Fourth of July in Bar Harbor. Americana at its best. A hometown parade, people-watching, lazing and reading on a blanket in Agamont Park (it's never too early in the day to stake out your let's-watch-the-fireworks-from-here spot), ice cream, fireworks, and sitting in traffic in Bar Harbor. For this year's holiday, we decided to take good (better?) care of ourselves and took along our bicycles!
We loaded our bikes onto the car and packed a healthy no-need-to-refrigerate lunch (P, B, & J sammies, carrot sticks, green grapes). We had decided to grab one meal in town at a favorite, affordable restaurant. So far this year, we're seeing a few local businesses cutting back on hours they're open; it seems that the Tex-Mex restaurant we like is only serving dinners this year. We had lunch there last year on the 4th but it wasn't to be this year.
The parade route was quite a bit shorter this year--maybe to save on fuel? The shorter route necessitated sharper corners onto side streets; this exercise in geometry was particularly comical albeit frightening this year. As marauders of all ages and sizes were scrambling into the street to collect candy being tossed by the paraders (when did that obnoxious practice start?), some of the drivers of the obligatory vehicles--cherry pickers, huge fire engines, floats rigged on flat bed trailers--surely couldn't see the pavement (and little ones!) in front of their huge wheels. I finally just found it safer to stop looking!
After the parade, we walked back to the car, thoughtfully selected a few items that wouldn't be too heavy to carry, donned our helmets, and took our bikes onto West St. Admittedly, at first I wasn't a huge fan of Al's plan for us to ride our bikes in town. However, he was right -- the car traffic moves about as slowly as cyclists in Bar Harbor, and my confidence built immediately. Al was even comfortable enough to continue searching for license plates (we only have 9 left to find this summer!) as we dodged the occasional sideview mirror. We rode to Agamont Park and ate our picnic lunch in the warm sunshine. A few eager souls were already staking their claim for the fireworks (still nearly 8.5 hours away!).
The harbor was quite busy with one launch after another coming in from the Maasdam, a Holland America cruiseship moored in the outer part of the harbor. We remember this harbor before it became a huge cruise ship destination. We've learned to pay attention to the cruise ship schedule for Bar Harbor and try to avoid busier-than-usual Bar Harbor on "cruise ship days."
After lunch, we hopped back on our bikes and rode all the way to Schooner Head Overlook. O.K., I'll admit it. I walked my bike a few times along the way; this was my first biking since getting my ol' plantar fasciitis under control (3 cheers for night splints!). The views of the azure ocean were worth every grunt and groan, but sadly, it did appear that "our" favorite mansion was still not for sale - RATS!
In addition to the projected weight loss, one of the greatest rewards of hearty exercise (we biked nearly 11 miles in all) is the ICE CREAM it entitles us to! For those of you who always treat yourselves to a treat from Ben and Bill's whenever you visit Bar Harbor, we have a suggestion to make. No longer is it necessary to hit the ATM (or take out a second mortgage) before taking the family for ice cream. GO TO Mt. DESERT ISLAND ICE CREAM! This place is amazing. Al had ginger ice cream, and I indulged in 2 flavors: coconut and lemon lemongrass. The lemon was absolutely the BEST sorbet I've EVER had. E.V.E.R. Another intriguing flavor -- blueberry basil -- was being enjoyed by others around us -- they raved! A "small cup" was a ridiculous 3-1/2 to 4 scoops in all -- I can't imagine how large a "large" would be.
We rode our bikes all the way back to our car to lock them up before walking back into town to stake our claim in the park. Armed with both paperback books and another New York Times crossword puzzle book, we were prepared to lounge for a while before choosing to have an early dinner at Geddy's. However, as we walked back into town along West St., we spotted yet ANOTHER cruise ship in the harbor. And this one was MASSIVE! We hadn't expected two cruise ships in the harbor, but maybe because of it being the 4th and all . . . as we got closer, however, the ship seemed to shrink! Indeed. It was the same boat we'd watched earlier. Fooled again.
The Bar Harbor fireworks were great --- short, but sweet. The park was mobbed; our blanket abutters were friendly and not-the-least-unruly (always a risk that we'll sit near heavy smokers). But the sweetest part of the day for me was calling, chatting with, and sending pictures (and video of the grand finale) to our kids and grandchildren. Gotta love cellphones! Al received an important call from Mike at about 8:45 -- not dark yet, and about 30 minutes before the fireworks. Mike, Laurelyn, Graham, and Dean were en route to their first family-of-four fireworks. Graham (now 2-1/2 years old) was apparently intrigued to learn that someone in the family who sports a beard LOVES loud fireworks; G needed to speak to Grandpa for himself to check the facts. Nothing sweeter than watching Al speak to G about how much he loves fireworks. Guess it helped; all reports from Corning confirm that Graham is his grandfather's grandson. Maybe next year we can share our 4th of July picnic blanket with Graham and Dean!
Happy 4th of July to all! Hope yours was happy and safe!
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