Date Night: Dinner, Music and the Stars!!

On Thursday we decided to extend our anticipation of our hamburger, sweet corn, and pickles meal (which means we decided to delay our grocery shopping) and instead go out-to-dinner in Bar Harbor and then attend the final summer concert of the Bar Harbor Town Band on the Village Green. This picture is of the clouds in the sky before the concert began (and before the sun set.)

We journeyed to Bar Harbor and searched for a place to park. The parking daemon was busy as the parking lots were full, but a kind woman with a car with New York plates let us know we could have her spot and then extricated her vehicle from the spot so that only we could get it.

We went to Rupununi's for dinner. The food was, as usual, fabulous and the Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale was a perfect accompaniment to both our dinners!



After dinner, we returned to our car to get our chairs and went to the Village Green. The band was beginning to assemble, and I took a moment to re-introduce myself to the band leader. I had met him many years ago when his wife was a graduate student at the University of Virginia. I remember talking with him and his sharing that he was from Bar Harbor and hoped to move back here one day. He shared in our short conversation that they had returned here immediately after his wife finished at UVa, and that they now have two children. He asked if I could play the clarinet, which I cannot. There were fewer musicians for this concert than the concert on July 4th, and they played more technical pieces, but it was still a fun time for all, with children circling the bandstand and people of all ages enjoying the music. Our chairs worked well and we were comfortable during the concert, which ended, as always, with the playing (and singing) of the Star Spangled Banner. If you are curious about the sweatshirts and jackets, yet, they were needed: it was a cool evening as soon as the sun set.

We were anticipating another trip out near midnight to view the Perseid Meteor Shower, but decided to take a side trip on the way home to see what was viewable then. We went to the Seawall Picnic Area (it is opposite the Seawall Campground). The parking area faces east, so we stopped for a bit. The time was about 9:30 or 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and we were able to see a meteor about every 2 or 3 minutes. Some were small white teardrops that fell almost directly down as a firework might, and others streaked across the sky. One was a huge burning orange streak that winked out suddenly. It was amazing. And it was a bit chilly, so we got back into the car and made our way home.

What a perfect evening!!