Humpback whale, from C. O. A.

One of our recent guests to SeaCat’s Rest wanted to come in early October, but was concerned that the whale watching cruises would be over by then. I contacted Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. and they told me that the usual end point for whale trips was anytime after the middle of  October, and the reason is that the whales pack up and leave, and arrive again in May (cruises start in June).

The twenty-first century “whaling industry” is much different from the 19th century, when whales were hunted for their fat content in pre-petroleum America. Besides the whale watch trips, which are not as disruptive and invasive as you may think, College of the Atlantic has a major program of whale study, including the  Adopt-A-Whale program and stranding rescue. Both these programs are done by Allied Whale, and more can be learned by visiting the Bar Harbor Whale Museum. Whale adoption helps to fund research and is quite affordable. For $30 you can adopt a finback or humpback whale and for $40, a mother and calf pair. You get adoption papers too! A great Christmas gift idea.

You may think the whale watch boats chase down the whales and bother them. Actually, once the boat is in the area, the whales like to come by for a visit. They like to roll around and show off, seeming to enjoy the encounter. Whales are very intelligent animals, a finback’s brain weighs 6.9 kilograms, five times a human’s. If the boats were bothering them I think they’d let us know, and the College of the Atlantic (C.O.A.) and Allied Whale would not accept funding donations from the cruise operators.

Besides smaller marine mammals and birds, the whales you are likely to see on the whale watch boats leaving from Bar Harbor are finback, humpback and minke. Occasionally the endangered northern right whale is sighted. At 130 tons and a length of up to 89 feet, the finback is the biggest in the area, second only to the blue whale. Humpbacks come in second with a length of 56 feet and a weight of 45 tons, but they’re the most athletic, as the above sequence of pictures reveals. Finally, the minkes weigh 5-10 tons and are up to 35 feet long.

The trip out to the whale habitat is long, about to the middle of the Gulf of Maine, or halfway to Nova Scotia. This is serious ocean out here and the waves are often big swells. Until the new catamarans (twin hulls) were adopted, the journey was unpleasant for folks with sensitive stomachs. Now it’s much better, but the motion can still be a factor. The twin hulls also mean a faster trip so more time is available for watching and less for getting there.

Most of the activities in and around Acadia National Park are environmentally benign and the whale watch cruises are no exception. At around $62 for adults ($11 for kids under 6 and $31 for older kids) the price for a trip is not cheap but also not outrageous. Spend the following day on a hike for free (scroll down for one) and the daily cost averages lower. Thanks to youtube poster Richard for this fine video:

Vinnie B., rollin' stone

From time to time we like to feature guest bloggers. This is Vinnie B. from Tankbottom, New Jersey. His opinions are his own.

I gotta tell ya, dis place is awful. First of all, dis Lamoine is on d’way to nowheres. It’s a dead end. Nothing out dere but ocean and….Canada. The nice reassurin’ buzz of traffic and honkin’ horns is missin’. It’s too quiet. All dere is is d’sound of wind through d’pine needles and sometimes a gull call or eagle yell. Somehow d’air’s not right neither. Dere ain’t no diesel smoke or fryer fumes like back home. And speaking of fryers, fuggetabout yer favorite fast food joints. Oh sure, dere’s a few in Ellsworth but don’t expect a Steak and Shake or El Pollo Loco, and dey just shut down the Friendly’s! Borin’! And  dey ain’t got none in Lamoine or Bar Harbor!

a whole lotta nuthin'

In fact, d’locals eat dese big red spiders dey get out of d’ocean. And the proprietor digs in d’smelly mud for some kind of  mushy thing dat lives in a shell, and den cooks it in a hole in d’ground! Weird! Who wants to eat things dat don’t come from d’store? Dis is dangerous. And don’t get d’local beer! Ya can’t drink more’n four or five before you pass out.

And speakin’ of stores, there’s only one big box in town, Walmart. Unless you count Home Depot. How we suppose ta get stuff if we have ta shop in stores we ain’t never heard of? Suppose dey got only big red spiders instead of what we want? We want fish sticks, we get spiders!

