October 10th
Signs on a building, downtown Bar Harbor
Three years ago we visited our friends Lise and Charlie at their family cabin just a few miles from where our ship docked. On that trip we explored Acadia National Park and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the natural beauty.
For our return, we opted for a walking tour through this classic coastal village. It charmed us!
Our view coming into Bar Harbor via tender:
What magnificent views they must have from this hotel
Low tide in the harbor
Lobster is the theme everywhere
The fall foliage was brilliant but spotty
Signs explained the history of the area, as well as warned people not to get caught on the bar that connects the islands during low tide.
Only a couple of days earlier, we toured one of the mega mansions in Newport (The Elms), which during the Gilded Era, was the place to see and be seen. But for a while, popularity moved in this direction, and summer cottages sprang up along the water front. Here is a selection of some of my favorites we passed by on our walk:
Still glorious and in prime locations right on the water
Our guide, Lynn, told us tales of the Victorian Era, moved us along at a gentle pace, and brought the charm of the town to life for us. This has been my favorite tour so far from this cruise.
But summer cottages is not all we saw. One of our stops was a visit inside St Savior’s Episcopal Church. This is where the well-healed were expected to attend every Sunday.
St Saviors Episcopal Church
Interior of church
Perhaps not as opulent as the great cathedrals, but one worthy note is that several of the stained glass windows were made by Tiffany.
One of the Tiffany stained glass windows
Sadly about 35 years ago, thieves came in the middle of the night and stole one of the Tiffany windows. It has never been found or recovered. The church is now reaching out to the public in an effort to locate it. It is certainly possible that it has been hanging in someone’s home or collection without the owner even realizing the history. In the age of social networking, it is possible that someone will recognize the piece and it can be returned. I wanted to do my little part in helping get the word out. Feel free to share this post.
This is a picture of the stolen/missing Tiffany window
Right next door to the church is the graveyard as well as another church.
Graveyard
Graveyard and side of Episcopal Church
Congregational Church
Our tour ended back not far from the pier where we had an outstanding view of our cruise ship, Regal Princess at anchor in the harbor.
Regal Princess in Bar Harbor
The large stone at the waters edge is called Balance Rock. In front and behind the ship are the Porcupine Islands.
After the tour ended, we spent an hour or so wandering through the shops, city park and a couple of the main streets in town, eventually making our way back to the tenders in time for a late lunch on board. This is such a photogenic area and I had no problem getting my 10,000 steps in before noon. Here are some random pictures I took while walking around town.
Inside one of the shops
Fountain in a park with harbor in the background
License plates on the wall
I think they grow amazing flowers!
Back at the dock to catch our tender
While on our short boat ride back out to the ship, I continued to capture the scene.
This beauty sailed right past us
And our safe return back to our floating “home”
A few more shots from on board our cruise ship to round out the day.
Main atrium showing several floors
Grand staircase
Shop above and casino one deck below
And just in case you are interested in seeing a bit of information on when we visited Acadia National Park on our first visit, here are the links:
Authentic Maine – Popovers, Clams and Lobster
Maine – Acadia National Park, Fort Knox and more
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that although commercialized, Bar Harbor has not lost its charm. It remains small enough to be welcoming, is surrounded by a National Park, has a beautiful harbor filled with impressive yachts, stores to satisfy the shoppers amongst us, an interesting history and (OH YES) some of the best seafood that can be found anywhere!
A Note From Abroad 
Love New England and love Bar Harbor! Awesome photos!! Thank you!
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Thank you Jeff.
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I have special fond memories of Bar Harbor Maine. As a young women I went there with a young man I was in love with and we stayed at a hotel on the water and slept in and watched the boats going out fishing in the morning. Another summer and I booked the same small hotel again with another young man. To avoid issues in those days (more years ago than I care to admit) I had simply introduced the first one as my husband. When I arrived the second time with “my husband” the woman the desk looked him and me up and down and said “Wasn’t he a lot taller last time?” Busted! Anyway she didn’t fuss beyond that. To me Bar Harbor is a sweet place full of sweet memories of being young and in love. Thanks for the reminder!
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Ah, yes, young and in love. Sweet memories indeed, but even sweeter now being “more mature and STILL in love.” So happy we could take you down memory lane 🙂
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I spent a week in Acadia National Park when I was on my 10,000 mile Bike Trip around North America. It was a welcome respite. Peggy and I spent a couple of weeks there right about this time of year when she took a year sabbatical to travel around North America with me. Beautiful. We even carved pumpkins in the spirit of the season. We also enjoyed Bar Harbor. Great photos! –Curt
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How wonderful it must have been to have so much time in this little haven. Carving pumpkins would have been icing on the cake.
