June 21, 2005

Here we are in beautiful Bar Harbor, Baa ha-ba, Maine having a relaxing time of it. The staff is friendly here and Spot has already made friends. People love him. As a matter of fact we’ve left him in the room and informed the respection staff of our cell phone numbers in case he barks. The receptionist asked us if it were OK if she went into the room. We said yes and could she sit with him? (I said that jokingly.) She said that she’d bring him down to reception and have him sit with her. He’ll like that.

Spot’s been looking for the inn dog at Balance Rock but has not found him. He wanted to compare notes, I guess. Bar Harbor is dog friendly. The Balance Rock especially so. As a matter of fact, it is 4 diamonds and likes dogs. Not just allows visitors to have dogs, but the staff loves them. They especially love Spotter-dog.

Well, Balance Rock is situated on a beautiful part of the coast. Right on the water front. The http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifrooms are large and spacious with a too small hot tub. 😉 We have a decent view of the water. One of the major drawbacks to room 303 is that the motion sensitive light outside our door keeps flashing on and off even if there are no people out there. I’ve had to put a blanket up to block the glaring light. A blanket, doubled, plus a robe. I think I may have to dismantle it tonight. Kim isn’t bothered. She doesn’t even want to think about changing rooms. She loves this one. So far, with the improvised drapes, we’re good.

The breakfast buffet was OK. I am doubly glad that at the Arms we have a buffet, with 4 or 5 kinds of fruit, granola, yogurt, cerial, you name it plus a menu for ordering. I am also glad we have an attentive waiter, John. These things are lacking here, especially John. The rooms are nicely appointed. We have a crazy Sleep Comfort bed that allows Kim to put her side on soft and my side I put on medium. However, when I roll over to her side, it feels like quicksand. Half of me on the firm ground, the other half in the marsh. However, the room has two sitting nooks and is nicely carpeted.

Well, it is relaxing. What have we done today you ask? Well, we got up and had some coffee, paper cups, and then sat outside on the patio overlooking the pool, an expansive lawn down to a border of perenial flowers in a boxed planter that borders a gravel path that borders the harbor. We have a great view of the harbor. I think I’ve mentioned this.

Well, the three of us, don’t forget about Mr. Spot, sat outside and sipped coffee (I had a packet of hot chocolate in mine. Yum.) looking at the harbor. Well, looking at the pool, then the lawn, then the flowers and then the rock beachesque thingy and then the harbor. A beautiful setting.

After our breakfast of brown and serve sausages, nicely scrambled eggs, beautiful fruit, tasty, though I doubt homemade breads, muffins and such, with fine jams and lemon curds and creamcheese, (oooh, a dog just walked into the internet cafe where I am sitting. I think I’ll bring Mr. Spot next time. He’s a good dog.) Kim had the strawberries, we went for a walk on the gravel path and looked at the fine houses that overlooked the harbor. We walked all the way to the end of the path, up the road leading back to the village and Main Street and guess what was at the end of the road, a Cuban restaurant. Kim wants to go. To tell the truth, I’m read. I had a two pound lobster (lobstah) last night and it wasn’t that great. Good but not perfect New England great. Not sweet enough and I think over cooked. It was big, though.

Our ride here took about nine hours. And we stopped in Grey at the Grey House of Pizza where we proceeded to have Grey Sausage Parmagian and Grey Veal Parmagian sausages that tasted gray. The floors were dirty and I shudder to think of the kitchen. I avoided looking at it through the service door. The place hadn’t been bussed and the walls were a little dingy.

At the Grey House of Pizza, they had a gumball machine that had black gumballs in it with winner printed on them in white. I had a feeling. I knew that if I were to put a quarter in the gumball machine that a black one would come out. Mind you, we’d already eaten our sandwiches, which were good with crunchy, toasted hero/hoggie/sub bread even if the sausages tasted a little care worn, and we were full. (The guy who, I presumed, owned the place, a young, dark, tall curly headed fellow in his twenties gave us a cup of water for Spot. Nice Grey people.)

The trip was beautiful, even if there was construction on I-95 that probably added an hour to our trip. Now I am sitting in Bar Harbor’s internet cafe having a Mochacino Email and blogging to you. So far, very relaxing. Too bad we had to close the inn. We’ve already turned away customers. Sigh. But let me tell you, this time off is sweet. Kim is off at a yarn shop while I put the finishing touches on this post.

I hope you all come visit us at the Arms and take an art workshop and have fun with us. Bar Harbor is great but nothing beats the Arms. Lobstah is fine but you can’t beat my stacoto or my maple soy salmon with a stick. (Oh, the cuban place here has Maple Soy Porkchops. Sounds like a dish for next year.)

See you soon. Stay classy Greenville. 😉 (Ron Burgundy: The lengend of an anchorman is worth watching just for the newsteam doing Afternoon Delight. Classic. Oh, and it’s worth watching just for Brick. Funny. Other than that, not worth watching… much.)