Saturday 5 a.m.
2) Into Wet Air (or Not)

Given its extreme eastern location, 1,532-foot Cadillac Mountain is said to be the first place in the United States to see the sun rise. But beware, the best-intentioned plans to climb up and greet the dawn may fall victim to classic Maine mist and fog. If so, sleep in until 8 or so and then unwind a reliably gooey cinnamon roll while sipping a double espresso at the Opera House Internet Cafe (27 Cottage Street, 207-288-3509). It has a living-room-style Internet cafe in the back, but you didn't come to Bar Harbor to check your e-mail, so stay up front with the assorted Scrabble games, backgammon boards, newspapers and wall-to-wall opera memorabilia. With the help of caffeine and newsprint, your personal fog will lift.

Noon
3) Here's to You, Mr. Rockefeller

By 1913 John D. Rockefeller Jr. was already feeling a bit crowded out by all the cars running on his family's gasoline, so he began construction of what became 57 miles of carriage roads that are open only to nonmotorized travelers. Like Mr. R., you want to do your part, so rent bikes at Acadia Bike ($18 a day with advance reservations, 48 Cottage Street; 207-288-9605) and pedal merrily for a couple of hours through the mist along the shore of Eagle Lake, over the granite bridges, between the dreamy mountains and on down to the Jordan Pond House. By this time, you'll be ready for the magnificent steam-filled popovers and tea ($7.50; reservations suggested; Park Loop Road, 207-276-3316). The popovers arrive one at a time as you eat them at wooden tables out on the lawn, above, overlooking the pond and the matching pair of mountains known as the Bubbles. Find the bus stop and wait for the free bus that will take you and the bikes back to Bar Harbor.

4 p.m.

4) Old Culture, New Culture

Back in downtown Bar Harbor, the Abbe Museum ($6, 26 Mount Desert Street; 207-288-3519) gives new meaning to the term art snowshoes. The masterpieces of Wabanaki quillwork, basketry and clothing in the Siebert collection, in particular, are almost subversively beautiful in this age of mass production and computer-assisted design. Out into the sun again, seek a more contemporary experience: miniature golf at Pirate's Cove (10 minutes from town on Route 3, 207-288-2133). You can call it educational if you read the signs about famous pirate ships of yore. Don't be tempted by the 36-hole deal ($11); 18 is plenty ($7).

7 p.m.

5) Unreality Check

Maine, as befitting a state that used to be a part of Massachusetts, follows a baseball team that believes itself to be a rival to the Yankees. The Red Sox pathos is palpable at Little Anthony's (131 Cottage Street, 207-288-4700), where the locals gather, and you stop for a pitcher of Geary's Ale and the last few desperate innings. Don't say anything stupid out loud, and if anybody asks, the answer is a slight shrug and a "Hey, you gotta believe."

8 p.m.

6) Choice of Mussels

Though there is room for disagreement about the efficacy of mustard broth in the pungent steamed mussels ($10), the Mediterranean and the grilled creations at George's (7 Stephens Lane, 207-288-4505) are worthy of the restaurant's longstanding reputation as one of the best in town. Tables are spread through the small downstairs rooms of an old house, and as closing time nears and the pianist, Roberta Demuro, begins taking requests ("What's that? Some kind of college song?"), end the evening uproariously with grappa all around.

10:30 p.m.

7) Ostrich-Fueled Revelry

Carmen Verandah (119 Main Street, 207-288-2766) is where the young and the energetic keep it going on exotic draft beers and ostrich burgers until 1 in the morning. Take a listen as you pass, and if the band sounds danceable head on up; with a cover always less than $5, you can't go too wrong. If you don't want to dance, you can play pool.

Sunday 7:30 a.m.

8) The Beehive

After loading up on dark roasted organic caffeine and various bottled mega-C fruit drinks at Café Milagro (37 Cottage Street, 207-288-9592), head along the exquisite Park Loop Road for the Sand Beach parking lot and the trail up Beehive Mountain. The route is nearly straight up at times, an ascent made possible only by the iron rungs and handrails maintained by the National Park Service. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's short, and on a clear morning you have staggering views out over all the little inlets and islets to yourself. On the way back, take the trail over Gorham Mountain and along the base of the Cadillac Cliffs — a sort of Frank Lloyd Wright meets Fred Flintstone formation. It will put you back out on the coast not far from the Thunder Hole, where the air roars its disapproval at being compressed into a cave by the waves. From there it's an easy walk back to the car and a dip, if you're extremely warm-blooded, at Sand Beach.

Noon
9) Into the Blue

The Park Loop Road back into town takes you right past the road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Its 360-degree view is more than worth the drive, even if, as is likely, you discover that hundreds of other people feel the same way at exactly the same time. Back from the peak, as you leave town on Route 3, the time has come at last for lobster. You've turned down all manner of creative crustacean so far ("Uh, what kind of cheese did you say was on that?") because the best way to eat a lobster is with a bib and a cob and a blob of cole slaw. Skip the first lobster pound and any that have tinted-window tour buses parked out front. You could do a lot worse than to get all the way to the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound (1237 Bar Harbor Road, 207-667-2977), just over the bridge in Trenton. After half a century in business, they know how to boil a spider.

Visiting Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert Island off the Atlantic Coast, is about 50 miles southeast of Bangor, Me. — which is on Interstate 95 and has an airport served by major airlines — via Routes 1A and 3.