Although our trip to Acadia was on a different trip than the Western Loop Trip, it is the beginning of the 2013 Sequence. Acadia NP is in Maine, USA. Every summer, I go to Maryland with my dad to visit family, and this time we decided to go to Acadia as a side trip. I also went to every New England state on this trip. My aunt Debbie came with us to Acadia, but she didn’t camp with us on Isle Au Haut. The trip lasted 6 days, but two of them were driving days, so it was basically 4 days of camping and hiking.
Day 1: The first day, we drove from Maryland to Bar Harbor, Maine. It took us 15 hours, including stops for food, gas, and just stretching our legs. I had a pretty miserable day because I got sick and threw up, but luckily I was better the next day. We drove through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. I got sick around New Jersey. We arrived at a motel in Bar Harbor (‘Baah Haaba’ with a Maine accent) around 11 PM. It was also the 4th of July, so we could see fireworks while we were driving.
Jordan Pond
The view from Cadillac Mountain
Day 2: The second day, we got up late and headed to Jordan’s for breakfast. Jordan’s is a really good breakfast and lunch place, and it is always hopping. After filling ourselves with ‘local blueberry’ pancakes, we drove to the visitor’s center. They suggested we drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain, go to Jordan Pond, visit Thunder Hole, do the Beehive hike, and visit the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. We did these in two days, over days 2 and 3. On day 2, we went to Jordan Pond, which has a gift shop, a cafe, and a place with cold drinks, as well as the main attraction, Jordan Pond. Before walking to the pond, we bought cold ice teas because it was over 90 degrees out, and really humid. We also had squished PB&J’s for lunch. After that, we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain. The view was amazing. You can see miles and miles in each direction, and tons of small green islands and small towns. We then went back to town and had dinner at Galyn’s, a nearby restaurant. I had lobster for the first time, and I have to say, I’m not a huge fan. After we ate, we walked around town, ate ice cream, and watched the sun set. We eventually went back to the hotel and fell asleep.
Part of Stonington, from the ferry
Day 3: Day 3 was packed with with action. We started off the day by another breakfast at Jordan’s, and then drove to Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is a special place on the shore and when the water hits it just right, the water gets thrown way up into the air and makes a loud noise like thunder, hence the name. However, while we were there, the water didn’t hit it in just the right place, and so we nicknamed it “Slumber Hole”. We then ate lunch at the Precipice parking lot, where we were going to hike, but there was a sign that we couldn’t hike there because peregrine falcons had nests there, and nobody could go there until further notice. So, we moved on to our next destination, the Beehive hike. I don’t recommend this hike for people who don’t like heights, climbing up iron rungs, or cliffs. I thought it was spectacular. The view was amazing. You could see the beach below in its protected little cove, and the town, and the islands. It was a more detailed and zoomed in version of the Cadillac Mountain view. My aunt did not do this hike – I think she stayed at the trailhead and read or something. After that, we visited Bass Harbor Lighthouse. It was really pretty, but we should have gone a little earlier in the day because the sun was right behind the light house and it didn’t make a very good picture. But, it was cool otherwise. From there, we drove to our final destination for day 3, a bed and breakfast called Penny’s. Penny’s is in Stonington, Maine, on Deer Isle. We got there around 8:30 PM. Penny’s is a colorful, almost Victorian style house really close to the middle of town. From there, we walked to the Fisherman’s Friend – a really good restaurant – and had dinner. Their pasta is amazing! The hostess of Penny’s had some funny stories to tell about Stonington. Stonington is such a small town, the bank doesn’t always have 50s or 100s, and the post office sometimes doesn’t have stamps! I guess I just find that really strange because I live in a big city, but what kind of a post office doesn’t have stamps?
Day 4: On day 4 we took the ferry to Isle Au Haut. But, before that we ate breakfast at Penny’s, and packed our bags, since we would camp on the island. We walked down to the ferry, bought tickets, and got on the ferry at 10:30 AM. On our way to Isle Au Haut, we passed many small islands, Robinson Point Lighthouse, and a private dock. At 11:45 AM, we finally reached the island. We got off the boat, and then found our campsite. Adirondack shelter #3. The only way to get a campsite there is to enter a lottery and to be chosen out of people from all over the world. We were really super lucky and got a spot. After we pitched our tent inside the shelter, we ate our squished PB&J’s for lunch. I was sick of PB&J after this trip and the Western Loop Trip. We then put our food in the squirrel/mouse box behind the shelter. They also had a composting toilet, which has ZERO smell! I think the park service should install them in every park. Anyway, we went for a hike along the Western Head Road and Cliff Trail, and collected several stray buoys that had floated ashore. If you bring a certain number of buoys back to the ranger, they’ll give you a park service pin. I got the pin. After that, we turned back and went to our campsite because Aunt Debbie was going back to the mainland on the ferry at 4:15 PM. She left, and we napped the rest of the afternoon. We woke up in the middle of the night, and it was raining heavily and thunder was sounding. However, we stayed dry because we were under the Adirondack shelter. I don’t think we had dinner. There were lots of flies or mosquitos at the campsite when it wasn’t raining, so I would recommend bringing bug repellent.
The coast
Day 5: By morning, the rain had stopped, so we packed up our stuff and then went for a hike. We hiked the Duck Mountain Trail to the Goat Trail to the Western Head Trail to the Western Head Road, which took us back to the campsite. Most of the way on the trails was forest, but we got to see the coast some too. In the forest, the trail wasn’t marked very well, so sometimes ‘eenie meenie miny mo’ sometimes determined whether we would go left or right. The coast was really pretty, even though it was overcast and threatening to rain again. After that, we got on the ferry and went back to the mainland. When we got back, we walked to the beaver pond, and saw a beaver noisily crunching on lily pads. I wouldn’t think of beavers as being noisy eaters, but we could hear him loud and clear fromall the way across the pond. We then had dinner at the Fisherman’s Friend again, and then packed for our departure the next morning.
Day 6: We got up pretty early, and once we finished packing up we departed at 8AM. On our way back to Maryland, we swung by Williams college, because that’s where my dad went to college. We then bought cheese in Vermont, and drove back to Maryland. We reached my aunt’s house at around 12 midnight.
This concludes one part of the 2013 Sequence. Next up is the Western Loop Trip!
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