We got married!

It was time to honeymoon at Acadia National Park.

The day finally arrived and we arrived at Columbus airport and boarded the plane to Washington, DC. From there we were to catch a connecting flight to Portland, Maine. There was some slight delay and we were given a different plane to DC. Anytime they announce that there’s maintenance on the plane we’re about to board, I’d rather them delay and just give us a different plane so I was unbothered. We had a long enough layover in DC anyway. Eventually we boarded and the flight was only about 50 mins. We viewed Arlington Cemetery from the air and were able to see the Pentagon, Capitol, Washington Monument, and Jefferson Memorial from the airport. I’m sure we saw more but didn’t know it.

Reagan airport in DC isn’t too crazy. We milled around and got some strong coffee from some Malaysian women and some bacon sandwiches to tide us over. Honestly, the wait here wasn’t too long and I didn’t even finish my coffee and sandwich before we were summoned to board the flight. I had the window seat and I peeked out just in time to see NYC from the air! This was really cool and Central Park is way bigger than I imagined it to be. We both kept checking out the window the rest of this flight and trying to guess what state we were flying over. Where were the back-of-headrest TVs with the maps!? If AirCanada can manage to have these, you would think American Airlines could do it. 

It was pretty obvious once we hit Maine, because there were barely any towns. When we landed in Portland, all we could do was laugh because of how small the town had looked from the air. Of course, after having been in Maine now, I know it was probably mostly covered by the trees. We left the plane, sat down in some rocking chairs to collect our thoughts, then went to the baggage claim. This was a disorganized affair and thankfully I spotted some old guy grabbing our bags from the belt just in time to take them from his sticky fingers. Who knows what that was about. 

They had some animals displayed including the elusive moose and three black bears (which we know are fake). There were also some weird albino deer that we stared at as questions formed in our brains. There was no information plaque so our questions went unanswered. This should have been our first clue as to what was to come.

Picking up our rental car was a relatively painless process aside from us making an unnecessary loop through the garage and getting snapped at by the woman at the desk. When we approached our (unexpected) SUV, I started laughing because we had New York license plates. Excelsior! became our motto for the trip. I quickly texted Catherine and Emma that we were in a New York car and Emma came back with the stunningly accurate response: “That means you can drive as wild as you want, as long as you’re going 5 mph under the speed limit at all times.” 

We drove away from the airport and decided that Portland was not a very big city but we didn’t really know what to think of it. They had a cool, really long drawbridge. Our first destination was Portland Head Lighthouse. This was the coolest introduction to Maine and I’d highly recommend it. We drove through swanky neighborhoods of perfectly manicured Cape Cod houses and I was astonished by the huge pink and white flowering bushes in almost every yard. Once we arrived at the Lighthaus, we were glad we were wearing long sleeves because despite the brilliant sunshine, it was chilly! Derek declared that we would know who was from Maine because they’d be the ones in tank tops and shorts. 

We came over a hill and got our first glimpse of this perfectly situated lighthouse. The light was commissioned in 1789 by George Washington. The signage wasn’t very clear on whether or not the lighthouse we were looking at was the same one built in 1789…welcome to Maine! We took the cliff trail and scrambled down the rocks to view it from another angle and found our first tidepools! We didn’t see anything in them but it was still cool. We saw some ducks and cormorants. After spending time here, we headed to the other side which I think was probably the best angle for photos. There was a sign that said that in WWII a German submarine sunk an American boat 8 miles from the coast, and that German subs came as far inland as the bay we’d crossed on that long drawbridge (Casco Bay)!! What!? Why did we not learn about this in school?? It was the second closest the enemy came to American soil, with Pearl Harbor of course being the closest. 

We were ready to get to Acadia, so we left the park but there was so much to do here that you could probably spend an entertaining afternoon. There was a WWII fort, a mansion to tour, and the lighthouse was tourable as well. Plus, there were trails. This would be the coolest park to live near. 

I’d read a couple things about Highway 1 being a scenic coastal route. With images of rocky coastlines in our minds, we pointed our car down this road. It was…not what we expected. I think we only got 2-3 views of the ocean. I guess we got to see how the coastal towns gradually change from quintessential New England manicured villages to squalor. Just kidding! It wasn’t squalor, but the people definitely stopped caring what their yards looked like. I don’t know if they were hillbillies or hippies or what. 

The first “We Were Played™“ moment came quickly with a sign that said SCENIC TURNOUT AHEAD. Derek pulled over and we blankly stared at the “scenic view.” It was a bridge and a sign advertising tours of the bridge. Did our tires squeal as we pulled away? Maybe. 

