The southern part of the island, including Dark Harbor, has resplendent homes and mansions hidden along rocky coasts and in forests of pine while ''up-island" is everything from a neat equestrian center to trailers that have seen better days. This is a place where one can see spare-part art outside a home or the school down-island and also spot deer and wild turkeys.
There is talk of the island's two famous thespians: John Travolta and Kirstie Allie. Word is Travolta, a veteran pilot, likes to fly to his home here while Allie takes the ferry. We met a couple who had seen Allie at lunch, and when we left, a ferry attendant told us she had been aboard that morning.
One way to explore the island is on a bicycle. Islesboro is heavily forested, often closing Mother Nature's window to the Atlantic some miles beyond. This isn't pancake-flat cycling, but rather hilly, with tree-shaded lanes. Roads are narrow, shoulderless, and winding. Some cyclists are in Lycra and helmets, while more matronly riders have baskets for groceries and others wearing sandals have the breeze in their hair. When Mother Nature's window does open, where the island squeezes its midsection called the Narrows, the vistas are smile-inducing. Lupines, pines, stone beaches, cliffs, white Adirondack chairs, and pink flamingos are all here. Golf course greens and boatyards are hidden.
Visitors have a choice of a couple of bed-and-breakfasts, an inn, and a handful of lunch spots, gift shops, and galleries. Of the public cove beaches, the best is Pendleton Point in the south with picnic tables, grills, driftwood, and snaking trails. It is a place to scamper, hold on, hang out, and search for what's been washed up by the tide. The other, at Seal Harbor, is a vantage point for those learning to sail off Big Tree Beach.
If the hills don't slow you down, waving will. As on a hiking trail where everyone says hello, drivers provide various hand salutes, from a real wave to the lifting of two fingers. Return the greeting, at least with a smile.
