Bethlehem to Bar Harbour

Friday, 11 October

Guess what! The autumn leaves don’t stop when you cross the border into Maine. They continue all the way to the coast. And we actually saw a “Welcome to Maine” sign when we left New Hampshire. The next sign told us to watch out because Maine is very tough on drunk drivers. They also had funny signs along the highway saying “Use your blinkers pumpkin wine drinkers “ and “Peep at leaves not your phone” (or words to that effect). Apparently they have humorous road safety signs for all seasons.

The leaves are falling.

We stopped for morning tea at a very nice bakery in Bethel. They had proper coffee and a very nice selection of baked treats to go with it. AND they had real cups and plates, no plastic! Over the road was a war memorial still under construction with the names of local folk killed in wars starting with the revolutionary war and on from there.

There was a lot of traffic on the road today, possibly because it’s the start of the Columbus Day long weekend and possibly it’s always like that. We arrived in Bar Harbour late afternoon and settled into our motel. I was going to go for a walk but the road was really busy and there was no footpath so I gave it a miss and read my book instead.

Dinner was at The Chart Room and I finally had my Maine lobster meal. I always associate Maine lobsters with Hawkeye Pierce from MASH. It was a good meal but I think I’ve decided that Australian crayfish tastes better. It’s meatier and has more flavour. My lobster had a very soft shell and a lot of liquid inside, which went everywhere when I broke the shell open. I was told that the reason why they’re soft is that at this time of the year they have recently shed their old shells and grown new ones. Anyway I’m very satisfied with my lobster experience and can now move on to other seafood delights.