Finally ... my little white cottage!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Hello!

We were rather late getting out of the hotel this morning, as I was setting up my new blog and R was dealing with pictures.  I managed to get three days posted, one with photos.  Not sure how I’m going to do tonight, as R says the internet connection here is really slow…so, we’ll see! 

View from the deli window in Camden

HUGE slice of raspberry pie!

At any rate, we were out about 9 a.m. and on the road toward Bar Harbor.  As we couldn’t get in until 3 p.m. we took our time and did some sightseeing (between the fog, that is!) on our way here.  

View of Camden Harbor

Me and my cupcake!

Our first stop came 

at Camden, which is a really lovely town on the coast.  I mean, it is really beautiful there.  We were even able to find on-street (2 hour) parking right at the edge of the downtown district.  We found a really wonderful bakery/deli that was built overlooking what looked to be a mill spillway.  R had a piece of raspberry pie – and many, many raspberries died to make that piece, let me tell you!  I had a wonderful chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting … a perfect mid-morning break!  We walked through some of the stores…there were some really cute things, let me tell you, but for the most part, we resisted temptation…notice I said “most part?”  

Harbor Cafe in Stonington

From Camden, R set Emmy for Stonington, which is on the coast of Deer Isle, where we spent an infamous week several years ago. 

Downtown Camden

By this time, the fog was becoming much more patchy, with actual patches of blue sky and sunshine!  Yipee!!  As Deer Isle is a place with which we are fairly familiar, we were able to recognize some of the sights – a gas station here, a bridge there – along the route.  We arrived in Stonington just on 1 p.m. and decided to look for lunch.  The first place we looked at – of course, was closed on Wednesday! (We have never seen a place so randomly closed before!)  Walked down the street, and found that the Harbor Café was open and busily serving lunch.  We were able to get a nice booth; I ordered lobster roll, and R had a crab roll.  His crab roll was very good, but I still think I won with the lobster roll.  Just a touch of mayo, and that was about it; bigger chunks of lobster than in Boothbay Harbor the other day.  (One thing of note:  There are places here in the area that have just totally closed down because it’s past Labor Day!  We have seen hotels, motels as well as restaurants and attractions with signs up saying the equivalent of:  Thanks for a good season; see you 2016!  Very odd!)

Stonington Harbor on Deer Isle

Nervous Nellie's!

After lunch, we set Emmy to Nervous Nellie’s Jams & Jellies, and we got there quickly.  And we weren’t the only ones visiting and tasting!  Not sure who goes to Nervous Nellie’s, but she is expanding her line of products – now including more chutneys, with my favorite being the hot tomato chutney.  We did buy an assortment (which, at some point, we are going to have to ship back to Tucson, along with my new Boothbay Harbor jacket!) Very nice to see “Nellie” again and tell her how much we always enjoy her jams and jellies!

From Nervous Nellie’s, we decided it was time to head to Bar Harbor, as we could check in after 3 p.m. and it was already after 2 p.m.  Again, a lovely drive up the island through Blue Hill and across to Ellsworth, and finally on to Route 3 where Rose Eden Cottages are located, approximately 6 miles from Bar Harbor.  We did stop at the edge of Ellsworth at a very large grocery store to buy sparkling water, a bottle of wine (Sterling Sauvignon Blanc, which is wonderful!), some apples and some anti-itch cream (not that we’ve got the market cornered, everything is in Tucson…) as R got bit by some flies last night, and the bites are driving him crazy! 

Nervous Nellie's samples!

My perfect little white cottage!

So…I am FINALLY in the little white cottage with a red door that I have always wanted to visit!!  It’s called #12 The Tides at Rose Eden Cottages, about 6 miles out of Bar Harbor…and we both love it!  It is an individual cottage at the end of the row (farthest away from the traffic on Route 3) and is really lovely!  There are two bedrooms (one of which had been planned for Mom) plus a full kitchen, with dining area and living room and a nice bathroom.   There is cable TV, which is nice, as we can watch the U.S. Open, but it’s not flat screen or HD, so it just looks so strange! 

Cottage kitchen

View from Acadia National Park

We dropped off the luggage, and headed out again almost immediately, as we wanted to drive to Acadia National Park.  (We’re not sure what tomorrow will bring in the way of weather, so thought we would be sure of seeing the park under good conditions…absolutely stunning drive!)  We drove through the park, stopping at various view points along the way; up Mount Cadillac and then down and out the far side of the park and back through Bar Harbor.  There is a cruise ship in the harbor, and lots and lots of people everywhere – don’t know how anyone could think the season was over!  We didn’t stop, as the plan is to walk around town tomorrow, and we headed back to our cottage, getting here about 6:30 p.m. 

Love the beautiful granite walls along the road!

View from Mount Cadillac

As it turns out, in addition to the cottages, right behind them is a lobster pound, where you can get cooked lobsters “to go” or to eat on their picnic tables.  So, for something like $37 total, we got two 1½ lb. lobsters, two ears of wonderful corn, plus a pound of mussels – just amazing!  Robert gave the order, and we were told to return in about 20 minutes time…which we did.  And voila, we were given, literally, a kitchen dish pan with everything packed inside, including plates and implements.  We walked back to our cabin, and just outside is a very nice set up with several picnic tables, as well as a fire pit.  One couple was already there, with their dog and we got the second table.  And, being so close to our cabin, we had nice glasses of wine and went through lots and lots of paper towels and napkins!  The lobsters were just delicious … YUM!  I think I could get use do this lobster-twice-a-day kind of thing!  Then, as it was getting dark, back to the cabin for blogging and tennis.  Oh, what a lovely day!

m

xxx

Lobster pound next to our cottage

R and dinner!

Me and dinner!  Our cottage in the background!

Carriage road bridge