August 13, Day 6
Today is our last day in Maine. Tomorrow morning at 315, we will begin the journey home, this time bypassing the big cities and the $30 in tolls. Today's big adventure is a kayak ride. We rented tandem kayaks with our JMU friends, Lauren and Molly. They are starting their own vacation adventure and were gracious enough to spend their first day with us. We kayaked out of Bar Harbor to some of the surrounding islands. Due to my clumsy nature, I left the camera in the car. We saw a Bald Eagle, did some climbing, skipped a few hundred rocks and ate a picnic lunch. I even got to paddle up to a lobster boat and watch them in action. Not exactly Deadliest Catch, but fun nonetheless. Bar Harbor gets its name from a land feature that is dry at low tide, and submerged in 4-5 feet of water at high tide. Fun fact, let's move on.
After throwing some frisbee and relaxing in the local park, we spotted the Bar Harbor brewery offering free tastings. Only their blueberry ale is sold down south, so it was good to sample their full line. I also still had a few culinary goals to meet. Blueberry ice cream and real clam chowder. We had clam chowder one night on the campfire, but canned just isn't quite the same. After a few restaurant searches turned up high prices, we found a local bar with some great deals. Real clam chowder and a fried haddock sandwich. Todd and I had agreed beforehand that today will conlude with blueberry ice cream.
So we walk into "Ben and Bill's" ice cream shop and my sens
es are instantly on high alert. The sights, sounds, smells were overwhelming. They sold so many types of food: chocolates, toffee, fudge, ice cream, gelato, etc. I noticed the folks behind the counter didn't speak english and they didn't acknowledge my presence as I had a laundry list of flavors I wanted to sample. Eventually I realized that Ben and Bill only hired eastern Europeans. Weird. Finally after much effort, a nice girl from Bulgaria named Krasi helped me through my sampling. I knew I'd settle on blueberry, but those other flavors aren't going to sample themselves. Thanks to Krasi, I have good ice cream.
es are instantly on high alert. The sights, sounds, smells were overwhelming. They sold so many types of food: chocolates, toffee, fudge, ice cream, gelato, etc. I noticed the folks behind the counter didn't speak english and they didn't acknowledge my presence as I had a laundry list of flavors I wanted to sample. Eventually I realized that Ben and Bill only hired eastern Europeans. Weird. Finally after much effort, a nice girl from Bulgaria named Krasi helped me through my sampling. I knew I'd settle on blueberry, but those other flavors aren't going to sample themselves. Thanks to Krasi, I have good ice cream.
"...but those other flavors aren't going to sample themselves. Thanks to Krasi, I have good ice cream."
ReplyDeleteYes...