was thrust into World War II, normal operations at the Asticou-Inn were suspended, so that all could join the war effort. The Inn was not reopened until 1946. In October of 1947, Mount Desert Island was ravaged by a terrible wildfire. Nearly 17,000 acres on the eastern half of the island were consumed in the blaze. Many of Bar Harbor’s great “cottages” were destroyed, as well as many of the grand hotels and restaurants. The towns of Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor were the only areas spared from this disaster.

During this period of the Asticou-Inn’s history, it was run by Charles and Katharine Savage, the third of his lineage to manage the Inn. In addition to being a dedicated Innkeeper, Charles Savage was a man of many skills and interests. He was a skilled wood carver, and some of his carvings, such as the “Canterbury Tales” piece, can still be seen on the mantel over the fireplace at the Northeast Harbor library. He was also the chief landscape architect of the Azalea Gardens and Thuya Gardens, which can be visited across the street from the Inn. In the early 1960’s, both the Asticou-Inn and Kimball House, also in Northeast Harbor, were sold to the Asti-Kim Corporation. This group was composed of local businesspeople and summer residents, who wished to see the tradition of the large hotels preserved for the future. As large hotels fell out of favor with the advent of the motel, it seemed only one of the two could survive. The Kimball House was torn down, but the Asticou-Inn has survived to this day, still an integral part of Mount Desert, and the Northeast Harbor community."

I snapped a photo of the harbor and pool as viewed from the restaurant balcony. Wow!

Then I walked across the street to explore the Asticou Azalea garden. It was created by Charles Savage in 1958 with elements of a classic Japanese garden to highlight similarities between MDI and Japan. The garden includes blueberries, mosses, stones, a sand garden, exotic azaleas, rhododendrons, and a freshwater stream, stepping stones and a pond. Enjoy!

Today, I'm going to catch one of the sightseeing boats or ferry trips from the pier... will post that soon! ;)

 

Exploring MDI (Mount Desert Island)

With time on my hands, I ventured across the island about 13 miles to check out Northeast Harbor, considered the quiet side of the island. It's a quaint little town with a main street and marina/harbor. I parked at the harbor, stopped at the visitor center and chatted with a nice guy named Chris. When I told him I was working in Maine this summer, he said that I would get free passage on most sightseeing trips, including the Lulu Lobster boat, mail boat ferries and nature cruises! ;) I'd missed the last boats for that day but will definitely go in the future.

The harbor was quiet except for two lobster boats getting their traps lowered onto the deck by a crane of sorts.

                                      These Maine harbors all start to look alike after a while!;)

 

The town and Main St were quiet. Thought this was worth a photo. The "statue" is made of mussel shells. 

As I drove along the coast on Route 3, I saw this cute little store in Otter Creek for camping supplies and sundries. They had reasonable fairly  lobster prices too at $22.99 for a dinner and $19 for a lobster roll ;) That's about half what they charge at the tourist traps in town!

                                         More on my island exploration in a day or two!

Admitting defeat.. no regrets!

Well, after a day off, I awoke still questioning my ability to perform well as a kayak guide in cold Maine seas. I kind of felt like this (below)...🤭 I also seriously questioned whether I would actually ENJOY the guide job if I somehow passed my licensing exam. Heck, help is so hard to find this summer, even ice cream shops are offering $20 an hour! Yet we will be expected to lead multiple tours a day and conceivably rescue people... for a meager $12.50 an hour plus MAYBE tips. Some of my classmates aren't happy about this...

Today was scheduled as another all day paddle, this time in Somes Sound, the only fjord in the Eastern US, shown below. Quite beautiful..

A cold front had moved through overnight, and I think this was the last straw when I thought of more cold water rescue drills, this time with tandem kayaks and two people in the water needing assistance. I headed to work at the designated meeting time but instead of joining the guide trainees, I pulled my boss aside and told him I was in over my head, no pun intended, and had decided to leave the training class. He was cordial, said that the instructor had told him I was "struggling" with some things, but urged me to finish the class and attempt the exam. He said they could use me as an extra/2nd guide on groups bigger than 12 people. Generous offer actually... I felt like an ass for taking a trainee spot and dropping out.I heard one of the guys in the class was a no-show today too. The thought of spending another week in hell for NO pay was also not appealing, in the event I didnt take/pass my exams.

I apologized and said that my mind was made up, and he said it was his policy never to try to talk someone into something. He also said that last year, a girl in my position mid-training, went ahead and passed her exam and quit after her first tour, saying she just didn't want to do it. People have to find their bliss, and sometimes an online job description isn't what you envisioned, once you get into it. I reread the job description and there was no mention of hauling gear blocks to the water, lifting kayaks on and off a trailer from the water's edge, days of cold water rescue drills in the pool and sea, or 3 all day paddles. 

I figured I'd just admit defeat now and avoid another week of all day paddles, cold water rescues, mock oral exams with an instructor who seemed to take pleasure in busting on me, and days of studying with a 50/50 chance of passing anyway, only to get a guide job that I no longer found appealing because of the safety/rescue responsibility and the physical stamina and discomfort involved.

I felt a huge weight lifted, and in a day or two, I'll come back to the office to see if there might be a spot for me elsewhere in the company. NO regrets. I gave it my all and I NEVER quit things. There you have it. I basically got a free, albeit unpaid, intensive 6 day kayak and navigation lesson and will use what I learned any time I'm on the water recreationally. And I'm still enjoying Maine, my fellow trainees and my housemates, all of whom I like and may end up remaining friends with, like some of my ranch co-workers! ;) To let off steam, I headed home and made a big pot of tortellini and spinach.

