Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor are two natural harbors. From their names, one would think that they are on different sides of the island. They are located on either side of the mouth of Somes Sound, not very far apart. Both serve as major harbors for cruising boats.
Southwest Harbor, the name of the harbor and the town, has the most services for boats, from diesel mechanics, parts, to marinas and is the home of Hinkley Yachts. It became the favorite town on MDI for the Last Dance crew. A small town without the touristy glitter. A source of parts and services for the boat. And, there are a number of interesting restaurants and a large bakery creating some of the best breads.
The harbor and marinas serve hundreds of boats at any one time during the summer season. Last Dance spent three days at the marina dock waiting for a generator part to arrive. Plenty of time to begin sampling the restaurants and learn where the services are located.
Dyson's Great Harbor Marina, where Last Dance stayed, was a popular marina among the megayacht crowd. To give a perspective of size, the dark-hulled sailboat at the end of the dock is 92 feet. Maine waters attract many large, captained yachts for the summer season.
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| Chuck Miller Photo |
Downtown Southwest Harbor is only a few blocks long, filled with restaurants, a bank, hardware store, small grocery, and a few art galleries and gift stores. The town hosted an art show and a farmers' market during Last Dance's visits. The Dogwood Tree gift store has some mixed marketing as they also sell live lobsters. Not visible on their sign in this image is the price - $3.95/lb.
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| Chuck Miller Photo |
The west side of Mount Desert Island is known as the Quiet Side, since most of the tourists are on the east side. Taking that name as its own, the Quietside Cafe', a small, family-run restaurant, is located on the main street downtown. Great ice cream, good cafe'-type food, and outstanding baked goods. A true corner cafe'. Note the Studebaker parked in front.
The Quietside blueberry pie enticed the crew to take a bus ride south from Somes Sound, multiple times. By far, the best blueberry pie sampled in Maine.
A curiosity to share - two dogs sitting in the handlebar-mounted basket of a motorized bicycle. They are used as props by a local man who manufactures the 2-cycle-powered bikes. The doggies draw people to the bike, giving the owner an opportunity to explain his machine and make a sales pitch. It is an interesting marketing technique.
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| Chuck Miller Photo |
