Day 8 – A Tale Of Two Holidays/Vacations

Miles Driven – 141
From – Portland (Maine)
To – Bar Harbour (Maine)
Via – Freeport and Camden (both Maine)
One Way Streets Driven Down the Wrong Way – 1 too many
Streets Driven Down on the Left Hand Side – 1 too many
Principle Driver of the Day - Kate

Link to Today's Photos : http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157609003205972/

I’m sure we had a conversation yesterday and decided that we were going to drive from Portland to Bar Harbour; stopping extremely briefly in Freeport (a horrific concept of a town where LL Bean was founded and has subsequently turned into the shopping Mecca of Maine) before hitting Camden for a healthy hike. It was only when we got in the car that I noticed that I was dressed head to toe in North Face whilst Kate looked ready for the red carpet. Clearly I had misunderstood the proportion of the day that was to be spent shopping rather than hiking.

Freeport is actually quite a pretty town although I would rather that quaint buildings were adorned with “Fox & Anchor” signs rather that “Abercrombie & Fitch”. I was assured that the one mile strip of shops would take “30 mins, max” but, two hours later, Kate had stopped answering her phone and had had one credit card blocked – and this is not an exaggeration. The highlight was a British store where I could get a Double Decker…and I am dribbling whilst typing that.

Next stop was Camden which is yet another incredibly idyllic Atlantic kissing coastal town where Molster and I hiked to the top of Mount Battie (insert Ali G gag here) whilst Kate drove up and met us up there. The walk was seriously picturesque and I love seeing Molly that happy. And the view at the top was truly incredible on this perfect Maine day but only Mollineaux and I really deserved and earned it. We got a take-away lunch in town which we tried to eat with a picture postcard view of the port but, after driving for a whole 15 seconds, our bellies took charge so we parked in front of a post box and wolfed.

The rest of the lit day was spent driving to Bar Harbor which will be our home for at least the next three days. It was dark when we arrived so I can’t comment on it’s aesthetics but I can tell you that the boozer across the road from our room is pretty friendly and provided a perfect distraction whilst the beef bourguignon I was cooking simmered on the stove…a great smell to be welcomed back to the room with and, more importantly, something to mask the musky, old woman’s closet smell that the room seems to have. I guess that is one of the down-sides of asking for pet-friendly rooms.

Serious hiking in Acadia National Park tomorrow…