Located on Mount Desert Island in the heart of Downeast Maine, Acadia National Park is a real beauty. After nearly two weeks of constant rain we got a reprieve and were thrilled to have back-to-back sunny, cloudless days. Arriving in Bar Harbor after a great morning driving from Southport we were excited to begin exploring Acadia. We stopped at the visitor’s center and picked up some literature about the park before deciding to check in to the campground early, it was a Saturday and we wanted to make sure we got a site. We proceeded to Seawall Campground and found a nice camp site to set up our little blue tent. Pictured above is the Seawall at dusk, it is a natural seawall, comprised of granite boulders. In addition to the campground there is also a picnic area and beach area that is a great place to go tidepooling.

Once we got the tent set up we drove to Jordan Pond House for afternoon tea service. We did not sit out on the lawn because there was a 30 minute wait and we were famished, but we did take our time enjoying the tea service. We ordered chai and it was fabulous. Oh, but the popovers. Yes, the fantastic melt-in-your-mouth popovers. Served hot from the oven with strawberry jam and butter. I was a spoiled kid and my mom made popovers as a special treat every so often, so I have a great appreciation for them - but Kate had never tasted popovers before and she was very pleased with her first experience. She’s asked that I add them to my baking repertoire, which I might just do.

Then we headed into Bar Harbor to stroll the small downtown and eventually find somewhere to go to dinner. It was a fabulous lobster dinner looking out over the harbor. After dinner we walked around some more, poking in and out of shops and enjoying the warm summer evening. Then we retired to our camp site to enjoy a camp fire before heading to bed exhausted after a long day of exploring Acadia.

The next day we woke up, got ready and headed over to Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. It was a short drive from the campground and we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves alone on the beautiful rocky shore. It was an idyllic morning: the sun on our faces, a cool breeze scented with the pine trees behind us and the ocean before us, the sporadic ringing of the marker buoys bobbing in the waves and a lobsterman dropping his traps into the water. We stayed for a long while on the rocks, mostly sitting in silence taking in all of the stimuli before hopping in the car and driving up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to enjoy the spectacular views of Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island. During the fall and winter months Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States where the rising suns rays touch down. I can say from personal experience that a Cadillac Mountain sunrise is indeed a beautiful thing, but Kate and I decided that at 5am we would prefer to be fast asleep in the comfort of our sleeping bags instead of jostling for position amongst the hoards of tourists. Kate and I are already planning to come back to Acadia, but the next time we come we will bring bikes with us to ride around on the amazing network of carriage roads that criss cross the park.

Bar Harbor, Maine is the easternmost point over our road trip trek and we will now begin heading west through inland Maine and into New Hampshire.