A Fine Day to Set Sail
This trip has been a series of new shared adventures for us; which is exactly why I looked forward to our month together on the road. This morning’s Whale Watching tour was a little “extra” for us, because we really don’t do a lot of wild and crazy things together, but it was such a good idea!
The weather was stunning! The temperature was in the low 50’s when wet set sail towards the Gulf of Main/ Atlantic Ocean, with just wisps of light clouds to smatter the skies. The winds were light while on shore, but riding across the water searching for whales, it was an effort to hold ourselves together!
To plan for a successful outing, we followed Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. instructions down to the letter. Loaded with hats, layers of clothes, food and drinks, and soft sided ice chest we arrived over an hour early. Parking was probably the trickiest part of the outing, but we had researched all the available options and decided on street parking using the ParkMobile app. We were blessed to find a spot right in front of where we needed to be. We logged on, paid at the meter, set up future payment option to renew our spot while out on the tour and crossed our fingers. A parking deck may have been less stressful. Our meter was running out as we were returning from our tour. It could not be renewed a second time and expired just two minutes before we got back to the car.
Searching for Whale
As we scooted about in our luxurious catamaran, the Atlanticat, we skimmed right over lobster buoys. Our ship is designed to not harm the sea life or get entangled. I’m not sure how it works, but it was really fast. Ed stealthily located seats for us on the starboard side, main level. From our vantage point we saw harbor porpoise. Amusing, yes, but I grew up watching dolphins. I really hoped to see a whale.
We spent the next three hours zipping around, slowing down, speeding up and finally stopping to watch what we’d all been anxious to see, our first whale. We saw the blow from the whale, the fluke of a whale (tail), the whale turned sideway, his pectoral fins gleaming under the water in colors of green and white, and finally, just as I was filming and not knowing what I was capturing, the whale breeched the water (jumped out of the water)! It was amazing!
Wow. That was so worth the time and money investment. I think I’d even go again one day. We were lucky to catch up with our Humpback Whale. The peak season for whale watching off Bar Harbor is mid-June to mid-August. In the event you do not see a whale on your tour, you can receive a voucher to go on another whale watch.
Ending Our Outing With Eats
One of the experiences we wanted to try was having lobster while we were in Maine. There are so many places to buy lobster here! We chose the little place right across from our campground, Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. We chose it for convenience and outdoor seating. Since we are not real familiar with the ways of lobster, we went with a local’s suggestion of the Lobster Nachos, and then split a lobster dinner. We also ordered a couple of local IPA beers. Don’t put much stock in my opinion, because I’m not much of a seafood person, but it was tasty. I liked the beers much better, but the food was prepared nicely and had flavor. It also looked really gross inside that lobster once you cracked it open and pulled out the big chunk of meat. Also, it’s super messy and water pours out everywhere. I’ll go for something different in the next coastal town. I think Ed like it more than me. I’m good for another 20 years though as far as lobster is concerned.
Preparing for Cadillac Mountain
After our late lunch/early dinner, we retired to the camper. Since I am always in planning mode, I had reserved a slot for us to drive the Cadillac Mountain Road at 7am on Friday, September 12th. Waiting in line to board our catamaran was the perfect time to book our slot. We weren’t sure when we could drive the road until we were sure our whale watching trip wouldn’t be canceled for weather. The road access is controlled by time slots, reservations, and a six dollar fee. I’m ok with that; less people.
