Cruising to Bar Harbor, Maine October 7, 2011

     Started the day by remembering that Mark, my oldest child is 60 years old.  How can that be since I only feel 60 myself”  The reality is that I’m 82 – still a theatre devotee and travel enthusiast who enjoys sharing my adventures.
     Before we could disembark from the ship into the tenders, we had to go through an on board U.S. immigration which involved a lot of waiting.  Strong deck hands helped me down the steep ladder and into the waiting skiff.  At the dock other sturdy seamen helped me onto dry land and Kathy and I walked to our waiting bus for the “Panoramic Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park Tour.”
     Our guide told us that several artists from the Hudson River Valley School of Painting impelled some of the wealthy art patrons to come and see for themselves the stunning landscapes which they had painted.  Bar Harbor changed from a sleepy fishing village into a playground for the very rich including the Astors, Carnegies, Rockeffellers. Vanderbilts, etc.
     The good news is that several of the “elite” created a public land trust which led to the establishment of a National Park in 1916.  We were VERY fortunate to have sunny weather for our ride through the park.  Kathy walked around the trail circling the top of Mt. Cadillac which is the highest  mountain on the East Coast (1500 ft. elev).
     The visit to Acadia almost completes one of my life goals to visit all the National Parks in the U.S.