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It was special, Joanne.
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What an assault on the senses… Beautiful and so much to take in! Methinks you’ll have to have a ‘photographic room’ when you return home. Wow.
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Joy, I have many photo books that hold some precious memories. I cherish them and would be heartbroken if I ever lost them.
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Reblogged this on DrWeb's Domain and commented:
Wonderful travel tale and photos! Thank you.. #Maine #Travel
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Thank you for sharing!
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Walking tours are sometimes the best way to see the city and feel what it’s like.
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I think it has become my favorite way to explore smaller villages or at least the city center/old town areas of bigger cities.
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Never been. Looks lovely!
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Trish, I think you would love it.
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Beautiful pictures and interesting info.; I’ve been to Bar Harbor and Acadia twice, but it was summer both times, and there wasn’t a lot of time for strolling through the town or shopping.
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Sandi, it is particularly beautiful in the fall with the leaves changing colors, but I do think it wold be lovely most of the year.
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Great, as always. So, how do you get from ship to tender?
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The ships life boats are used to tender us ashore. They are lowered down into the water, then tied up to the side of the ship. A door is opened up on the water level, with a tiny platform. The ships crew are there to pass you off from the ship to waiting hands on the tender boat. Normally an easy maneuver, but when the seas are rough or strong winds, it becomes rather dicey, both to dock the tender along side the ship and to make the transfer. If it becomes too rough they may curtail transfers.
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How do you get from the boat to the tender?
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It can be a little tricky if the weather is rough, both otherwise pretty smooth, as the well trained crew does a “hand off” to waiting hands on board the tender. In case you did not see what I wrote to Mike a few moments ago, here is a bit more information: The ships life boats are used to tender us ashore. They are lowered down into the water, then tied up to the side of the ship. A door is opened up on the water level, with a tiny platform. The ships crew are there to pass you off from the ship to waiting hands on the tender boat. Normally an easy maneuver, but when the seas are rough or strong winds, it becomes rather dicey, both to dock the tender along side the ship and to make the transfer. If it becomes too rough they may curtail transfers.
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🙂
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Your post reminded me how much I loved Bar Harbor and the rest of Maine. Some of your images were things I saw, too, others were things I missed. Things that make me want to go back and look again.
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Bar Harbor was so photogenic. We really loved our time there.
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Bar Harbor looks charming. Would love to go there.
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Jill, charming is an excellent description for Bar Harbor.
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An outstanding visual for the senses. I have only driven through Maine to get to NY State from Nova Scotia several years ago. Must make the time to visit in the near future. It certainly has a lot of similarities to Halifax NS. Thank you for sharing this. Fabien
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Fabien, we also enjoyed the area near Halifax. I’ll be writing about our stopover there soon.
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Wonderful. Looking forward to reading it! And seeing it as well!
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My family is from the area. Wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing the pictures of your trip
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I think that Bar Harbor was our favorite stop on the cruise. Such a beautiful place and a photographers paradise.
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I haven’t been there since I was a child and I still remember it. Everything about it was beautiful. Not something you forget! I am guessing a photographers dream!!! You got some amazing shots
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A photographers dream is the perfect name for Bar Harbor. If would have loved to have had more time to explore further.
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I lived in Maine from age 9 – almost 13. When we lived in Machias (1.5 hour east of MDI), we went to Acadia National Park many times. I returned to MDI in 2013 with my husband who fell in love with Bar Harbor & Acadia. We try to get back every 2 years. So much to do. In a few years, we plan to return to Maine. Watch my blog “apickytraveler” as I will be posting more about what we have done in Bar Harbor, Acadia & other parts of Maine.
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How fortunate you are to get to return to this gorgeous area every couple of years. I look forward to seeing what you share!
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Looks beautiful! I am an American traveling abroad and have yet to discover the East Coast of the US – must get there!
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Rebecca, we have been fortunate to have traveled to almost 100 countries now but have found some of the most beautiful and amazing places to be right in our own backyard.
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Little can compare to the shores, lakes and woods of Maine! Great post!
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It is indeed beautiful. Another favorite is the Oregon coast.
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I have always wanted to go to Maine one day. It looks so beautiful! Btw, I love the shot with the boat ⛵️
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Maine is beautiful and I hope you get there to enjoy it before long.
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