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I live in Maine, not far from Mount Desert Island where Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are located.

The CBS Evening News showed the Obamas on their “vacation.”
The reporter mentioned than Obama has been on vacation 32 days thus far during his presidency, compared with 96 days for George W. Bush at this point during HIS presidency. I’m not buying the reporter’s claim.

CBS also showed a few local people and tourists fawning over Obama, and the reporter said that “nary a bad word” has been heard about the Obama visit. BS....not from what I’ve seen and heard from complete strangers. True, local businesses in the area had signs which said, “Welcome First Family,” and “Welcome, Mr. President,” but some people were pissed about the traffic delays, road closures, etc. as a result of the visit.

Yesterday (Friday), I bought the local newspaper at a store in Ellsworth, less than 20 miles from Acadia National Park. The woman cashier reached over, and in an angry manner she repeatedly pounded her fingers on Obama’s picture on the front page of the newspaper. “He owes me 20 minutes pay,” she said, refering to the 20 minutes she was stuck in a traffic jam when the Obama jet landed at nearby Bar Harbor / Trenton airport earlier in the day. The cashier also mentioned that another customer had come through the checkout yelling and complaining about Obama.

This morning (Saturday), I attended an annual Church Fair in Hulls Cove, Maine, just a few miles down the road from the hotel where the Obamas are staying. While waiting for the fair to begin, an 87-year old woman started to complain to me about Obama. She thought the “security” procedures were unnecessary and intrusive, and said, “Who the hell cares about him?” She then said, “Oh...I should be careful what I say...I’m standing next to a church!” I said, “I’m sure God agrees with you....”

The lady, who said she was legally blind, told me about her experiences on Main Street in Bar Harbor the day before, when Obama visited the ice cream parlor. She told me that her teenage granddaughters, who are honor students, were forced to park far away from Main Street. When the girls walked up the street, according to the elderly woman who befriended me, the local police rudely yelled at them to “get on the OTHER side of the street, NOW!” The elderly, legally blind woman also told me that the police would not allow her to carry her white walking stick!
Also, the police patted down the lady’s granddaughters, even though they weren’t wearing much, due to the high heat and humidity. The elderly woman was clearly pissed the whole time she told me this story.

The woman also told me that local fisherman were not allowed to have their boats leave the dock while Obama was on Main Street, even though their boats were at least a mile away from the ice cream shop. The lady told me that the fisherman were mad at Obama because of this restriction.

Someone else told me that a crowd had gathered on Friday to see the Obama motorcade drive by, but the motorcade turned and drove in the opposite direction. “They were probably trying to dodge people....and the objects they throw,” this person told me. LOL!

I just heard on the radio that Obama and his wife are having a “date night” right now at a restaurant in Bar Harbor. The restaurant is named “Havana” (how appropriate).

I’m sure their visit impacted traffic, but I’ve traveled the road from Ellsworth to bar harbor many a time... and during the summer season it’s always a pain. Even Bangor rd gets backed up, and most of the locals always bitch about the summer people. If they vote in a republican for Pres next time, I’ll believe they were very annoyed with the O’s visit.

We used to stay up in Corea on the gouldsboro peninsula... much quieter than touristy Mount Desert. I was frankly surprised the big O wasn’t staying up in Winter Harbor with some of his money’d friends.

I just heard on the radio that Obama and his wife are having a “date night” right now at a restaurant in Bar Harbor. The restaurant is named “Havana”

Appreciate the real local view. Your local papers are ...difficult to take. See "Havana" had a Sea Scallop special last night.

What's the story behind the owners of this joint? Odd logo for an ice cream parlor: