I went on a perfect little friend adventure in Acadia National Park in Maine for a few days in August, with Albany friend Angelica and new NYC friend Diana. Diana and I took the train to Albany then the three of us drove the 7 hours to Acadia, breaking it up on the way there with a stop in Boston with friends Adam and Anna. We had about 2 and a half days to explore the park. We stayed in a nice little motel near a park entrance and about a 10 minute drive from busy downtown Bar Harbor. We had to sneak the third person in with a twin sized air mattress, and we were very proud of ourselves for not getting caught! It rained the first evening but we got to do a little walk by the shore. It was foggy in the mornings but that only got in the way of our planned sunrise view up Cadillac Mountain (one of the first places in the U.S. to see the sunrise). Otherwise the weather was perfectly clear, sunny, and summery.
We did some big hikes, including a memorable one on the Beehive trail, a popular and difficult climb (but pretty short) known for its iron rungs in the rocks to help climb next to steep drop offs and ocean views. We were joined by friend Maia who happened to be there with her family at the same time, and she told us about the lake on the trail and we brought swim suits. It was so peaceful and perfect after an awesome adventurous climb! Other hikes were more difficult at times, including the North and South Bubbles which didn’t have the handrails and involved some real climbing and balance skills, along with the Jordan Pond lake loop which was very crowded but pretty; and the Acadia Mountain trail, which we looped so we’d be climbing down the tricky parts but had the better view. We also checked out the freezing and popular Sand Beach and did a fun kayak/SUP ride in a lake!
We planned our meal stops well, including some great to-go lunches for trails, and nice dinner stops including the Atlantic Brewing Company in Bar Harbor and a pretty but windy rocky-filled picnic spot on the south end of the peninsula. We also stopped at the popular Bass Head Lighthouse.
The drive home was a little worrisome because of a hurricane barreling through our route. It ended up being dry for most of my driving, with about 15 minutes of scary interstate downpour, and maybe an hour while Angelica drove, and then it stopped after our train ride home. Lucky!
travels.of.tara 