Acadia National Park

I slept successfully in the parking lot of a travel plaza and woke up before my 7:30 alarm and got going. After buying new sunglasses, a USB port charger for the car, and a Maine magnet, I set off for Acadia. I love Maine, I decided. The towns I drove through were so charming but humble. Every business was in a homey building and driving up a non-interstate was a great way to go. I wanted to stop and look at antiques and get ice cream but I was on a mission, and it was still too early anyway. I got to Acadia about 11am and after figuring out where the Visitor’s Center was, getting my maps and getting situated, it was 1pm before I was actually on a trail to hike.

I couldn’t find the one I planned on, the trails aren’t well marked from the parking lots. But I started up something and it was great: I climbed granite steps the whole way up about 700 feet in less than a mile. I was freaked out at first, worried about bears. But soon I came upon other people and felt safer. I climbed some serious steps, took lots of photos with my phone and camera, and really enjoyed myself. I connected to another trail to make a loop and it was even steeper on the way down, so much that I thought about turning around sometimes and going down backwards. I connected to the Ladder Trail after that and enjoyed the three iron ladders built into stone walls.

After I made it back down to sea level my legs were shaky for quite a while, so I knew I was good for the day. It was only 3pm but I had to leave the park by 5 to get to my campsite on time, so I went ahead for Bar Harbor in search of a lobster reward. The town is much bigger than I pictured, and just as touristy. I parked easily and loved that I could change into a summer dress and refresh myself a little and then just climb out the side doors and expose the adorable stenciled kitchen to passersby.

I walked around a little before settling on Bar Harbor Lobster Company because it wasn’t crowded and had a big patio. I was directed to the upper level where I dined on an oyster shooter and a 1 1/4 pound lobster with corn on the cob, all of which was excellent. Usually not into dessert, I was about to not even ask but I had heard about Maine’s blueberry pie. The server might’ve been upselling, but she told me theirs is made by a local guy whereas most others around there are made in a commercial kitchen. When in Rome, I thought, and got a slice with vanilla ice cream. Best decision! Flaky crust, the blueberries tasted fresh, not goopy at all. Super satisfying, but left too much sweetness on my tongue so I went across to a coffee shop for a cappuccino to go, then grabbed the van to head up to the campsite about 40 minutes northeast.

Through some small highways, I found Mountainview Campground. I stopped in to see Sue, who I had spoken with on the phone a couple times by now. She gave me a pile of maps and info sheets, told me there was a less popular section of Acadia to the east on a separate island, which piqued my interest but ultimately added to my fear of missing out. In the campground, the sites were close together but I backed into site #10 next to a picnic table, looking right out on the ocean through a thin layer of small pines. I set up and got things in order as the sun set directly across the water from me. I made my first overnight steel cut oats with coconut, flax meal, and chia seeds. I stayed up late working on photos and writing and feeling generally content.

Some morning rain thwarted my plan to hike Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain in Acadia at 1500 feet. Instead I slept in until the rain ended, then set up the stove and made my first coffee, feeling oh so confident and capable now, and tried my oats. Campers to my left side greeted me with interest at my pretty doors and chatted a little. I got myself going into Acadia and ended up driving all the way to the south down beautiful little roads lined with dense forest and blanketed in fog. I saw a little parking spot at Cooksey Drive Conservation Point and after walking a short trail came out onto a big cliffside overlooking the ocean with no one else around.

Later, after a coffee stop back in Bar Harbor, I went to Great Head and parked, looking for a trailhead. I couldn’t find one at one parking spot, so went on and tried again. I saw a bunch of cars at a sandy beach area and walked across it, looking around until I saw a trailhead going up into the woods. This trail often had views of the water and the fog was still rolling in but dissipating. It wasn’t a long hike, so I had time just before sunset to drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. The view was wonderful! I could see for miles in all directions, the sun sparkled off the water and lit up the land and I was sad I hadn’t reached that view as more of a reward of hard hiking.

I thought I’d head out back to camp and maybe stop at a cute restaurant that had live music… but the music was outside and the food was only inside so I decided to head to camp and set up my grill. I made zucchini that my last hosts sent me with, and cucumber sardine salad and was quite pleased with my van setup. It got dark and the sky was SO CLEAR and the stars were SO MANY and I could even see the Milky Way! I played that night with night sky photography, but it was really hard to get the camera to focus on the stars, so the result isn’t fantastic but it was fun trying.

My last day, I went over to the other island to see what was there and though it was lovely, it didn’t offer more than the main section of the park. Honestly, if you go to Acadia, you can probably skip it and explore the main piece more. I drove the loop and headed out, on my way to Burlington, VT just for the night. My next main stop was my college town of Ithaca, NY.