New England Part III: Bar Harbor and Acadia

I loved Bar Harbor so much! Or "Bah Hah-bah" as the locals call it. Our hotel was right on Main Street, and the whole town is so walkable and friendly. My favorite place was the Shore Path, which took us between the beautiful homes and the rocky beach. I wish it was a longer route -- I could have spent more time enjoying the views. There was a huge rock on the beach that the kids tried to climb. Sweet Pea made it (with the help of the others), and Little Man finally did it on his own!

There was also a village green where families would lounge in the evening, and one night a band was playing American favorites like "Stars and Stripes Forever." I loved it!

The first evening we were there, we walked across the land bridge at low tide. Bar Island is in Frenchman Bay, and when the tide goes out, a natural land bridge forms for three hours that allows you to walk over to the island. It's so neat! We spent quite a lot of time there, skipping rocks and letting the kids explore.

The next day was spent at Acadia National Park. This park has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I was so excited to go! It definitely lived up to my expectations. We walked the Ocean Path Trail from Sand Beach all the way to Otter Cliff and back, past Thunder Hole and over a lot of pink granite rocks.

We finished the hike a lot earlier than I planned, so we had time to go to Jordan Pond and hike before lunch. We started the loop around the pond, which is largely on raised planks. At first, the walkway was novel and interesting. There were pretty views of the pond and the nearby hills, North and South Bubble. But very quickly we became irritated with the planks, because there was no room to allow people to pass. Every once in a while there were larger platforms to stand on, where you could wait and allow people to go in the other direction. Despite it not being a very busy day, we had to wait at every platform for three or four groups of people to pass by before we could continue. So before long, we called it quits and headed back to Jordan Pond House for lunch.

It's a good thing we did, because the line was already forming. We were seated in the first wave of guests, and had a lovely lunch. We enjoyed their famous popovers with butter and strawberry jam, and it was the perfect break in our day.

In the afternoon, we headed to Bass Harbor Head Light. It's managed by Acadia National Park, but located on the other side of Mount Desert Island. It's one of the most popular lighthouses in Maine, and we spent quite a bit of time exploring the area. 

The next morning, we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Despite my efforts every day, we were not able to secure a sunrise pass. The passes are extremely limited, released at 10am two days prior, and are gone in seconds. But we visited the peak later in the morning to see where the sunrise first hits the continental US every day. 

The last activity we did was to hike the Beehive Trail. MJ didn't do it with us -- it's definitely not the best hike for someone who doesn't like heights. But the kids and I loved it. It was fairly short, about one hour, but intense. And it had some of the most unique hiking I've ever experienced: ladders, planks, rock climbing, etc. I was constantly concerned that the kids wouldn't take it seriously, would goof around and plummet to their deaths. But despite my fears, we all survived, and the kids truly enjoyed such a challenge.

That was a wrap on our New England adventure! It was gorgeous and memorable. Tomorrow we head back home, because the following day is very special for two twins I know ...