Bar Harbor to Turner Farm

We left our cute little cottage near Bar Harbor Thursday morning, headed back toward Rockland. It was a scorcher of a day by Maine standards. When we got to Rockland, we got in line for the ferry to North Haven and left the car there in the standby line in hopes of being able to take it over with us to the island. Then we walked over to Home Kitchen Cafe for some brunch. It was very hot inside, with no air conditioning and no breeze. But we did our best to enjoy our food... although mine was SO MUCH! They have their own bakery, so we decided to share a pecan sticky bun just to try it out, and I ordered the sausage gravy and biscuits to try their biscuits too. My plate was also piled high with potatoes... too much! But all of it was very good, and I chose an iced coffee to go with it because it was just too hot for hot coffee. By the time we left, I was putting ice down my shirt and on my head to cool myself down. 

We had plenty of time before the ferry, but instead of wandering further, we found a picnic table under a shaded tree and sat for a little while, enjoying the breeze. Then we made our way back to the ferry terminal to wait. It was a little cooler inside their waiting area, but still no breeze, so I decided to try to find one outside along the benches. I started to overhear folks talking and figured out that almost everyone waiting on our ferry was local, either full-time island dwellers (one guy was actually born on the island and had lived there his whole life) or people transitioning to the island for the summer. They were discussing how they weren't sure whether they would make it on with their vehicles because today was the food truck day. The born-on-the-island guy said he thought we'd be fine. We were prepared to just bring our bags and walk on, but having the car would give us more liberty because the island doesn't have taxi service. I listened as the locals negotiated rides with one another, asked folks to carry things, etc. It was fun eavesdropping!

When it came time to board the ferry, I went ahead and got on as a passenger and Kef waited with the car to see if it would make it on. Indeed it did! So after a few minutes of sitting at the top of the ferry with no shade and not enough breeze, I made my way down to see if I could get to where she was. Of course, all of the vehicles were parked tightly, so I squeezed between a dingy and the food truck to get to her and crawled in the backseat - the only place I could access, but it was in the shade so that was nice. And as we moved further out, we had a nice breeze.

On our way to the island, we saw two lighthouses... well, Kef saw three, but I didn't see the Owl's Head, but hopefully will on the way back, so I'll count it then. So, here's our count:

  • 40. Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse - this one is just as it sounds... at the end of a very long breakwater in Rockland harbor. 
  • 41. Brown's Head Light Station - this one is actually on Vinalhaven, but we saw it as we were getting close to the end of the ferry ride to North Haven. It's a cute little light with a red roof.
Seeing our lighthouses from the boat, when we got to the island, we went directly to our lodging for the night: Nebo Lodge! This beautiful old home has one of only two restaurants and lodges on the island. Apparently North Haven is not so much a place for tourists as it is a place for... farming! And of course seasonal living. So, I got my next little card, saying that we needed to change clothes and get ready to go have dinner in a barn!

After a cold shower and a change of clothes, we were cooled off a bit and ready to hop on a dusty, nondescript van that would take us to Turner Farm, which is a historical farm now part of the Historical Farmland Trust. Kef discovered this place on a National Geographic series called Restaurants At The End Of The World, and tonight was their first Barn Dinner of the season. She told me that she'd arranged the rest of the trip around the timing of this event! Everything served at the table was from their farm, with some supplements from the farms surrounding them on the island. It was a vegetable-forward menu, with a tenderloin as the main course with a lentil/mushroom option for those who didn't prefer meat. We ate all of it! 

We got to visit with those seated around us, and mostly with a family from Nashville and a couple from Maine who had just come over for this meal after working the morning. We talked about travels and life and dogs and had great food while a thunderstorm broke outside the barn, taking some of the steam out of the air. In the van on the way back to the lodge, we had folks from Middlebury, Vermont, and another who had gone to Middlebury College, so we made a little Emma Hart Willard connection. 

We had decided not to try to walk down to see Goose Rock Lighthouse at dinner and save it for today, so we'll go do that here in a bit before hopping on the ferry back to Rockland!

Brown's Head Light Station from afar!

The Spectacle Room at Nebo Lodge

The vibe at Turner Farm's Barn Dinner





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