As we flew and weren’t able to pack the car with food and drink, we needed to go to Walmart. As we pulled up I was impressed with the fact that the Walmart in Ellsworth looked like a house. I was expecting greatness. Ha! It was a pretty trashy Walmart. I think we were both shellshocked when we left and I don’t even know why. There were a couple things we couldn’t get at Walmart, so we headed to “Hannaford” which is like an IGA but bigger and everywhere in Maine. I guess it was kind of like a mix of IGA and Publix, but Publix was waaaay better. We couldn’t find the Brown Bread in a Can that we’d read was a Maine staple. Disappointed, we went to check out and it was chaos. The checkout clerk stared at Derek’s drivers license suspiciously then called the manager. I knew she couldn’t find the birthdate but I was too absorbed by the conversations happening all around me to say anything to her. Some woman was going to Boston on a train, another girl had gone to Mass on St Patrick’s Day, and then the most random thing happened. An Asian woman rushed down our checkout aisle, brushing into Derek so hard he was jostled. She began urgently asking the bagger for “lobster claw things” and the bagger was just staring at her. The manager came to find Derek’s birthdate and the Asian woman was acting like she had a boiled lobster sitting in her passenger seat that needed to be eaten NOW and the bagger didn’t know what she was asking for. Finally we were checked out and shuffled out the door in a daze. We just looked at each other then busted out laughing and declared that Maine people were just straight up weird. 

We motored the rest of the way to our cabin in Southwest Harbor and proved to Catherine that THERE IS A BRIDGE BETWEEN MT DESERT ISLAND AND THE MAINLAND. The amount of trees and the thickness of the woods on this island threw us both for a loop. Soon enough we were at the cabin and hauled in all our crap. 

The next morning we grabbed the maps and hit the road to Acadia! The park sign was…not the best I’ve seen. Nevertheless, we participated in the classic National Park tradition of taking a picture for another couple in exchange for a photo of us with the sign. We hit the famous Park Loop Road and our first stop was Sand Beach. A thick fog had descended and we saw nothing. However, we were hungry so Derek made sandwiches and we ate and people watched. We discussed our options and decided to do the Beehive the next day since it wouldn’t be worth it in the fog. Suddenly, the fog was gone! And when I say suddenly, I mean we literally blinked and it was bright and sunny and we could see the Beehive looming above us. Derek pulled out the binoculars and saw the people making their way up the trail. 

We gathered our stuff together and hit the Beehive trail! I was excited and Derek was cautiously excited. He’s not a fan of heights. The trail quickly ascends the 520 foot mountain. It’s steep but not so steep you’re dying. When you hit the iron rungs, the adrenaline rush begins. This part is straight up, using the ladders and scrambling up rocks. The views are amazing the whole time. The iron rungs are tons of fun. There’s a weird sketchy looking iron rung bridge thing that made me nervous, but other than that I never felt unsafe. Derek faced the heights and slayed. We made it to the top and got photos! We explored the summit and found the summit marker and found the view from the marker to be even more beautiful than the ocean view. We used the map to identify the islands and mountains and I was blown away and wondered why I had never thought to do this before. Derek reminded me that I married a Boy Scout with map skills. After spending plenty of time at the summit, we made our way down the easier trail and then drove the rest of the Park Loop Road, stopping at a couple overlooks. At the Otter Point stop, we were both just staring at the water at the exact right time – IN TIME TO SPOT A WHALE. How we both managed to catch this glimpse, I’ll never know.

We made a quick pitstop at Jordan Pond to view the pond but were ready to get supper so we vowed to return on the morrow. After doing little to no research, we picked the town of Northeast Harbor at random and decided to try to find a lobster restaurant there. After driving around the town about 3 times and coming up empty handed, Derek took the turn towards the harbor and spotted The Nor’Easter Lobster Pound. We parked and sat there looking at the sign for a while, debating whether this was actually a restaurant or if it was a place to buy lobster to cook yourself. An old guy and his wife came out and he seemed to be having a really good evening. Without any prompting he told us the food was great and we were going to love it. That gave us the information we needed so we headed inside. We were seated outside on the patio and had a view of the harbor. My aunt had told us we needed to try mussels, and I was desperate to try a lobster roll, so we ordered both. We got a warm lobster roll that did not have mayo on it. The food arrived and we looked over the mussels as two inexperienced Midwesterners are wont to do, then each stuck our forks in and tried them. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t an orange thing with black…lips…that actually tastes delicious when dipped in the sauce. The lobster roll was great – the lobster itself was the star of the show and tasted like meat. It was great. We paid market price and it was $27, which was less than I thought we’d pay. The fries and coleslaw were also delicious. I’d recommend this place!