Kinda rough...

And some of d’houses are kinda rough lookin’. And don’t nobody weed dere lawns? Just when I think a place is abandoned someone walks out d’door wit dere head held high, like dey was proud or sumpin’.

Da best part of d’trip was going ta Bar Harbor. Da long wait for a table at d’restaurant was almost like home. Lots of traffic too. Ahhhh! But why don’t dey put cell towers on all dese mountains? I couldn’t text from some places while I was drivin’. Outrageous! And d’water at Sand Beach is freezin’! Give me d’Jersey shore any day.

People here are strange. Dey wait a minute before dey say sumpin’ and den talk real slow with a funny accent. Dey try to mess with yer head, den you realize later dey was bein’ clever. Sayin’ things like, “I had to slow down just so’s I could hurry up,” and “ya can’t get there from here”. I think I know why Stephen King is from here. Everybody’s got dat wild Maine woods look. It creeps me out.

Stay away! Vegas is better. Florida’s good, especially Gatorland. Do yerself a favor. Maine is no place for normal dudes like us. Nature should be controlled, boxed up, like at Gatorland. Not out where you can see it, seepin’ into the local oddballs. Dat’s it! Maine is for oddballs. KnowhatI’msayin’?

It’s been a tough winter. The economy, war, disasters and brutal weather. The news shows seem to all be paid for by drug companies as ailment after ailment roll by in commercial messages.  Are we really that sick? What we need is a vacation!

Consider the benefits of a relaxing trip to the Bar Harbor area. You will find the cool sea air charged with negative ions which some claim have beneficial health effects. The ions surround dust particles and bacteria and cause them to drop out. Hospitals use ion generators to sterilize the air in operating rooms. From firstscience.com:

At the New York State Psychiatric Institute, researchers found that negative ion therapy helped to alleviate the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of winter depression. During a trial, people were exposed to high and low rate flows of negative ions while they slept. Many of the patients that were exposed to a higher density of negative ions showed an improvement in their symptoms.

Admittedly, there are more important health reasons to come here than negative ions. Acadia National Park will get you outdoors and moving. Exercise is a life-extender, and within these pages are ideas for hundreds of physical activities, all in beautiful pristine surroundings. There are 120 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads throughout Acadia National Park.

Let’s not neglect the importance of fresh food in the health arena. From the Environment News Service:

Eating a small amount of seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as shrimp, tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish daily can cut the risk of death due to heart disease by 20 percent, according to studies released at the Seafood and Health conference in Washington this week.

You won’t find fresher seafood than what’s available here in Acadia. So to recap: Our cool ocean breezes deliver ion-charged air and relief from the heat of the South or stale air-conditioned buildings. Our ample trails and shoreline offer unlimited opportunities for healthy exercise. And the seafood is fresh and healthy. Once you cross that Maine border your stress will lift like the morning fog. You will find that people are more easygoing and the noise level drops.  We’re close, we’re affordable. What are you waiting for?

A nice, fresh blanket of snow. It’s enough to make you….tear your hair out! Enough already! It’s April!

April 2, 2011. No April fooling

Lou McNally, now living in Florida!

I have often said that the coast of Maine does not fit into the image of Maine as a place of arctic whiteness, but with this winter’s six months of the stuff I have to eat my words. Lou McNally, longtime Maine weatherguy and former host of MPBN TV’s Made in Maine spoke recently on the subject. He  holds a PHD in meteorology and when asked what effect global warming will have in Maine, said that we will probably have more storms and abrupt season changes. No mention of higher temperatures or less precipitation. Maine is known for having the most winter sunshine, second on the East coast only to Florida, as moist clouds get wringed out by mountains or the coast further south.  We may end up with Boston winters, lots of wet show and little sun. Another few winters like this and I’ll be a believer. Lou is now a professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University…..in Florida!

