So I’m cheating a little bit with this trip. The blog is technically for RoVer’s adventures, and for this trip, our Subaru Forester is subbing in for RoVer (So maybe FoVer? Or SuVer?). It really wasn’t practical to bring RoVer, since this trip includes three humans and RoVer is sized just right for two. And, it’s a 12-day trip, so cramming three of us into a space for two would have become unbearable after a few days. Oh, and there’s also that thing around gas prices. FoVer gets about 30 mpg, vs. RoVer’s 11 or so…

There will be no campground stories, but there will be lots of pretty pictures and vacation stories, so if you’ll humor me…it’ll be worth it!

We left Rochester early on Monday (Memorial Day) to start the 10+ hour journey to the Down East area of Maine, and made it just over halfway, to Andover, MA – north of Boston and close to the New Hampshire state line. As predicted, there were lots of people on the roads on the holiday – the rest areas we stopped at were all VERY busy, and we did hit a couple of traffic backups, but nothing too crazy. Tuesday, we headed north to finish the drive, making a stop in Freeport, ME to check out the LL Bean flagship and outlet stores.

The weather there was crummy, with a misty rain, but by the time we arrived at our destination, Southwest Harbor ME, it had cleared up and the skies were blue! We are staying at an Airbnb on the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island, which is home to Acadia National Park…the reason we traveled all this way! While it’s spelled “desert” like the sandy, dry place, it’s actually pronounced “dessert” like the yummy after-dinner treat.

Mark and I have very little experience with Airbnbs, and the one we stayed at a few years ago did not go well…whereas Connor has stayed in several both in the US and Europe, and has always liked them. So, I was hopeful for this one and it’s wonderful! It’s an entire apartment with two bedrooms, 1.5 baths, full kitchen, and living room – so much more space than any hotel would offer us, and a great ‘home base’ for our national park adventures! For dinner, we made the 20-minute drive to Bar Harbor. It’s a beautiful town, and apparently was quite the high-end vacation spot in the 19^th century. We had a yummy dinner in a kitschy restaurant named for Route 66 and full of auto/highway memorabilia. We walked around town and down to the waterfront and immediately loved the area. And, of course, you have to say it like the locals – Baa Haa Baa. There are no “R”s in this part of the country! So, that also means we are Mahk, Connoh, and Osemahie.

Wednesday started our Acadia experience. We stayed on the “western peninsula” near Southwest Harbor and drove the loop around the peninsula, taking us to several sites that are exactly what you would expect of Maine – rocky coastlines, water, trees, and a lighthouse. The weather could not have been better – low 60s, sunshine, blue skies, no wind. Each place we stopped was beautiful and scenic and photogenic!

“Seawall” was our first stop – a natural seawall formed by rocks. There was no one else around and we spent quite a bit of time exploring and taking photos.

From there, we went to see the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, built in 1858. This is a popular destination in the park, and we saw our first ‘crowds’ of the trip.

And then we headed out on the “Wonderland” trail, an easy 1.4-mile hike to the water through a beautiful forest. At the end, we had this beautiful view…

We stopped in Bass Harbor – truly the quintessential Maine harbor, full of fishing boats moored in the water.

By mid-afternoon, we found ourselves back in Bar Harbor for some ice cream and a trip to the grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner since we decided to cook at the Airbnb instead of eating out.

We spent Thursday in the main part of Acadia, to do the 27-mile Park Loop Road. We started at the visitor center, as you should, to get a map and ask a question about the carriage roads that the park is famous for (more on that later!). The loop road takes you south along Frenchman Bay, down to the Atlantic Ocean. There are many overlooks to stop and take photos and enjoy the scenery…so 27 miles takes much more time than it would anywhere else!

From some of the first few overlooks, we had a wonderful view of Bar Harbor and a cruise ship that was apparently docked there for the day.

The first portion of the loop is a one-way road, since the most popular destinations are along this stretch and this helps to manage the crowds and traffic. In the busiest months, there is an “Island Explorer” bus that travels around the loop, but we are a bit early for that…it starts later in June.

One of the highlights of the drive is “Sand Beach”. Sand Beach is a “pocket beach” and is one of the few cold-water, shell-based beaches in the world. The beach area is just beautiful, surrounded by rocky cliffs and pine trees (pine trees along a beach definitely seems odd!)

From there, we drove to “Thunder Hole”, named for the thunderous roars that can be heard under the right conditions (we heard some gurgles, but no thunder). Another area of jaw-dropping scenery – and it appeared to be where all of the park’s crowds were – lots of people everywhere, sitting on the rocks, climbing around on them, etc.

Just past Thunder Hole, we found what is probably an even more scenic lunch spot than Wednesday’s…gotta love eating sandwiches while looking out at an incredibly blue Atlantic Ocean!

Next up was Otter Cliffs – another breathtaking spot to enjoy all that Maine is famous for.

Along the Park Loop Road, there are several bridges that are each unique and beautiful in their own way. Here are a few I stopped to enjoy…

And the scenery along the park road isn’t limited to one side…pretty incredible all the way around

By now, we had reached the two-way portion of the loop and we went directly to Cadillac Mountain. This area is so popular that you have to make reservations in advance for a specific day and time…and our 1:30 reservation was fast approaching, so we figured we’d get there and then double back to anything we missed along the way. Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the Eastern seaboard, at 1,530 ft. From October thru March, it’s the first place in the US to see the sunrise, so it’s extremely popular for 4am visits (but not for us!)

The views from the top of Cadillac Mountain are impressive in every direction – you can see all of the mountains of Acadia, out across Frenchman Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.

From Cadillac Mountain, we doubled back to Jordan Pond to check out the park’s famous carriage roads. These roads were financed by John D. Rockefeller and constructed between 1913 and 1940 (Rockefeller also acquired and donated 11,000 acres of land to Acadia). The roads are the best example of broken-stone roads in America today, and there are 17 bridges along the carriage road system. The ranger we spoke with at the visitor center recommended the cobblestone bridge not far from Jordan Pond, so that was our destination. She had mentioned that the carriage roads can be a bit confusing (there are 45 miles of them!), and she wasn’t wrong. Signage was not particularly useful and we did have a map, but it was difficult to figure out which direction to head (and it’s the wilderness, so forget about a cell signal to use Google maps!). We finally found a sign that specifically pointed us to the cobblestone bridge, and we were on our way. I’m so glad we figured it out – the bridge was pretty incredible, especially when you consider that it was built in 1917. The cobblestone work was amazing! The hike out and back was over a mile, and we were pretty exhausted and hungry by the time we finished. Time for dinner – back to Bar Harbor to check out another of the many restaurant options there!

And just a few random photos from around Acadia…we are so glad we made this trip – especially given our upcoming moves to Chicago, when Acadia will be about 22 hours away and much more challenging to visit! We had originally planned to be in Europe right now, but Acadia is amazing and breathtaking and absolutely wonderful! Love the National Parks!