The next day (Wednesday) we arose at 4:00am in order to be atop Cadillac Mountain at sunrise. This is an activity Derek heard about and really wanted to do. I’m glad he did, because it’s not something I would have normally chosen but it was awesome! We drove up the mountain and arrived just as the sun was about to come out. It wasn’t terribly crowded nor was it too cold. We were both fine in jackets and hats. I think I put on some gloves for a while. About 10 minutes after sunrise, everyone left and we pretty much had the mountaintop to ourselves. We walked about on the rocks and took in the views. The morning light made for some beautiful pictures. We drove to the other parking area and ate breakfast. Then, we drove back to Jordan Pond and hit the trail. Again, the morning light at 6:30am resulted in great photos. And, there was nobody there! It was such a great experience I’d really consider getting up super early like this at National Parks in the future. 

Anyhow, we started on the Jordan Pond trail with the intention of hitting up at least the South Bubble as well. We were keeping a keen eye on the pond in hopes of seeing loons. We did see a group of them! Soon we reached the turnoff for the South Bubble. I’m going to be honest, there was a trail closure so I have no idea what trail we took to the top. It was NOT the Bubbles Divide trail, that’s all I know. We quickly ascended the rocks and then came to a portion of scrambling. There was one iron rung on this trail. I got a bit nervous a couple of times because it was more like slickrock up here unlike the Beehive. (It reminded me of slipping away into the Delicate Arch. If you know, you know.) We conquered the scrambling and made it to the view! I think you got a more cool view from this hike than from the Beehive. We explored the summit and found the summit marker, the Bubble Rock, and a view of Eagle Lake and what appeared to be the ocean. On the hike down we discovered that Maine’s squirrels are small and heard the cry of a loon! 

We finished the rest of the Jordan Pond hike and I enjoyed the extensive boardwalk. We also saw a Redheaded Merganser and her babies. We drove some more of the Park Loop Road and came to the Visitor’s Center. This was the moment we’d been waiting for. Every question that had been burning in our minds for the past few days was about to be answered. In the exhibits and museum inside, we’d learn the history of the park. We’d learn the truth about the wildlife in the park. We would reverently stroke moose, deer, otter, and rabbit pelts. 

Or would we?

Upon pulling into the parking lot, we both burst out laughing in disbelief. They appeared to have an open-air visitor’s center. Surely this was some kind of sick joke! We plodded up to the structure which looked like it would collapse in a strong wind. Derek spotted stairs behind it and we were both relieved to find out that this flimsy pagoda was not actually the visitor’s center. We made our way up an unnecessary number of stairs to the actual center, walked in with huge smiles, and instantly those smiles dropped from our faces. There was no museum. Mere volunteers were handing out maps. The gift shop was the size of a closet. The only exhibit was some garbage local art that had nothing to do with nature. 

Incensed, we went to the gift shop, spent thousands on postcards, and left. 

We were in the mood for food so we went to Bar Harbor even though we were both slightly terrified to drive in this town. Shoutout to Derek for doing 100% of the driving on this trip because the Maine people would have literally driven me to distraction with their slowpokey ways. We were craving gourmet burgers (an upscale version of that post-hike urge to consume a vat of red meat) so we parked and found out that there was a gourmet burger restaurant right next to us. We got a table and ordered. While we waited for our food they began filming a commercial for the restaurant but apparently we didn’t look elite enough because they didn’t ask us to participate. The food was delicious and their water was really good.

Next, I wanted a coffee since I’d been up since the buttcrack of dawn. I pulled up Google Maps and searched ‘coffee’ and basically all of downtown Bar Harbor lit up. I’ve never seen anything like it. We decided to wander around the town a bit before getting java. I had learned right before we arrived in town that there is a sandbar trail to Bar Island! But, we were there at high tide. Boo! And so, we wandered down to the harbor and then through a fancy hotel property and found ourselves on a secluded rocky beach. There was this thing called the “Shore Path” which promised views into wealthy backyards, but it was closed! We were disappointed. We headed back to get coffee and picked a place at random. They handed me a buzzer to wait and it was as big as my living room so I was confused and set the buzzer down on their counter. I picked it up again and we stood there about 2 feet from the counter waiting with our buzzer. They buzzed and a barista barely peeked out from behind something and silently placed the coffee on the counter. I was about to burst out laughing so we took our coffee and ran. It was surprisingly delicious, so, I don’t know. I guess I recommend it. I think it was called The Stadium.