Crocuses in the snow, 4/2/11

Why do people think of lobster when they think of the State of Maine? Our Atlantic or American lobster, Homarus americanus, ranges as far south as North Carolina, but the greatest abundance is in the cold waters of Maine and Atlantic Canada. In Maine, our 2009 harvest was 78 million pounds, valued at $228.6 million. Second in the U. S. was Massachusetts with 11.6 million pounds. Maine and Massachusetts account together for 92% of the lobster landings in the U.S.A. and of that, Maine’s share is 80%.

People watching the Discovery Channel’s Lobstermen or the earlier Lobster Wars may have been surprised to find an occupation similar to Alaska’s severe Deadliest Catch. But this type of fishing is not typical. Most lobster landings are closer to shore and from much smaller boats in the summer months. These familiar boats are what visitors see when they visit Maine. The TV show would probably have been a dismal failure without rough weather and boats big enough and out at sea long enough to host gossip and bitter quarrels.

Why do lobster landings keep going up in Maine? We keep hearing about overfishing and crashing stocks but lobsters continue to thrive…for now.

Rare colorful lobster caught in Maine

There are a few reasons why our lobster fishery is bucking the trend. First, lobsters are bottom feeders. They are able to thrive on a varied diet–whatever falls to the bottom or lives there. Crabs, starfish, dead fish. For a while, cowhide was being sold as a bait for traps! Secondly, the lobster’s main predator, cod has been overfished and essentially removed as a threat especially in shallow waters. Third, the growth of the urchin fishery has taken the pressure off the urchin’s food, kelp. It is thought that kelp beds are great nurseries for larval lobsters. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the fishers and their equipment and methods preserve the resource better than just about all other fisheries. Think about it: The lobster is only taken when 1) it enters the trap looking for food, 2) it fails to figure out how to get out 3) the trap is hauled before a biodegradable link allows an escape hatch to open, 4) the lobster is between a certain size range, and 5) not a “v” notched or egg bearing female. These conservative measures make it almost impossible to overfish and return by some estimates, over 80% of trapped lobsters to the sea.  Compare this to massive trawlers pulling miles of nets or draggers pulling up everything from the bottom. Our lobster fishers deserve much credit for this inspired management!

How did lobster fishing  start? Before the arrival of Europeans, the Native Americans used the plentiful lobster as fertilizer and bait. The first lobster landing was reported in 1605 by James Rosier, a member of  Captain George Weymouth’s crew. Still, in colonial times lobster was considered “poverty food”, served to prisoners and indentured servants. In Massachusetts, servants even rebelled, demanding that they not be forced to eat lobster more than three times per week! After 1840, when canning became common, the lobster industry finally took off. At that time it was common to use over 5 pound lobsters, discarding anything under 2 pounds as not worth the effort. Nowadays in Maine, any lobster over 5 inches on the body shell (carapace) or about 4-1/2 lbs must be returned to the water.

Captain John Nicolai

How can I experience Maine lobstering? The first and most important thing to know is that it is extremely illegal to tamper with traps or gear in the water! Even an abandoned trap on shore is off limits. The way to experience the Maine lobster is first, have one for dinner. You may approach a lobster fisher at a public pier and he or she may be glad to sell you one or more, or visit one of our plentiful pounds. Secondly, visit the Maine Lobster Museum at the Mount Desert Oceanarium, and the nearby lobster hatchery. Finally, take a trip out on the water with a working lobster fisherman, Captain John Nicolai aboard his Lulu, setting off from Bar Harbor.

Now that the Obama family has ended their brief visit to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, a good question is, “What did they do and where did they go?”  Flying for the first family is not nearly as exhausting as it is for the rest of us, so they hit the ground running as soon as their plane touched down at noon on Friday, July 16. They started with a bike ride on the Witch Hole Pond carriage trail in the park. Next, the obligatory trip to the top of Cadillac Mountain by motorcade. They got out and circled the top on foot like most visitors. The weather cooperated. Next stop was  to  Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in Bar Harbor, reputed to have the best.

