ACADIA:
Our first day on MDI (Mount Desert Island) was spent on the quieter
side of the island because there were lots of cruise ships visiting that
day. Before heading out in the car, we took a stroll across the land
bridge (which is only exposed during low tide) to Harbor Island and took
a short hike to the top. The land bridge is cool to explore. Between
the rocks, shells and tide pools you could keep busy all day. Except you
can't, otherwise you would be under water! We picked up sandwiches and
headed to a picnic area at seawall. We enjoyed lunch at a picnic table
right along the water. After lunch we took two different hikes
(Wonderland and Ship Harbor trails) that ended along the rocky coastline
where we enjoyed watching the tide slowly creep in over the rocks.
With each splashing wave, the water crept closer and closer. Exhausted
from our first day's hikes, we stopped on the way back toward Bar Harbor
at the Asticou Inn Restaurant. We enjoyed the view was beautiful over
Northwest Harbor while munching warm popovers with blueberry jam! Yum!
We were told by the Park Ranger that there isn't a whole lot of wildlife
in Acadia, but we managed to see a snake, Loon (on Echo Lake) and a
Bald Eagle on our first day.
Our second day in Acadia was filled
with LOTS of hiking (extreme trails included)! We took our first hike to
The Bowl, a beautiful pond surrounded by hills, then we went to the top
of the Beehive on or way back to the trail head. I liked this hike a
lot, mostly because it wasn't EXTREME! After a small lunch on the rocks
by the Thunder Hole, we took a second hike along the shores of Jordan
Pond. It started off easy, but then we took a trail to the Bubble which
turned out to be a rocky cliff close to the top! We were so scared,
my teeth were chattering (and not from being cold I assured everyone)! Mom
and Dad were really helpful in getting us up the cliff safely and the
view from the top wasn't disappointing! It was a scary hike but I
definitely accomplished something special! After our hike, we went back
to the hotel, had a quick swim then went to dinner. Today we saw another
snake slithering across the path, and a deer in the woods as we headed
off the Bubble.
It rained our third day at Acadia, which we were
in need of a break anyways. We drove an hour off MDI to another section
of Acadia on Schoodic Peninsula. There wasn't much in terms of views,
but the way the fog and mist settled over the water was interesting.
When we got back, we had an early dinner at a pizza place followed by
going to a movie theater to see The Secret Life of Pets 2.
For
our last full day at Acadia, Cora wasn't feeling so great in the morning, so Mom and I went for a hike. We took a short hike along Big Head and enjoyed watching the lobster boats collect their traps. Cora finally got her hiking feet back enough so we could all enjoy our last hike in Acadia together.
This time we left from the Sandy Beach and walked along the crowded
coastline to the Thunder Hole. Instead of walking the crowds back, we
decided to climb to the top of Gorham Mountain. It was another gorgeous day, and the views were
awesome! We had enough time in the afternoon to relax by the pool and
swim before it was time to get dinner. After dinner, we got ice cream
and hung out in the park along the harbor until dark. It was fun running
around and rolling down the hill with Adam. It was a perfect ending to a
wonderful stay in Bar Harbor.
A rainy drive from Bar Harbor ended almost 7 hours later in urban Boston. We dropped off our rental car in a parking garage, then crossed the busy street with all of our luggage to the Parker House hotel. It was an old historic hotel and our room was on the top (12th) floor! From there we could look down to the activity in the street below. We relaxed for a few minutes before heading off toward Chinatown where we would get dinner. When we got to the restaurant, we walked up a big set of steps to the restaurant, which was a huge open, overly decorated space with lights and mirrors everywhere. After a delicious dinner, we walked around town, going by the Public Garden and going past a famous bar called Cheers. Then, we walked around looking for a grocery store where we could buy some food for breakfast. We found the grocery store just fine, but after we left we got all turned around and we were lost (only temporarily) in Boston! After wandering around for a bit, we did finally find our way back to the hotel.
The next day we awoke to beautiful weather for a big day of exploring Boston! We started out following the red line navigating us along the Freedom Trail. We walked by many old churches, public buildings, Paul Revere's house and we ended up at Bunker Hill. On Bunker Hill, we got to climb up the monument there for views over Boston. Down the hill was the Navy Yard where the USS Constitution was located. We were able to explore that ship (it looked like a Pirate Ship) and the USS Cassian Young, a battleship from WWII. When we were done there, we walked back toward our hotel and on to the Public Garden where we took a long needed rest while watching the ducks and people around the park. By then it was evening and time to search for a place to enjoy dinner. We wandered around the Italian section of Boston for what seemed like forever, but then we finally decided on a restaurant where we enjoyed our dinner right in the window by the street. It was so fun, and good! Right after we finished dinner, we saw an impromptu parade coming down the street. A group of cops were the marching band and a group of Italian people were pushing a cart with a statue and lots of flowers down the street collecting money for a church. To cap off a wonderful day in Boston, we shared a gelato before sauntering back to the hotel in twilight. Boston was a very interesting city to experience and it was a great way end a fabulous summer vacation!