We headed back to Sou’west Harbor and needed some groceries so we dropped in at the IGA that looked like it was in Alaska and was poised for a polar bear attack. For no reason, we spent like 45 minutes going down each and every aisle and minutely inspecting every item. I guess our excuse is that we were searching for Brown Bread in a Can but we never found any and I think we were slightly delirious due to our early morning. We checked out and the chick asked if we wanted a bag. I practically shrieked, “a paper bag, not a plastic one! The plastic ones are 15 cents!!” Again, it was delirium that caused me to hold the purse strings so tightly. 

The next day we were back on the road and excited because it was the day of our PUFFIN TOUR!!!! We were so excited for this excursion because we were told we might see whales, seals, and any manner of marine life in addition to puffins. We triple checked that the binoculars were in the backpack and hit the road. As we neared the Schoodic Peninsula, I checked my phone and read a text message. 

PUFFIN TOUR CANCELED DUE TO FOG AND BAD WEATHER. 

We looked around us at the bright, sunny, blue sky day and were confused. I asked if we’d be sailing the next day and she said they didn’t have availability til after we left Maine. So, I searched and found a different tour that was scheduled for Friday afternoon. We decided that we’d just head to Schoodic and see the sights and go from there. 

So we started out at the first viewpoint, I believe it was called Fraiser Point or something and we read some signboards and used the bathroom. I don’t think we learned anything from the signboards. We motored on and stopped when the spirit directed. Finally we arrived at the parking lot for Schoodic Point and ambled out onto the rocks. We were totally unprepared for how amazing this stop was. The rocks seem to go on forever, the fog that had canceled the puffins had arrived, and waves were crashing into the rocks. This was the Maine I had been waiting for. 

We wandered around here and met people from Ohio who took our picture. Schoodic Point is awesome and I totally recommend it. 

Sadly it was time to leave and we saw signs for a…visitor’s center! We rushed to it and it was a weird haunted looking building that was apparently an army barracks?? Remember, the signage is poor so your guess is honestly as good as mine. WE LEARNED NOTHING IN THIS VISITOR’S CENTER SO WE LEFT. 

The Sundew Trail had come highly recommended by Emma and Catherine, so that was our next stop! We finally found it and were like, is this a helipad? We didn’t park there. Instead we parked farther away and walked. The trail was nice and the viewpoints were enjoyable. A kid (who was old enough to know better) was about to fling herself into the abyss and the parents were scrapping with each other a bit. We finished the trail and to get back to the car wandered through this army place/cult/abandoned college campus. I have no words for this place. We quickly left. 

We ate lunch at a random dinky town park then went back to the cabin. I sat down to read and Derek declared he was “just going to close his eyes for a couple of minutes.” An hour and a half later we both awoke with a start and realized we weren’t going to get to do the Beech Mountain trail that afternoon because it was already suppertime. After eating we decided it was time to go get some bougie ice cream. The fog was thick outside, it was around 7:45 and it was misting ever so slightly. As we pulled out from the property, we were startled to see John Bumpus, one of the owners, digging a hole by the street. Mysterious!

We went to Salt Shop in Southwest Harbor for ice cream and it was quite good but I found their portions to be stingy. We didn’t want to go back to the haus just yet so we drove around the town looking for a spot by the harbor to park and consume the cream. After trial and error we came upon a perfect spot and watched the harbor which was looking, you guessed it, mysterious! That’s the best word I could come up with to describe Maine in the fog. As Derek said, “I feel like we should be solving a mystery right now!” 

The next day, our last day of exploring the park, we weren’t sure exactly what the plan was but we definitely wanted to check out Thunder Hole. The guidebook said be there two hours before high tide. Okay. We missed that so we shrugged and decided we’d hit it up two hours after high tide and just hope for the best. In the meantime Derek pointed the car to the Park Loop Road and I was looking at the map for places to go. There was this “Sieur de Monts” location that was relatively unmarked but when I looked closer it said there was a museum and nature center. Sold! Maybe we would get some info, we chuckled to ourselves in a macabre fashion. 