After checking his family into their rooms at the Bar Harbor Regency Hotel, the president used his federal connections to secure a private boat tour of Frenchman Bay aboard a Park Service boat. The tour ended at the private dock of the Stewman’s Lobster Pound, where they had dinner (lobster, no doubt!). The pound is conveniently adjoining the Regency.

Bass Harbor Light in the fog

On Saturday the Obamas began their day at the nearby Bar Harbor Club for a swim or fitness session. Here they also walked the sand bar towards Bar Island. Low tide was at 9:52.  Next, they decided to visit the “quiet side” of the island. Their third  known appearance of the day was at the Claremont Hotel  in Southwest Harbor for lunch. From there they drove through the Seawall area towards Bass Harbor and the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. Here they were given a tour of the lighthouse and later took a walk on the rocky shore on the Ship Harbor Trail.

After arriving back at the hotel around 7 Barak and Michelle went out for a kid-free dinner at the Havana. Michelle had lobster thermidor and the president had saffron paella.

Now the big question is,  did the president follow our advice for the Top Ten Things to do in Acadia? Let’s review the list. We’ll put the presidential seal on the ones he did:

Not since William Howard Taft visited the island nearly 100 years ago has a sitting president visited our island. Word has it that they cannot land a Boeing 747 at the Bar Harbor airport, so the president and his family will either come by chopper or smaller jet from Bangor. We are on the approach pattern for the airport, so there’s a good chance the flying limo will be a few hundred feet right over SeaCat’s Rest sometime around noon. For some reason we were not contacted to provide lodgings for the first family, but neither are they staying at a wealthy estate. They will be at The Bar Harbor Regency, a local hotel; at least according to rumor.

The visit will shut down some routes on the island temporarily as the family moves about during their visit. Airspace will be restricted, but our reserved business community is not going gaga over this event; we are quite accustomed to the famous among us. The late Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Martha Stewart, David Rockefeller, Pulitzers, Vanderbilts and Morgans are no big deal. I think that’s why they’re here; their privacy is respected. Hopefully the president will feel the same.

We can speculate on the presidential choice for his weekend vacation. Any weather map will show how the Acadia area is one of the coolest places in the country, with temperatures topping out in the 80s this weekend while the rest of the country struggles to stay out of triple digits. The views are dramatic, the security is manageable and President Obama will be able to play golf at Kebo Valley, the same course Taft navigated his ample frame around one hundred years ago.

We welcome our president and his family. We wish he could stay longer. Three days doesn’t begin to offer a glimpse at what’s here. Wouldn’t it be cool if they came here to buy a summer retreat? The place next door is for sale….

UPDATE: at 12:05 PM Air Force One (a shrunken version) touched down safely at Bar Harbor Airport. And yes, it did fly right over SeaCat’s Rest.

Obamas Arrive at Bar Harbor 7/16/2010

The motorcade route was lined with excited camps of spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the first family on their way to the Regency. Security was present, but relaxed. How much will the visit inconvenience other tourists? That remains to be seen. In the long run it can’t help but be a boost for Acadia’s popularity as people around the world share their short vacation on the nightly news.

Perfect temperatures, stunning aqua-vistas and sweet birdsongs make Acadia the destination of dreams for America. We’re a little far away from major cities. Come here and we’ll make you forget the effort. There are still places to stay and things to do that won’t require lottery winners.  You’ve all heard about the attractions of “the Island” , Mount Desert Island, aka Acadia National Park. Do you know that lodgings on the island are about 30 percent more expensive than places about 20 miles away? Do the math and seek out the bargains. This website was created to feature our property but many more in the area can be seen through homeaway.com and vrbo.com. These places are rented by others like us who have excess capacity. Right now we are booked up for the summer except for July 10-14 and August 1-7.

