Thursday, June 27, 2019

Summer Vacation - Acadia NP

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.

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