Another item on our bucket list was Acadia National Park. After the Ryan family reunion in 2017, we rekindled love for our national parks. Acadia is on the top 10 most visited national parks and is only 5 hours away. I've lived here over ten years and haven't journeyed north until this past Memorial Day weekend.
We lucked out with lovely weather allowing us to hike along the coast. Our first stop was sand beach. At low tide, this was to be a hot spot for sea glass. Unfortunately we arrived closer to high tide. Not all was lost. We enjoyed the scenery, especially climbing on rocks. We dipped our toes in the water which was a bit too chilly yet to wade further out.
Izzy found a lovely spot to gaze out among the water. Getting out to where she was at was a bit slippery but Victoria and I eventually made it.
Even the smallest flowers were beautiful.
A short hike lead us to Thunder Hole... an experience of the thunder of the sea against the rocky shore. Thunder Hole is a small inlet that ends in a cavern. Waves rush in and force air out like a clap of thunder. Hence the name. In rougher seas, higher waves create more of a show. According to the park ranger, Thunder Hole was behaving on average for us. Winter is when higher waves come in. I'm not sure I'd want to be here when it's that cold!
Our final stop of the day was Cadillac Mountain, over 1300 feet in elevation from where we started out. By the time we reached the top, there was a 15 degree change in weather. We stayed at the top for only a few minutes before deciding we were too cold to stay longer. The view was simply amazing though. You can see near completely around the entire park's perimeter.
As luck would have it, right outside our hotel was a rocky seacoast. We went exploring for rocks and seashells only to discover sea glass! Two mornings at low tide we headed out and found a color not yet in our collection... pink. This has become a fun past time at New England beaches for us.
Maine is well known for lighthouses. We learned they have over 70. To distinguish which lighthouse was which for sailors, each has it own unique color and signal pattern of blinking.
We stayed just outside of Bar Harbor but came into town to eat most days. We stumbled upon this eclectic restaurant... Route 66. I think this is one of my favorites. There were so many antiques and mementos. I especially liked how the bathrooms identified gender. The women's had a 50's prom dress hanging on the front and the men's a funny gas station sign.
Reminiscent of Diane and I when we were younger, the kids always ask if there is a pool at any hotel we stay at. One morning when the weather had not yet cleared, we headed to the pool.
Bar Harbor is a fun destination town. For lunch we walked around taking in the sights before grabbing a bite.
Overlooking the harbor in Bar Harbor.
Miniature golf to change the mood a bit helped.
We tried to not eat the same genre of food for more than one meal. Due to a GI bug that affected Micah, we opted to stay in one night and bring food into the hotel. This meant we didn't get to go out for seafood which was Izzy's choice. By luck on the drive home, we stumbled upon this quaint roadside seafood shack. Boy were we in for a surprise. This might have seemed like a shack but it was well equipped including a big screen TV outside and two fire pits. The owner is a husband and wife combo. The husband is the fisherman and brings in the lobsters for the shack. The wife works in the kitchen.
Izzy and John ordered a lobster and mussels meal to share. A treat was watching how these are cooked in real time.
Micah still wasn't up to par and took a few bites of clam chowder. Victoria however devoured her clam chowder bread bowel in no time. I ordered a lobster roll with butter, not the mayonnaise version. So yummy!
To finish off our meal, homemade blueberry pie... another food Maine is known for. The Travelin Lobsta was a hidden gem!