Consider the autumn for a less harried visit. You may not need to escape the heat where you are but there will be lots to see and do and the weather will be fine. Our bookings calendar is wide open for much of September and beyond. Late summer starts with Hawkwatch on Cadillac Mountain with the Bar Harbor Jazz Festival running the third week in August. The 2010 Bar Harbor Fine Arts Festival starts August 20. Rounding out August is the wildly successful and free American Folk Festival in Bangor, August 27-29.

The Acadia Night Sky Festival is a celebration of the unique darkness of our night sky and runs from September 9-12. Bucksport’s 8th Annual Medieval Tournament is scheduled for September 11 at Fort Knox. Read about last year’s event here. The quirky MDI Garlic Festival happens this year on September 18 at the Smuggler’s Den campground in Southwest Harbor.  Though it’s a bit of a drive, the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine is an organic mega-event on September 24-26. Art in the Park will take place rain or shine on the Village Green in Bar Harbor September 25-26, 2010.  My favorite fall event is Acadia’s Oktoberfest & Food Festival, also located at Smuggler’s Den campground in Southwest Harbor, October 10, 2010. Last year’s fest was covered here.

Even if you attend no special events, fall in Acadia is a great time. Crisp air, thinning traffic, turning leaves and the annual cranberry crop are worth a visit.

Northeast Harbor's Asticou Gardens

The economy today makes  folks with a job begin to think of how they might save some money on this year’s vacation.   Those with downsized or part time jobs might want to think of vacations closer to home.   Either situation might make a vacation in Maine just right for you.  People in Maine are very careful with their money.     That means if you know where to look, you too can save much money.

There are lots of things to do here that are free or low cost.

Start with muscle-powered sports.   Hiking and walking have the dual benefit of exercise and enjoyment in and around Bar Harbor and Acadia.   The carriage trails were designed for horses, but that means they are smooth and excellent walking paths.   There are no automobiles, only bicycles, an occasional horse drawn carriage or rider on horseback and other people on the path.       The most popular path is around Eagle lake.   However, one of my favorite walks is closer to Northeast Harbor.   Park at the Upper Hadlock Pond Parking area and cross the road.   Here is a link to the map of the carriage trails.

Take advantage of the free ranger lead talks and walks.   From the visitor center you can get the schedule of talks.   Be sure and arrive a bit early, because there can be quite a crowd that gathers in July and August.   Here are descriptions of one such walk.

Otter Point Walk (2 hours; easy to moderate 2-mile hike) Daily, Tue in French. Discover stories of history and nature along the strikingly scenic Ocean Path. Gorham Mountain parking area – Park Loop Road south of Thunder Hole.or join the night sky program or the Acadia at night program, where you learn to see like the nighttime animals do.   This link to the website has the schedules.    Some programs like the sailing adventures have a cost associated with them, but the majority are free.

This area that we live in has the best of both the sea and the woods for you to enjoy in one package.  You can combine camping out and  staying at a vacation home  here at Sea Cat’s Rest.    Our rental comes with kayaks included!  If your looking for a bargain yet this year, look about 10 miles away from Mount Desert Island.   The rates are lower, and you only spend about 10 minutes more in the car.   The town names to search for are: Lamoine, Trenton, Hancock and Surry.

Bring your own bicycle and you now have doubled the distance you can go with just a twirl of your pedals.   Bicycling is actually the most efficient way to get from point A to point B, plus you can put your bike right on those Island Explorer buses when you don’t want to bike uphill.

Like to read?   Don’t forget our small local libraries.   Read the local paper for free, read Downeast Magazine for free at the library in Ellsworth.   Read a local book, get internet access free at the library in the middle of the day.  Libraries on the island are many, and I will feature them in a future blog.   I especially like the Southwest Harbor Library, right across from the school.    You can cool off on the occasional hot day by spending an hour or two in the comfy reading rooms – and all of our libraries have internet access free – free wifi or on their computers.   Places in Ellsworth that offer free internet include the local coffeeshop The Maine Grind on Main Street, the library and MacDonalds.   In addition our town office here in Lamoine is a free WiFi spot.   Our house of course has free internet for our guests too.

