Acadia day 3
We woke Sunday morning and enjoyed relaxing until breakfast at 8 (arguably my favorite meal of the trip-- with the homemade cinnamon buns!)
After breakfast we loaded up our packs and headed back into Acadia. Our plan was to hike Gorham Mountain. Even at 9 am, the park was filling up fast. We found a place to park at the base of the trail and spent a few hours hiking-- up to the mountain top, down to the beach, along the loop road past the Thunder hole (sadly, it was low tide so there wasn't much to see at thunder hole).
Thankfully this was the easiest summit trail since it was a very hot day!
We mistakenly thought that since the park was pretty much at max we could head into Bar harbor and find it somewhat deserted. But we gave up on finding any parking after driving around several times. It was mobbed. We headed back to our room to relax instead. I read on the lawn for a bit then took a shower.
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| we grabbed a cupcake on the way! |
Still trying to avoid the crowds we decided to stay on "our side" of the island. We eventually got dressed and headed for a quick little walk/ hike out near our hotel along the Ship Harbor Trail (a very easy trail that I hiked entirely in flip flops!). Then we stopped at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.
There is a staircase/path on the other side of the lighthouse too that you can hike down and see this lighthouse from more of a distance perched on the cliffs but by that point my legs were starting to hurt and I could not bring myself to climb down and then back up all those stairs!
We swung back by our B&B to change for dinner and then walked to Red Sky restaurant where we had an amazing and rather elegant dinner. I had a delicious salad and a lobster and mushroom risotto dish-- that I completely forgot to take photos of! After dinner we walked back up to The Salt Box and my husband got a hot fudge sundae (but I was too full from dinner to enjoy any ice cream). We called the boys, walked back to our room and settled in for the night.
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The line to go up the mountain is unexpected! You saw some beautiful sites. Great job on all of the walking!!
ReplyDeleteWe watched a few Youtube/ gopro videos of that climb and you couldn't pay me to go up it... waiting in line on the side of a cliff in the hot sun just made it sound a million times worse!
DeleteIt is so beautiful and your dinner sounds wonderful! I want to drive up there just for that risotto- ha!
ReplyDeleteI literally thought of you when I ordered it!! LOL
DeleteI love lighthouses!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip Joanne. I would love to visit the lighthouses in Maine.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many of them in the state since they have such a long and rocky coastline. Each one is pretty unique too. We've seen quite a few of them through the years.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI think we visited Bar Harbor when I was a child. I remember my dad pronouncing it the way real New Englanders would. Gorgeous scenery. And breakfast is my favorite meal...especially when cinnamon rolls are involved. Smart to have your flip-flops with you for after the hike. Don't think I've ever been top full for hot fudge!!
ReplyDeleteYes! I feel the same way about cinnamon rolls!
DeleteWhat a amazing looking area! I would look for some peace too!
ReplyDeleteIt was really crowded this particular day since it was a holiday weekend.
DeleteIt looks like a lovely place to explore, Joanne. Thanks for sharing your photos. I too like to pack a pair of flip flops for the end of a hike. It's always such a relief!
ReplyDeleteIt really is! I always keep a pair in the back of the car but I knew we were going to have a long walk back to the car from the end of the hike this time.
DeleteSo you didn't do the ladder run trail?? LOL. Wowza, people are crazy, right?
ReplyDeleteOOXX
Jodie
NOPE! My husband really wanted to and I told him I'd take the easy trail and meet him up top but I am not about to climb any sort of ladder while hanging off the side of the cliff (and honestly, the ladders weren't even the worst part of the trail in my opinion).
DeleteI was totally waiting for a photo of you at the top of the Beehive! I remember the time we went to Thunder Hole...it didn't thunder for us, either! Thanks for sharing this little getaway!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Ha! Nope. I am a chicken when it comes to heights.
DeleteWhat a beautiful spot for a hike - and the weather looks lovely (and so did the breakfast you had before you set off!)
ReplyDeleteThe weather was just perfect that weekend.
DeleteYour weather looks superb Joanne, what a great trip you've had!
ReplyDeleteIt was fabulous and we could not have asked for better weather.
DeleteThe breakfasts do look so good. It sounds like a wonderful hike. The views are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteBreakfast each morning was so good; I looked so forward to it each day and I am not normally a breakfast person at all.
DeleteI so enjoyed touring along with you through your pictures!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that!
DeleteMore beautiful views - I love it! I'm fascinated by lighthouses and this one looks so interesting. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
DeleteOh wow...what a great place and its views were sensational...but no I could not line up to get up that cliff. I miss seeing the ocean so easily but am happy to be back where we live now. Great to see you sharing a post from your blog on this week’s Wednesday’s Words and Pics Link Up. I hope to see you next week too. Warm wishes, Denyse.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The views really did seem to pretty incredible no matter where we hiked-- even without hiking any of the more difficult and crazy trails.
DeleteThose views are amazing!!
ReplyDeleteWe really lucked out with the weather too. Such beautiful nearly cloudless days.
DeleteI'm chuckling at how you're always relaxing in the morning before breakfast. We're the opposite when we travel. We are up at 5:00 and hitting the trails before it gets crowded. We are usually the first car in the parking lot. But all your comments on crowds scare me. I was not a fan of Smokey Mountain National Park because of the crowds. That staircase cliff hike looks amazing though. I wonder if other times of the years there are less people?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be one of their busiest and honestly we really only noticed HUGE crowds on that Sunday of Memorial day weekend. Otherwise even at 9 or so when we arrived the park wasn't super crowded and it was easy to navigate around them. Our plan had been to hike early in the morning since we were up at 5 every day, but breakfast was only served from 8-9 and that really didn't leave us enough time to drive, park, hike and get back and eat-- and I did not want to miss a single delicious bite of the food Daniel prepared. We have zero regrets. Have you watched any of the YouTube videos about that staircase cliff hike? It's pretty difficult.
DeleteI love how much y'all get outdoors on all of your trips! Y'all do so much hiking!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you! We can only do lots of hiking like this when it's just the two of us; when we go as a family I have to make sure to plan shorter hikes so the boys don't rebel.
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