I spent the afternoon on the west side of MDI (Mount Desert Island), exploring NE Harbor, Seal Harbor where Martha Stewart has a home,  and a few other sites. That will be posted in a few days. Stay tuned! My blog will be more of a tourist/sightseeing narrative going forward. I must a admit, it felt nice to come home at 5ish with no salt water on my skin, hair and clothes and not be dead tired and scratched/bruised/blistered/soaked/bleeding/sore! ;)

Day OFF! 😁

 Finally, a day off! We had thunder storms and heavy rain all night and then it cleared by 10am. I woke up sore and exhausted and glad not to have class or a paddle today. Finally, the heat broke and it was gorgeous. I got two loads of laundry done and just rested all morning.

My dear friend Lou, a former NC neighbor who lives in San Miguel Mexico now with his wife Kathy, is in Bar Harbor this week! His friend Chris from Atlanta in the 80s is working here this summer. Small world.

They picked me up at 2pm, and we went downtown for a bite and drink. Found a cute casual place on a side street, and lobster rolls and local blueberry beer were the thing to order!

Afterwards, we drove up the road a little ways, found a hotel on a hill and stopped there for some water view cocktails. That's our table, bottom left. A relaxing break and great time catching up with a friend who I haven't seen since we last crossed paths in Wyoming in 2016! I'm still beat from yesterday's all day paddle and cold water rescue drills. Contemplating a change of plans tomorrow...stay tuned!

Bootcamp, day 6

Today was our first of 3 FULL day paddles. We met at the shop at 8:30, gathered our gear and took the van across Mt Desert Island 30 minutes to the west side.

We launched from a nice ramp at Bartlett's Landing (below) at 10AM and proceeded to cross the narrows and circumnavigate Bartlett Island, owned by the Rockefellers. It has 12 miles of coastline, but we didn't hit all the "nooks and crannies" so our 7 hour excursion was "only" about 8 nautical miles with 2 short breaks to go ashore..

On one stop, we finally got a guide class picture... a really nice group of 9 people from all different states, backgrounds and experience.

This has been like fraternity/sorority hell week, and we've bonded a bit. Below is the island we paddled around and our trainer with ponytail.. whatevs.

Before we took our lunch break, he informed us that we would be "getting wet" and practicing rescues in the 50 degree water. Oh joy.... We had teams of 3 with one person capsizing, one person rescuing and one person observing and timing. Then we switched roles so everyone had to swim! My rescue didn't go seamlessly but my partner got back into her kayak eventually. Once again, my upper body strength was lacking when it came time to pull the rescuee's kayak onto my bow and then turn it over to dump the water out. I then had to pull it parallel to my kayak and lean way over to stabilize it while instructing her how to get back in. Luckily we were in a cove and not way out in the bay, and surprisingly, it wasn't really cold once we got back in our kayaks after capsizing. What scares me is the thought of getting TWO clients back in when they flip their tandem kayak. In theory, it could be two 300 pound guys or a frail elderly couple. That practice drill is coming up. Oy....

These are my very sweet housemates from FL. He is Russian, very funny, and they are engaged. They have done some guiding in warm FL waters, and like me, were a little surprised by the difference in ME and FL paddling! Sea kayaks have a rudder and foot pegs to steer! Our spray skirts add weight too. We are all soaked in this picture above, having just come ashore from our first rescue drill. We'll be salty and sticky and cold for the rest of the day now....

 

On the last leg of our all day paddle, once again, the instructor told us to stop. I was thoroughly exhausted, paddling slower than I had all day and dreaming of a hot shower and bed. This time he wanted us to do a "solo rescue". In other words, capsize by rolling over and get ourselves back into our own kayak with no help. There are two methods. One involves lifting/ lurching yourself onto the deck without tipping it over again, staying low, straddling and "worming" forwards down the kayak until you can get your feet into the cockpit and flip over. I couldn't propel myself in the pool drill, so I didn't try again today. I opted for the paddle float method. I tipped myself, came up from underneath my kayak, found my paddle float and inflated it, slid it onto my paddle blade and then wasn't sure where to attach it since 3 days had elapsed since our brief pool practice. The instructor paddled over and wasn't too eager to tell me what to do as I hesitated, freezing, but eventually gave in and walked me through it. My deck lines were almost too tight to allow the paddle blade underneath, making it even harder. I eventually got back in, found my pump and pumped all the water out of my kayak. Then we had a 30 minute paddle back to the launch site.

 Enjoy a YouTube video of the self-rescue process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIW-rQtqVQ

A few other people had difficulties too, but my guide deficiencies seem to be multiplying each day. Once again, back at the take-out point, my throbbing knee, thumb blisters and a new bleeding cut on my shin left me less than eager/able to hoist heavy kayaks onto the rack or even lift my kayak bow to help carry mine from the water's edge. 

On a lighter note, yesterday we saw harbor porpoises and today, we finally saw seals and lots of them. They were at a distance but frolicking in the water, sunning on the rocks and even following us. 

 

We got back to the kayak shop around 6PM, and I am dead on my feet from the long, hard day....actually on my back. Tomorrow is an official DAY OFF! We'll see if I can get out of bed to enjoy it.