SAVE MORE ON MEALS – cook for yourself.   By staying in a house instead of hotel, you can cook your own great meals, perhaps treating yourself to one or two days of great fresh seafood from cold Maine waters.   We can’t think of anything better than watching the lobster boats out in front of our place, and then enjoying lobsters from your own pot for dinner.   At different times in the year you can  pick the fruit that is in season: blueberries, strawberries and apples.   If you are our guest, we share our garden bounty with our renters.   See our wild food blog for some other tasty treats.

Also for the frugal, coordinate your visit with music and art festivals.  Bar Harbor Brass Week offers free concerts at the park in Bar Harbor, or wander the free art fairs in the summer.     The Belfast Maine Celtic Festival on July 17-18 and the Bangor American Folk Festival August 27,28,29, (free – but donate what you can afford)  and The North Atlantic Blues  Festival July 10th, 11th in Rockland are some of those in our area.

Didn’t bring the right clothes to wear?  It’s cool here, cooler than most places   If you forgot that fact, you can pick up some bargains at the resale shops in the area.   Jalysa’s attic in Ellsworth on Water Street or our new Goodwill Store in Ellsworth both offer fleece jackets at under $10.00 for those colder than they expected.   Need more long pants?  They are there too.  You can also find Maine themed clothing there if you are lucky.   We locals often purchase Maine themed clothing when it is on sale in the fall, and we recycle the clothes when they get too small or we don’t find ourselves needing them any longer.

Go with a larger group.   Find a friend to stay with on the way.   Vacation where you can stay with relatives.    Going with a larger group, you can go in on lodgings and food.   It’s often cheaper to rent a larger house, and vacation with another family or group of friends.   Instead of having to bring along a friend for our daughter, we brought along another family, so that the kids had someone to do stuff with – and we had adults to hang around with.   Have Grandma and Grandpa take the grand kids (along with you) on vacation.   They are bound to help out with treats and special adventures (plus you get to share the childcare and get off by yourself for a while).    Borrow items you need for the trip.   Perhaps you can borrow bicycles, or some camping equipment instead of purchasing new items.

Trade adventures, if you live in a nice place for others to vacation, perhaps you can exchange visits with old friends.   Have friends living in New York while you’re out in the country, perhaps you can each visit each others’ destinations for a bargain vacation for both of you.

Oil is still gushing from the gulf and our leaders are busy pointing fingers but what about us? How can individuals make a difference in our very misguided addiction to oil? As individuals we can  creatively change our habits and the collective effect could make deep water drilling a thing of the past.

Right here in Acadia we have a great opportunity to do just that: The Island Explorer bus (click for schedule). This is no ordinary public transportation! In my opinion, it is a model for how all public transportation should be. First of all, it’s free. Who has time to fumble for change or figure out a complicated schedule when all you want is to get somewhere. Secondly, it’s not a service designed for the carless subset of society; it was created to encourage people to give up their car for a while and to reduce the smog levels in Acadia National Park. Third, the service is designed for taking visitors to all the park’s hot spots, so just about every place you would want to go has a bus stop nearby.  Finally, don’t worry about smelly diesel exhaust, the fleet of 33 buses run on propane.

This marks the 12th year the Island Explorer has been running, and yesterday, Wednesday, June 23 was the first day of full summer service. Since inception 10,250 tons of greenhouse gasses have not entered the atmosphere thanks to the service (as of July 27, 2009). Ten dollars of the $20 week park pass (vehicle and passengers)   goes toward the bus service. If you enter on foot the week pass is $5 per person. Island Explorer is also funded by Friends of Acadia, L. L. Bean and other local businesses.

Our two venerable political parties will continue to hurl epithets at each other about the cleanup, more drilling, whose at fault and what can be done to prevent more disasters. Vacationing in Acadia can be an eco-friendly experience, allowing the visitor to feel good enough about his or her choice. It is close to home for millions of people, outdoor activities don’t pollute and Island Explorer gives your car a vacation too.