Maine-ly Maine

First stop…Portland! What a cool city. The downtown area was so hip. We loved it!! We made Portland one of our destinations so we could visit with one of my best friends from high school who was also in our wedding…Kippy!!! It was great to see them in their city & have time to catch up again.

Here we are with Kippy, Erik, Curran & Lucy just after a waterfront dinner of fish & chips!

At Smiling Farm Dairy enjoying Maine Blueberry ice cream!

After a short but sweet visit…& a stop in to L.L.Bean, of course, we set out for Bar Harbor.

AHHHHH Acadia National Park….words just can’t begin to describe….

We hiked…& hiked….& hiked, then we hiked some more!

Day 1 Hike, 4 miles: Up Gorham Mountain, then to Sand Beach, finishing down the Ocean Path!!

We had to experience the famous Popovers at Jordan Pond House!

On our 2nd day of hiking, we were following a map from the Park Ranger. She told us a route of a few combined trails that would take us on a challenging 5 mile adventure. She was clear about which turns to take & which one not to take. “Do not go down the South Bubble” & went on to tell me it’s basically like climbing down a wall of rocks.

Leaving confidently for our hike, we took in the majesty of the South Bubble Summit & then headed back to Bubble Divide to hike the back side of North Bubble. On the way down, I was totally floored thinking “WOW, if this hike is this challenging, I sure am glad we didn’t attempt the trail she steered us from!” We got to the bottom feeling like we had conquered Acadia. We were awesome on those rocks!!!!

Taking a few moments (& breaths) to enjoy the gorgeous view of Jordan Pond, we decided to consult the map again to see where the next part of the trek would take us. WAIT…Jordan Pond??? That’s on the OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN where we’re supposed to be!!!! As the self-appointed map reader & trail guide, there was no one to blame but myself! Dreadfully, I stared up at the cliff we’d just conquered. Either back up & challenge ourselves, or the FLAT walk around Jordan Pond. My legs screamed for the flat walk, but really, what fun would that be??? So back up the mountain we went. It was breathtaking, literally & physically. Truthfully, we LOVED every second of it. Once we found our way to the right trail & then made it to the top of North Bubble Summit, we were blown away. STUNNED!!

Once we made it back to the truck, we drove up Cadillac Mountain. What a GRAND finale to Acadia!! Good thing we saved that part for the end because every view from that point on would pale in comparison. My goodness…I will dream of returning to Acadia & recommend it to everyone!!!