Three months have passed, I only have one month left of my Bar Harbor Adventure. I now have the apartment all to myself! One person moved out about six weeks ago following an altercation around issues of cleaning with another apartment mate, and an “agree to disagree” discussion with me about work ethics and accountability. My pod mate's contract ended mid-September, and she left to return home to Missouri two weeks ago. My buddy and apartment mate, Carol’s contract ended yesterday, and she has left to return home to Arkansas. So now I am living here alone for the next four weeks. I think I’ll manage just fine!
Carol ready to head out to work for the day. I am going to miss her. We had some interesting experiences together some fun and some just challenging. Carol lives in a "Tiny Home Community." Her home is four-hundred square feet. I hope to be able to visit her in the future. We plan to stay in touch, just in case we decided to return here next year in the fall, we want to be able to be "roomies." She has already been exploring opportunities to spend some of her summer next year in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Fall has arrived here. The leaves are turning, the temperature is dropping, and people are out on the streets today in winter coats, hats, and gloves. Christmas goodies have arrived at the store and are on the shelves along with a couple of decorated Christmas trees scattered about the store. A few of the tourists have told me they are doing their Christmas shopping while they are here. In fact, the other day a woman came into the store looking for a tea towel she saw in the window. Of course, that was the only towel of that design left. Now, whenever possible, one of the young, thin, nimble gals climb into the window.
First, you have to step up about two feet and then maneuver through a narrow space with
lots of display items. Well, it was my day, I had to climb into the window to retrieve the tea towel for her (it wasn’t a pretty picture, enjoy the laugh).
There is still plenty of work at the shop to do. I walked in the other day to find this stack of bins and boxes waiting patiently to be unloaded and put out on the shelves. There is another stack of bins not pictured. I believe there were thirty-four bins total. Thank goodness, the soda demand has dropped, and I have not had to move any cases for a couple of weeks
This fall there are no cruise ships coming to Bar Harbor. In fact, I have read in the Bar Harbor newspaper there will be a decision later this year regarding the return of cruise ships here. While visitors from the cruise ships help boost the local economy, there are many challenges that come with having them stop here.
Tour buses are arriving here daily now. There is a different group of tourists in the fall. The families with children are gone. The senior group dominates the streets and shops. Bar Harbor has its share of hills, especially if you are traveling between the waterfront and shops. I worry about some of the “more senior” people navigating with their canes and walkers. I also celebrate their determination, endurance, and sense of adventure!
I remain astounded at the number of visitors here. Acadia National Park is also still bursting with people. I have not been out to the park for a couple of weeks because of the crowds. I am looking forward to doing some hiking and taking in the fall scenery in the park next week on my day off. Currently, a reservation is required to drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain because of the traffic and parking situation. So many people come into the shop and ask if there is any “trick” to getting a reservation because they sell out so fast. After October 19, I’ll be able to drive up to the summit without a reservation. While peak color will be gone, the views from the summit will still be spectacular. When I was here, about seven years ago, I did get to drive up to the summit and see the sunrise. I could hike up to the summit, however my knees would object quite loudly. To be truthful, there would be much more of my body objecting in addition to my knees, so I’ll wait until after October 19.
Today’s skies were filled with big billowing gray clouds, however I did get out of town and made a trip to The Travlin' Lobster, a local favorite for blueberry pie. The wild blueberries here are so sweet and flavorful. Blueberry pie here is nothing like what I was use to at home.
I also took my walk along the shore path then went down to the dock, and look what I found. A lobster boat waiting to unload, loading lobsters onto the truck to go to market, and the lobster boat dingy parking lot.
Occasionally, the sun did peek through. The leaves are turning, and I hope to get some great pictures of the color to share with you soon. Temperatures here are now in the low sixties to high fifties during the day. Last night the temperature got down to forty-six degrees, no wonder I was cold all night. Tonight’s low is expected to be a balmy forty-eight degrees. I just turned the heat on in here.
Until next time . . .
Love from Baa Haabor xoxoxo
