23rd Day - Bay Harbor

The day didn't look promising when it was predicted to be only 14deg but when we caught the tender to the shore the water was as smooth as and, while it was chilly, we did not need a heavy coat. There was no wind so that made it very pleasant. We were there about 9am and of course very few shops open and only cruise guests wandering around. We discovered the Hop on and Hop off buses won't be in operation till 23rd June so, as we knew the National Park, Acadia, was worth a visit so we were able to book a tour at $30 for 3 hours. We had a fabulous woman driver who was so very knowledgeable on many subjects as well as a bit of a comedian. The park land was actually donated to the community by the Rockafeller family and the last of those grandsons still summers here and he is (98). A lot of the big houses are only occupied for about a month a year and the house is just kept locked up for 11months. Not a lot of people can afford to stay the 12 months as they depend on tourism and there are no visitors when it is snowing etc. Only 2 stores stay open.Martha Stewart has a huge place here as well as the Fords and Bushes. We had a great view from Cadillac Mountain (all granite) and could see our cruise ship looking picturesque in the harbour. We were also treated to home made lemonade which was delicious. There were a couple of Beaver houses (lodges) being built by the very industrious little beavers where they dam up the river to flood the lower part and entrance to their home. The park got very busy as this is a long weekend (Memorial Day) and loads of cars and cyclists were out to enjoy the fine weather. We returned to the ship for a late lunch and vessel sailed at 3.30pm. Tonight the showroom presented a Broadway Special which was excellent. The vessel takes about 1200 passengers and 550 crew and is starting to show its age as built in 1993.