In February, with his birthday money still saved from
December, my husband began searching the internet for a weekend getaway spot
for our anniversary in May. (I am SO
fortunate that that is what he chooses to do with his own gifts or football
winnings.)
Bar Harbor, one of our favorite places, seemed a good
choice. We talk about possibly retiring
to Bar Harbor – him a park ranger at Acadia, me, the owner of an adorable
café/bookshop where “the author is on the premises.” Sherman’s could use a little facelift like adding window boxes bursting with colorful flowers
and deep green ivy, best sellers and Maine-authored books in their extensive
sidewalk window space, earth tone colors, upscale furniture, and a whimsical
sign maybe.
The winters Downeast are long…..Bar Harbor or Seal Harbor
are rather far away…..not sure if those dreams will ever be realized, but going
for weekends and “dreaming” is half the fun.
Ahead of our weekend, I bought Frank “Mr. Rockefeller’s Roads” from Downeast Books to teach us and make
us appreciate the Acadia carriage roads even more.
The upcoming ten-odd days heading into Memorial Day weekend
rained. My planters on the deck risked
being washed out and I hated to think I threw $150 to purchase those flowers down the drain, so to
speak. Frank is a routine kind of guy and
checking each day the 14-day forecast heading into our weekend really weighed
him down.
“No worries,” I smiled. “We’ll be fine. We cannot control the weather. Let’s let it go.”
And you know what, Plan B is sometimes a welcome and
enlightening avenue. If it was sunny,
we’d have sat beside the pool at Harborside Resort all Saturday afternoon.
Instead, with map in hand, we drove around
the entire island (in the pouring rain).
We’ve never done that on our travels there and we saw so much! “The Bubbles” makes me laugh every time I say
it. How can anyone not want to go to
Bubble Pond? Seal Harbor and Northeast
Harbor are definitely our favorites. The
views – breathtaking, quintessential Maine.
Instead of biking the carriage trails on Saturday, we got a
couples massage in the spa, something Frank has never done….and he was actually
nervous! What fun. We laughed, sipped ice water with cucumber
(which made Frank make a face), and ran through puddles in our flip flops
across the courtyard back to our hotel, with wood fireplace blazing…..at the kick off weekend of summer, not dead of winter, end of
May. That's Maine!
We snuggled close walking under a shared umbrella along the
shore path in front of the Bar Harbor Hotel.
At 51, we wore sensible shoes and 3 layers of jackets – which happens to
make all the difference. The weather
isn’t bad when you dress for it.
We sat in our hot tub on the deck, looking at Bar Island…and
sometimes the fog. We had an afternoon
cocktail from the picnic basket I packed ahead, ate delicious food at local
restaurants, and relaxed. It was a
welcome break in our routine.
Frank and
I, for being together so very long, are completely in sync with our travel – we
like the same type of restaurants and food; the same sorts of hotels; and trips
that comprise nature and exercise first and foremost. There’s quiet and conversation, rest and
exercise, and lots of photos.
