Maine Meanderings (Cont.)

A foggy morning on Ship Harbor Trail

Day 7

Friday dawned foggy, enveloping the world in a cloudy blanket. I was up and at 'em early to go on a couple of quick hikes near our rental. I was eager to see what Acadia looked like in the fog. 

Fiddlehead ferns

Instead of driving the 30 minutes or so to the parts of the park nearest to Bar Harbor, I drove to the part of Acadia nearest our rental in Southwest Harbor, toward Ship Harbor Trail. This largely flat, easy trail is only about 1.3 miles, and it winds through beautiful forest and along the shore of Ship Harbor. The water was beautiful in the morning fog, and I found all kinds of mushrooms, moss, and fiddlehead ferns. I made quick work of this trail and ate a granola bar and an apple along the way. Since Wonderland trailhead was so close by, I decided to hike that one, too. It's another fairly flat, 1.3-mile trail that winds through forests and along the waters of Bennet Cove. There are some wonderful tide pool formations along the water that collect all kinds of interesting rocks, algae, and little creatures.  

Both of these trails were gorgeous and atmospheric in the mist. And, perhaps due to the foggy weather and early hour, they were nearly deserted, so I had them largely to myself. Everything was so quiet and still and beautiful. 

Finished with my hikes, I headed back to the rental for a light lunch (PB&J - yummmm). As the sun burned the mist off, we all got ready and headed into Bar Harbor. We'd booked an afternoon nature cruise with Bar Harbor Whale Watch - their very first of the season. It was time to see Acadia from the water! 

We were surprised to see many more people in Bar Harbor today as we boarded the boat. It had become obvious during the course of the week that the area was re-opening for the tourist season. Though parking was still readily available (and free, as most of the meters weren't set to "turn on" until later in May, after we'd left), shops and restaurants were getting more crowded. 

We boarded the boat and headed for open-air seats on the top deck. It was sunny and warm as we started out, and our nature guide pointed out Bar Harbor Land Bridge and some of the small islands closest to the town as we headed southeast and toward Sand Beach. 

A gorgeous day on the water!

Along the way, the weather grew foggier and colder, and our guide directed our attention to some of the palatial "cottages" that early visitors to Bar Harbor had built along the coast there. The boat continued past Sand Beach, all the way to Otter Cliff, where we'd hiked on Ocean Path just a few days before! It looked like something out of Lord of the Rings in the fog. 

Egg Rock, covered in seals

Then, we turned the boat, picked up speed, and headed for Egg Rock and Egg Rock Lighthouse. What a
treat! Egg Rock was COVERED with seals! Apparently, at this time of year, they head there to give birth, so we saw tons of pregnant females as well as mama seals and their new babies. After hanging out at Egg Rock for a bit, we sped back out of the fog and into the sunshine. (It was amazing how quickly the weather changed when we motored not 10 minutes away.) Back in the bright blue, our guide pointed out several of the porcupine islands, bald eagles and their nests, and lobster boats. We drifted around where they'd had peregrine falcons nesting in previous years, but didn't have any luck spotting one. 

Then, our boat headed back to Bar Harbor. We did one last turn around Main Street, then drove back to our rental. We tried to eat up as many of our groceries as we could for dinner, and finished up most of our packing in preparation for our departure the next day.

Day 8

We had to vacate the rental pretty early (9 a.m.), so we'd made plans for how to occupy our time before our flight out of Bangor at 5 p.m. We started out by driving to the L.L. Bean outlet in Ellsworth, Maine, which sits between Bar Harbor and Bangor. So. Many. Good. Things! And everything was on sale! If you spent more than $50, they would ship your purchases to your home address for free! 

Pretty Ellsworth City Hall

Hubs, Clay, and I have another outdoorsy vacation coming up in June, so I set about finding things they needed - hiking socks, dri-fit shirts, and some light jackets. We all shopped, and most of use shipped items home. Next up, it was a junking stop - the Old Creamery Antique Mall. This place was COOL - old bouys, antique furniture and kitchen items, fun books. I even found an old family radiation measurement kit that I know a bunch of my friends working in nuclear power would get a huge kick out of. 

Bouys at Old Creamery Antique Mall

By this time, I was getting hungry. We'd originally planned to stop at Provender Kitchen + Bar, but they had recently changed their hours to dinner only (no lunch). Sob! Instead, we walked a block or so down the street to Airline Brewing Company, where I dug into clam chowder and a big green salad. 

Thus sated, we did a little more shopping in downtown Ellsworth. I found a cute pink beach dress and some fun little gifts for friends back home. Then, we trundled back into the vehicle, drove into Bangor, returned our rental car, and checked in at the airport. Two quick flights later, we were home!

We loved our week in Maine; it's such a beautiful place! I'd love to go back and explore it more!

Regarding timing - in the end, I thought we got it pretty right. The earlier you go in Maine, the more you can expect to be closed in the way of attractions, shops, and restaurants. However, we were still blessed with excellent weather the week we were there, and Acadia National Park (which was the main attraction we were there to experience) was blissfully uncrowded. So, just be aware that you are trading some activities for fewer crowds if you go before Memorial Day weekend.

Did we love Maine? Yeah, we did.