12/26/2009
Dark Sky Available at Lamoine Cottage
A nighttime December adventure awaits in Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park. Seacat’s Rest is about to receive it’s first December visitor to Lamoine. Our newly lighted staircase is a welcoming sight together with the warm and welcoming fire in the woodstove. December can be a magical time to visit Maine either for business or family events.
We think of the Solstice as the shortest day of the year, but actually it is better thought of as the longest night. SeaCat’s Rest has two restful comfortable sleeping rooms as well as a full great room with living, dining and large kitchen for your next adventure. Well stocked with comfy quilts and extra towels, it can be a great getaway from/for your next family reunion in Maine. If you need more space, we have neighbors that also rent their places and we can help connect you with up to three rentals within a short walk.
December is a great time for sky-viewing too. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News tells us about the Acadia Night Sky Festival held 14 to 21 September 2009, and the Dark Sky Initiative for Bar Harbor and the surrounding area. The article tells us about amateur astronomer Marc Fisher, who came all the way from Norridgewock because he recognizes the fact that Bar Harbor “happens to be a dark site. It’s relatively rural and there is nothing but fish to the east.” Fisher, a state employee, set up three of his telescopes near Bar Harbor’s town dock for the festival. The festival, a collaboration of the Island Astronomy Institute, the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Acadia National Park sponsored numerous exhibits, panels, activities and interactive events throughout downtown Bar Harbor.
Island politics are also lit up over the dark sky issue. Three towns on Mount Desert Island have passed ordinances aimed at limiting the impact of artificial lighting on the night sky, what is now known as light pollution. Helping to write these ordinances was Peter Lord, director of the Island Astronomy Institute. We had these laws in mind when we designed the lighting for our new railing. We used energy efficient LEDs shining down and a timer which limits light to a few hours after sundown.
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Filed under Lamoine, Lodging by on Dec 26th, 2009.
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