Day 6: Bar Harbor

I laid awake last night pondering what "drawn butter" really is and how does one "draw" butter.  After all, isn't it just a fancy way of saying "melted butter" so you can charge more?  George thinks it is melted butter whereby the oils are somehow removed or "drawn off".  Turns out he's right.  He's always right.  Smartest man I've ever known.  Don't ever play Trivia Pursuit with him as he will whip your ass every time.  So, "drawn butter" (aka "clarified butter") is when all of the milk solids are removed from the butter after it is melted.  Here's how you do it: 

1. Cut the butter into pieces and melt it slowly in a heavy saucepan over low heat.  The water in the butter will evaporate and the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan.  Froth will rise to the top.
2. Skim froth from surface.
3. Carefully ladle or pour off clear melted butter into another container, leaving the milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan.  You might also strain the butter through a double layer of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth.

We left Scarborough at 11:00 this morning on our way to Bar Harbor via Route 1.  George bought the book "Maine Coast" before we left home.  I read some of it at home but picked it up this morning to read about Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

This is going to be a GREAT leg of the trip!





We started a new book on tape, "Dead Silence", by Randy Wayne White.  As we passed through Wiscasset, we spied "Red's Eats", a great lobster shack right on the water with high reviews for their lobster.  And it's lunchtime!  People are lined up all the way down the street to get served.  Yumm...I would love to pull over and try a lobster roll!



Red's Eats, Wiscasset, ME

As we travel north, we passed through more charming little coastal towns, like Rockland.  My nephew, Michael, and his wife, Karen, got married at the Samoset Resort here and it has since become their favorite vacation spot.

Samoset Resort, Rockland, ME



Downtown Rockland, ME







We passed over a really great bridge in Penobscot and stopped to take a few pictures...

Bridge at Penobscot, ME

We arrived at Forest Ridge Campground at 3:00.  It’s a small campground a bit off the beaten path.  The sites are large and it seems like a quiet little place to relax for a few days plus it’s less pricey that the KOA’s in the area.  Lynn, the owner, greeted us with fresh homegrown tomatoes!

Bar Harbor, ME

Cherrystone's, Bar Harbor

After getting set up, we drove over to Bar Harbor.  The downtown area is very quaint with lots of shops, galleries, restaurants and gift shops.  I also found a yarn shop but it was closed.  We settled on Cherrystone’s for dinner and ate outside on the patio.  We both had – you guessed it – a lobster roll.  This one was THE BEST ever.  Had a light mayonnaise based dressing on it - to die for!  George had cherrystone clams as an appetizer which he said were excellent.  Afterward we walked from one end of town to the other.  It gets pitch dark here at 7:00 because we are so far east so we were back home shortly after dark to relax…ahhh, another perfect day!