May 3-5, 2019
The sun had long set and the pavement reflected head lights with the rain that was beading across the windshield. We were nearing our destination and a sudden thick fog was all the more confirmation to that. Fatigue had easily settled in with the help of the long drive after wrapping up the work week. My companion was deep into resting her eyes in the seat next to me. My wife’s deep breathing was a gentle reminder that I was not the only one feeling the effects of the long day. Cautiously I forged on through the dense blanket of fog. We had been longing to return since our first day visit 6 years prior. To my great relief, the fog broke as we neared our hotel. The more frequent sharper turns brought Sinéad back to attention; she was glad to have dozed through the fog. Almost certain the GPS was wrong, we turned on what looked to be a residential road and went up a hill littered with holes in the pavement. Fortunately, the GPS had been accurate and we soon found ourselves at our accommodations for our weekend getaway - the Hampton Inn Bar Harbor. We quickly checked in and then settled in to some snack and exhaustion.
The next day arrived better than anticipated. We had some sunlight, though it was mostly cloudy. We grabbed a quick bite for breakfast and decided we wanted to explore on foot from there. The walk always seems longer than maps indicate, but it was nice enough outside and we had sat long enough in the car the day before. We quickly discovered the unfortunate aspect to our timing… We had hoped more would be open as we were nearing the end of the school year, but we had gone too early for the area to be fully open in it’s summer capacity. Much of the tourist attractions in the area were still closed for the off season. That was okay for us, though, we were primarily there to properly explore for the first time together. And, on foot, explore we did!
There were signs through-out Bar Harbor explaining the history of the area. These were right up Sinéad’s alley! I think we (read as Sinéad) stopped and read over practically all of them.
I remembered loving my trips to Bar Harbor as a kid, but I always hated the summer crowds. Sinéad and I appreciated being able to walk around the town and meet shop owners in the process. We’ll both happily settle for less options available if it means we will not have to deal with heaving throngs of bodies making it nearly impossible to walk anywhere.
One of the shops we had to stop in at was a wood shop that we had purchased a little mirror from when we had visited years ago - In The Woods.
I can never quite tell if I am being rude or inconsiderate if taking pictures inside a shop, so I tried to limit what I was taking any photos of. We continued our exploring and walked all over the down town area. We decided to take a slightly different route back, and took the Shore Path back towards where we began.
Balance Rock
Feeling satisfied with our exploring, we decided to make our way back to the hotel. We ended up doing a little additional exploring on the way and found a rather unique looking restaurant.
Route 66 Restaurant
The walk back up the hill to the hotel was no joke after the miles we already put behind us. Eventually we did make it back, though, and we had a quick bit of relaxation for a reward. The sun was still poking out from behind the clouds though, and the weather forecast was not indicating any rain in the immediate future. We couldn’t let the weather slip by us, so we made our way to the car and back on the open road.
I could not remember ever going a certain road before, and was curious of the drive. So, we made our way to a very closed Hulls Visiting Center. We had intended stopping into the visiting center before continuing on, but that was decided for us long before we arrived. We made a quick loop in the parking lot to confirm and started down Paradise Hill Rd. to Park Loop Rd. We had a bit of a wait to pay for admission, but given the time of year they only had 1 booth open at the park entrance. We payed for our weekend pass, and made our way to a parking lot that seemed nicely placed between some lookout points. We were ready to enjoy our views returning to…
Acadia National Park
I got a few odd looks from the park ranger in the booth… Sinéad had taken an opportunity to sneak in a small nap, and it must have looked odd that she was passed out next to me in the middle of the day. She woke up a few minutes after we departed the booths.
We might not have had the most spectacular conditions and lighting, but the beauty never fades in this ocean side landscape. And, besides, we’ve endured much worse conditions for Red Sox and Revolution games.
On the Hunt!
Sinéad and I have made a tradition of trying to find pewter ornaments for our Christmas tree when we travel.
