We were talking about the pronunciation of that island that is home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Mount Dessert Island. All my years living in this state, I've only ever heard it pronounced "desert," like the Sahara. Then I'm informed that the correct pronunciation is actually "dessert," like ice cream. Although a mountain of ice cream does sound a lot less ridiculous than a mountain of dry, barren sand. The desert pronunciation evolved over time, bastardised from the French-Canadian (ahem, Acadian) dessert. Now you all know. To be on the safe side, if you're there, it's safe to refer to it as "The Island" or "MDI."
Last weekend was another long road trip, but instead of heading southeast to Boston, we headed Down East, to Ellsworth and Bar Harbor. I found a lot of similarities between Portland as a tourist destination, and Bar Harbor as a tourist destination. I will henceforth compare:
| Portland, ME | Bar Harbor, ME | |
| Booze Cruise with the Awesome | Whale and Puffin watch cruises | |
| Cool as a Moose store | Cool as a Moose store | |
| That guy in a lobster suit | Lobster Pounds, where you can hand-pick your live, thrashing lobster, and get terrific meal deals! | |
| Bars with decks | Bars with decks | |
| Lots of affordable housing | Lots of affordable Motels | |
| More bars than anyone could ever go to | More T-shirts and Ice Cream than anyone could ever want | |
| Serious art in Museums and Galleries | Not so serious art- priced so people like me can afford (including sweet frames!) | |
| The Space Gallery, The Soundpost | Timber Tina's Great Maine Lumberjack Show, Dr. Wilson's Memory Elixir Medicine Show | |
| WABI, TV5 | WGME 13 | |
| The Portland Press Herald | The Bar Harbor Times | |
| Scenic Cityscape | Scenic Landscape | |
| The Downtown Lounge | Geddy's Pub (has a "Jeter Drinks Wine Coolers" T-shirt in the shop downstairs.) | |
| $53 Average dollar amount spent on a Josh and Amanda seafood dinner at J's Oyster Bar | $78 Average dollar amount spent on a Josh and Amanda seafood dinner at some place we picked from a tour guide | |
| Maine Narrow Gauge Museum | Whale Museum | |
| Maine College of Art | College of the Atlantic |
