We woke Thursday morning to some much needed rain with hopes that things would cool off. Briana and I sat on the front porch enjoying the cool weather with a nice cup of joe in hand, watching the rain and people walk by. A very leisurely morning for the crew since we knew we had rain in the morning forecast. After breakfast a few of us walked into town for some window shopping, photos of the fog, and maybe an early morning pint of Guinness at Leary’s Landing Irish Pub. They claim they are the closest Irish Pub closest to Ireland in the United States. This place is a legit old school pub and I must say Rick and I really enjoyed our pints.
Once downed, Briana and I visited a Christmas Shop to pick up a few ornaments. Briana found an Australian Shepherd ornament and as she stepped up to pay an employee asked if she would like to have a name put on it. Briana said “please” with lip quivering and then continued “Could you please put Gracie 2003 – 2018”. I couldn’t stand there and witness this or I would’ve lost it. (For those that don’t know, we had to put our beloved pup Gracie down at the ripe old age of 15 the Monday before this trip. And it’s still very raw for us.)
After lunch we all headed out to take a peek at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse stands 56 feet above the high water mark and is accessible by car off of State Route 102A. The keeper’s house is currently being used for Coast Guard housing. If you must see a lighthouse, this is the only lighthouse on Mount Desert Island and parking is very limited. So do plan accordingly.
We then headed over to hike the Ship Harbor Trail. Located near the town of Bass Harbor on the southern tip of the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island, the Ship Harbor Trail is a family-friendly stroll through the forest that leads toward interesting spots along the ocean. This round trip hike is approximately 1.5 miles (roundtrip) and easy for the whole family.
Once back in the car we hustled back to Bar Harbor so Kiley could meet up with her friend Meera (her grand parents and aunt live up here on the island) to catch a flick at the Reel Pizza Cinerama. We dropped her off promptly at 4:50pm and Briana and I made our way back to the house to enjoy some homemade pork carnitas that Maurisa had been preparing all day in the crockpot. DELISH! Once the movie was out, Meera’s folks walked Kiley back to the house and we gave them the tour of our 1877 house. We chatted for a while then said our goodbyes and would see them back in good ‘ole Vienna, VA. It was supposed to be an early evening because we all had to be out of the house by 4:15am to see the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain Friday morning. However Rick and I had other plans and dragged Amy and David along for the ride. We decided to go try Paddy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant down on West Street for another pint of Guinness and to listen to some live music. Let me just say this….DO NOT attempt to go to this place if you just want to sit out on the patio and enjoy a few pints. NOPE, we were pushed to the back of the bar, kinda like in Dirty Dancing – we all felt like Baby and were being put in the corner. And the service was just not good. So please do yourself a favor and do not venture into this joint if you are looking for a true “Irish Pub.”
Pints down and we were back to the house and straight to bed so we could make that early wake up call.