A Trip to Acadia National Park

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We had always wanted to visit Acadia National Park but somehow never had the time or money to go up there.
Finally we made it there over the 4th of July long weekend ... a road trip!

Day 1: Wed July 1st 2009

We left from work and started on the 14 hour drive at @ 5:30. We knew it was a long road ahead and planned to drive straight through so that we can make the most of the holiday. Well there was always an option of stopping over at a hotel on the way.
Somehow we did not take it. We just happend to sleep at one of the rest areas for 1-2 hours and just continued to drive on

Day 2: Thu July 2nd 2009

Got to Bar-Harbor by 10:30 am and checked into the motel we had booked there ...the weather was foggy and really beautiful. Lunch at Rupununi's was amazing and their garlic+rosemary fries were wonderful. We went to the visitor center to see the 15 min film about the park and then drove around the entire eastern side of Mt. Desert island. Spent a lot of time in bar-harbor downtown, enjoying the lovely shops and the wonderful ocean view from the harbor. Went to Sandy Beach and Thunder Hole and drove to the top of Cadillac mountain to be engulfed in the clouds. It was superb! The day ended with watched "Transformers-2" at Reel Pizza a theatre that serves food while you watch a movie ...that was a cool experience too!

Day 3: Fri July 3rd 2009

This was the day to be adventurous ...started with a hike - "beehive trail" that the ranger had suggested which was the closest to the precipice trail (closed due to nesting falcons). This was the highlight of the trip for me. It had some ladders and rungs and difficult climbs but spectacular views. Later int he afternoon we took the free island explorer bus.....went to Jordon pond, willowood stables, and then Cadillac mountain again. Enjoyed the Sunset there. The views were spectacular. Spent the night at bar-harbor downtown with nice food and ice cream :-)

Day 4: Sat July 4th 2009

We had a special plan this day - a 2 hour carriage tour of the bridges built by Rockerfeller from Willowood Stables. It was wonderful. The 4 bridges were a testimony of design and Engineering of 90 years ago and our carriage guide was himself 80 years old! Bac to Bar-harbor for a lunch and enjoying the 4th of July crowd and street activities. In the afternoon we left for Bass-Harbor via Echo Lake.
The lighthouse there was 200 years old and the day was perfect for some good snaps. After that we started on our journey back home through some country roads and small towns seeing fireworks on the way ...

Day 5: Sun July 5th 2009

After another non stop drive and 2 hours of sleeping ina rest area we reached home at noon ... the trip was over but the memories would last a long time!

Next time if we ever go - would definitely not miss sea kayaking and the precipice trail!

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