August 19, 2023
(click on photos to start slideshow)
Sunshine! Today was a picture perfect day! We packed a lunch and set off to tour the Bar Harbor area. We even took the took the roof panels off of the jeep! During our visit here one month ago, it was rainy and foggy and today we wanted to see what makes tourists flock to the area.
We drove through the picturesque port town of Bar Harbor. It was just as busy as before with no parking spaces to be found. We drove on to Mount Desert and stopped at the Northeast Harbor. We were hoping to find a farmer’s market, but, instead we found a take-out food truck, the Bucking Lobster. It had a few customer’s hanging around so we walked over to check out the menu. One of the customers, picking up his order, had Lobster Rolls. They looked pretty good so we decided to order one and share. It was my first lobster roll and I was surprised at the taste. It was very good…we should have ordered two!
After lunch, we parked by the harbor and watched the boaters arriving and departing. I made 2 observations about being a boater; (1) clothing…need boat apparel, and (2) tote bags…lots of tote bags are needed to carry items to and from the boat. We didn’t get to see any boats actually leave the harbor while we were there, but, we did see some really nice boats! Why aren’t they out on the water?
Today our plans included a visit to Acadia National Park. On our first visit to the park (one month ago), we were not very impressed. We decided to try again.
Acadia National Park is located next to Bar Harbor. Acadia is the ONLY officially designated National Park found on the east coast of the United States.
One of the favorite things to do in Acadia is to drive the Cadillac Summit Road. Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain in Acadia National Park. The park has implemented a vehicle registration system to reduce the crowds on the summit, so an advance reservation is required.
We had a 2PM reservation to drive the Cadillac Summit Road. We almost missed our time slot due to traffic along the park roads leading to the entrance. We were behind a slow moving tour bus and just made it to the entrance by the skin of our teeth… 4 minutes to spare!
Cadillac Summit Road was a narrow, two-lane, three and a half mile road winding up to the 1,530-foot summit of Cadillac Mountain. As we made our way up, we had views of mountains, ponds, and the ocean.
At the summit, there were various paths to walk and enjoy the views of the surrounding landscape. The views at the summit were unbelievable!
After Cadillac Mountain, we drove the park loop road along the shoreline. We had fantastic views of the rocky coastline extending out into the Atlantic Ocean, with some islands in the distance. We walked on massive granite rocks and watched the crashing waves.
Now we have seen the beauty of Acadia National Park!
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