Gotcha, Seagull…
Thunder Hole
We didn’t quite time our visit right for the sounds and the show, but we at least got a little sample clearing its throat.
Luck shone upon us as the sun started sneaking through the clouds a bit more. Sinéad was being a trooper and giving the camera an honest workout.
We packed it up as the clouds were starting to come back over and we were feeling it was getting close to time for dinner. We were recommended a great place to eat, but first we wanted to check out a beach known for sea glass. We headed over to a little rocky beach and searched, but did not find much for our efforts.
We collected our small bounty and headed back into the center of town. We were warned to avoid some of the local places as it was Derby day, but we honestly did not think too much of it. We found ourselves at Side Street Cafe, though, and we discovered how much the people of Maine loved the Kentucky Derby! The food was excellent, and the ambiance was both highly unexpectedly and unique! There were hats at the hostess stand for the ladies to wear in honor of the Derby. We enjoyed our meals, but it wasn’t long before I was feeling a pull to make tracks. We had a single night to see a point of interest I had been anticipating for a long time, and I was getting an odd premonition that the weather was shaping up to make it worth the trip.
Bass Head Lighthouse
The conditions were nearly perfect, except the sun never really got beneath the clouds. I was surprised to see how many other people had arrived and setup to take the shot at the same time. I was also surprised to find how much one had to scramble to get to a setup location. This is definitely a spot I would love to return to during a summer time sunset low tide. (Especially now since I have better equipment for the shot!)
That wrapped up our adventures for the evening. The long walks and exploration had sapped our energy. We made it back to the hotel and settled in for an early evening. The next day promised better weather, and we were not going to let that escape us!
We woke to a bright sunny morning and once again had a nice breakfast at the hotel. It wasn’t too long before we were heading out to make our way back to Acadia National Park in the sunlight. The line left us waiting a while to get through, but we were already paid and passed along through. Our first stop was to see.
Sand Beach
Given nearly all the shoreline is cliffs, rocks, and boulders, it only makes sense that this little stretch of sandy beach would be named so simply. There were trails to be explored, but enough heat to bring to surface the tick population. We had not arrived prepared for hiking or ticks, so we enjoyed a little mosey on the beach before resting on the sand. It was a nice calm start to the morning.
We arrived early enough to enjoy a beach that was not yet incredibly busy. The beach was getting fairly crowded as we left (at least in comparison). We took a long, slow, beautiful cruise down Park Loop Rd until we came to the entrance of our next destination.
Cadillac Mountain
We had arrived at the summit just in time to see that our day would not have been best spent in town. A rather sizable vessel was easily spotted just off shore. We did have plans to make it into town, but decided it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy the beautiful weather and view while we were here. Sinéad took the opportunity to learn what the posted material had to offer, and I took the chance to take in the scenery.
As mentioned previously, there was still another location we had planned to visit. We hopped back into the car and slowly made our descent back into town. There was historical point of interest that had caught Sinéad’s attention, and it was not long before we had arrived.
Abbe Museum
https://www.abbemuseum.org/
The Abbe Museum turned out to be a lovely museum dedicated to teaching and showing the diverse Native American cultures that once thrived around and is still a living part of Bar Harbor and Maine. I was sure to ask permission before taking any photos. Then Sinéad and I explored the museum together.
We enjoyed our visit to the Abbe Museum, but we were starting to run short on time. We still had a long trip back home ahead of us and I wanted to surprise Sinéad with one last activity. Unfortunately, despite it being almost low tide, it was not quite low tide yet. So, my plan to surprise her with something fun did not work out. I was going to show her the Land Bridge, but it was still just a little too submerged to fully appreciate.
Definitely worth noting…
Despite my spirits being slightly dampened, it offered a brief glimpse to Sinéad of something else we could explore in the future. We hopped back in the car and appreciated clear skies, light traffic, and sunlight for a good portion of the ride home.
More adventures to be posted soon! Last year was full of adventures, and I’m still in the process of catching up with the abundance of material.