So Sieur de Monts has a Nature Center and there are some plaques about climate change, go figure. We did get to touch a moose pelt though, and we found out that the whale we’d seen was a finback whale! There was also the “Wild Gardens of Acadia,” which sounds like an amusement park or zoo, but was actually just a fenced in garden where they grow all native species. They were trying to charge us a nickel to get in but the people in front of us walked past the bucket and so did we. A nickel?? I could get a paper bag for that at the store so I’ll keep my money thankyouverymuch. We walked through the gardens and viewed a lot of ferns and other species, but the most exciting was the carnivorous pitcher plant. There was also a sign that said, “Please don’t throw rocks at our friendly frogs.” 

There was a big meadow near the nature center, so we took the boardwalk trail because we were craving some open space. We read a couple signs telling us that in wet weather we might find a bright yellow slimy moss substance called Witches Butter. You better believe I was keeping an eagle eye out for this, but never saw any. We did finally come to the meadow and it was nice to get out of the trees for a minute, but there wasn’t a mountain view due to the fog so we pressed on to Thunder Hole. 

After eating sandwiches in the parking lot, we moseyed down to the viewing area. After watching for a few minutes, we were delighted that the ocean was starting to put on a show. Going two hours after high tide instead of before is just fine. There weren’t that many people and we stood there for about an hour ogling this natural phenomenon. I decided that this random splashing cave thing is one of my favorite National Park experiences. 

We went into the gift shop here and let me give you some advice: get your trinkets here and not at the Visitor’s Center. This gift shop is infinitely better and we got some fun stuff!

Next we walked down the Ocean Path a little bit to a few viewpoints and feasted our eyes. THIS was what I had come to Maine to see and what I had expected. 

Our last stop in Acadia National Park was Bass Harbor Head Light. We went after supper and it was once again MYSTERIOUS because of the fog. Once we hit the “Bass Harbor” “city limits,” I was laughing because these houses were rough and looked like the folks in this town were hillbillies. It was hilarious to me for no reason. There were also deer in every yard just eating the grass and whatever people had left out (which was a lot of their stuff). We were so confused by the deer. They were running rampant but only in Bass Harbor. I saw more deer here in 10 minutes than I see in 6 months in rural Ohio. 

Bass Harbor lighthouse was cool! You had to do some rather serious rock scrambling to see the haus, which we both enjoyed. The rocks were wet so you had to be careful and take your time, but if you’re not going in with a devil-may-care attitude you won’t die. There’s a buoy with a bell on it which only heightens the murder mystery aesthetic. There are tidepools everywhere so be observant! Derek made his way down to a really big one but it was a sketchy path so I stayed put. As he was making his way back I just happened to look down by my shoe and what should I see but a STARFISH IN A CREVICE BY MY BOOT. How did I get so lucky??? It was so cool to see this and it was a perfect farewell from Acadia.

The night still seemed young, but not young enough for a hike, so we determined that we would try to find the other side of Southwest Harbor and see the sights. So we began driving and we stopped at this pier thing. We were just taking it all in. The tide was out, the fog was in, seagulls were shrieking, and there were lobster traps everywhere. We found a couple other spots to check out the harbor and then found a big patch of the Lupine which I was finally able to smell. It smells good!

The next morning we drove three hours back to Portland, saw the only moose crossing signs we’d seen all week, and spotted a bald eagle just as we got into the city. We decided that once you’re on the Maineland (ha!) they don’t seem as weird and liberal. 

After perusing the tiny Portland airport and getting Starbucks, the only coffee shop they have (there are four restaurants including Starbucks), we sat ourselves down and watched them bring the plane into the gate. We took off and had a super rough descent into DC which left everyone on the plane reeling. Our flight back to Cbus was smooth as butter, or maybe it just seemed that way because I was passed out asleep the whole time. Once we were back in Ohio, all was right with the world, except we kept seeing Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire license plates on I-70! What in the world? It was like we were still in Maine. 

A couple people asked me where I would rank Acadia. I can’t come up with an answer for this. I highly enjoyed the hiking and the experiences we had here. When you were driving around though, it just didn’t really feel like a National Park, if I’m being brutally honest. The harbor towns are delightful and super fun to explore, but at the same time they do take away from the nature aspect. The people are super weird and the Canadian influence is pretty noticeable what with the lack of plastic bags and straws, the constant harping about climate change, and the general air of liberalism. 

If I was to give someone advice it would be to go here in early June and stay far, far, away from Acadia in peak season. It would be a truly miserable experience because it’s pretty small and there’s one road to get to everything on Mount Desert Island. Derek and I have talked about this at length and we said we’d go back for sure, but probably after about 20 years have passed. We’re interested to explore more of Maine, maybe hike Mount Katahdin, and check out Moosehead Lake. There have to be some moose somewhere in this state for us to view.