The Maine Attraction
We're finally at the far point of our East Coast road trip! Everything else on our route to and from were based on one destination -- Acadia National Park in Maine. All the other amazing sights in Maine were just a beautiful bit of lagniappe. :)
{Bar Harbor, ME at dusk}
In planning for our trip, I was worried that my romanticized vision of Maine would end up being a let down once I was finally there. But friends, it did NOT disappoint! It was magical. I loved pretty much everything about. Bar Harbor is now possibly my most favorite place in the world. To the point where -- in my dream world -- I would totally have a vacation home on the island and spend a couple of weeks there every summer.
The kids were equally enamored with Maine and spent many a happy hour frolicking in waves, climbing on rocks, and playing in sand. The weather was deliciously cool and lovely the entire time we were there and to make things even more picturesque, the Harbor was veiled in a shroud of mist throughout our stay. It may have limited some of our views, but it sure lent an air of magic to the trip and I wasn't complaining. ;)
Highlights from Maine include:
Rumford
Our first stop in Maine was in Rumford for a quick photo op with a giant statue of Paul Bunyan and his trusty blue ox, Babe. Hahaha. It was a good place for a quick stretch and the kids enjoyed climbing on rocks and playing with water. As per usual. ;)
Bangor
Next stop was Bangor, ME because it was dinner time and the kids were hungry and apparently couldn't make it one more hour to Bar Harbor. It was all good, though, because it was interesting to experience a McDonald's in Maine. Not only was the building itself really old school and cool looking, but where else would you find lobster rolls on a McDonald's menu??? Hahaha.
Bar Harbor
Ahhhh. Bar Harbor. I ❤ you. So much fun! And such a charming town. The place we stayed {the Mount Desert Street Motel}, was a short walk from the shops and Harbor itself and I absolutely LOVED being so close to all the "action." :) I managed to squeeze in one run during the whole course of our road trip, and I'm so glad that Bar Harbor was the place I made it happen! In contrast to every other pit stop along the way up, we stayed put in Bar Harbor for two whole nights and it was glorious! It was SUCH a nice change from all of our other stops.
Breakfast time!
Whenever I see my kids climbing trees, I think of the Von Trapp children being referred to as local street urchins while hanging from the trees in "The Sound of Music."
Jane wanted me to take a picture of her "contemplating life." Hahahaha.
Cutest little gimpy Sugar Plum.
I wish we had had more time to explore the full Shore Path, because it was so lovely, but with a toddler and five other kids along for the ride, it just wasn't possible to do everything we would have liked to have done. Even more reason to make another trip up there in a few years. ;)
Shore Path -- Circa 1881
"We Can Do It!"
Craggy shoreline perfection!
Nothing funner than throwing rocks in water. ;)
Grace's "one" souvenir of the trip that we bought for her. A Hawaii license plate from the gift shop at Geddy's.
Ben and Bill's was our favorite stop for ice cream! {And sorbet for the allergy girl.}
Acadia National Park
Our itinerary for Acadia National Park was to check out Cadillac Mountain (the tallest mountain on the East Coast), visit Sand Beach, drive the Park Loop, and possibly go and see Thunder Hole and Otter Cliff. OH and one of the lighthouses! Four out of six is not too shabby. ;) Especially considering the Beach was the biggest hit of the day -- and where we spent the bulk of our time, even though the water was FREEZING and overall it was a little chilly.
("Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in...where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul." John Muir)
Cadillac Mountain was a little anti-climactic, if only because the mist obscured the view. And with a toddler and little kids, we didn't attempt a hike, and drove to the top instead. Thunder Hole was pretty cool and the kids loved climbing on all the rocks nearby, but Isaac was making me more than a little nervous with his run away tendencies, so we didn't stay very long.
We DID stay long at Sand Beach, however, and even though Isaac was simultaneously mesmerized by and terrified of the water, the other kids had so much fun frolicking in the 55 degree waves and building a "cold tub" in the sand. {You know -- like a hot tub, but cold instead.} It was a blast.
Melt my heart right here.
The start of the cold tub assembly.
He did not love having the sand on him either.
Get ready for the wave to crash their party in...
5...
4...
3...
2...
and 1!
Near Thunder Hole
This REALLY made me nervous with the three older kids going off on their own.
Waiting in line to hear the roar of "thunder."
{Along the Park Loop}
Kennebunkport
As sad as we all were to leave Bar Harbor, we eased the sadness of leaving by stopping in Kennebunkport on our drive down to Boston, and spending a couple of hours at Goose Rocks Beach. The water was less chilly there than it was at Sand Beach, and the kids once again had a memorable time playing in the waves, digging in the sand, and making another "cold tub." The houses and hotels along the beach road were absolutely charming and I kind of want to move there, too. Or at least have another vacation home. Hahaha. Even though we didn't stay very long in Kennebunkport {or it just Kennebunk? I never could that out}, I'm glad we made the stop!
Another "cold tub" in the making.
And that was it! From this point on, it was a downward slide towards home. And we still had Boston, NYC, Crayola, Hershey, and D.C. to cover! Is it any wonder that we started to lose steam at the end and cut our trip short by two days??? Hahaha. Whatever may have happened, I'm so glad we made it all the way to Maine! It was so far away, but totally worth the trip. :)
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