Day 32: Bar Harbor, ME to Los Angeles, CA

We woke up around 7am, packed up, and ate our last buffet breakfast at the Acadia Inn, a hotel we’d return to and recommend for future Bar Harbor visitors. We got on the road to drive the several hours needed to get down through Maine. We made a quick stop for gas along the way and then stopped for lunch in Westbrook, ME, where we met our good friend Jacob, who works them on a contract assignment.

We went to Legends Rest Taproom, a small restaurant and bar, which had great food at an unbelievable price. Abe got the smashed burger (ground brisket, chuck, and short rib blend) for a mere $5, Arielle enjoyed the plain tots, which were delicious and also $5, and Jacob got a tofu and black bleak burger, also $5. We ended our efficient and enjoyable lunch to make sure that we would have enough time to drive back to Boston before our flight. Arielle drank her blueberry soda on the way.

Sure enough, as soon as we approached the city we started hitting a lot of traffic. Luckily, we had built in plenty of time and made it to Ezra’s apartment to drop off the car and hop in a Lyft with a lot of time to spare. Despite starting out with a twenty-minute ETA, the Lyft driver impressively navigated himself, jumped in the carpool lane, and trimmed down our travel time to a mere ten minutes. Arielle headed as usual to the Delta SkyClub to peruse the food options while Abe, having been upgraded once again to Delta Comfort +, asked the gate agent about Arielle’s chances. Despite politely replying that they would kill him if he bumped up a basic economy ticket, he showed the exit row upgrade he had already given her and said he would keep her in mind if the seat was still open. When Abe went back to ask if it was possible right before to boarding, we saw that he had in fact made the switch, which was very nice. Much to Abe’s chagrin, Arielle once again got upgraded despite booking a basic economy ticket. We settled in to our comfortable aisle and middle seats for the flight. Arielle had brought Abe some meatballs, which were good, and some rice, which was not because of the artichoke hearts puzzlingly mixed in. Arielle enjoyed a delightful broccoli cheddar soup. We got some work done on the flight and landed early before 9pm pacific time. Arielle’s parents were kind enough to pick us up and we relaxed and chatted at home before getting to sleep.

Approximate number of miles covered: 3287

Day 31: Bar Harbor, ME to Acadia National Park

After weeks of “getting up early” at 6:30am, we finally got up objectively early to truly take advantage of the day. Our alarm went off at 4:30am, and we were out the door before 5am. We traveled the completely abandoned park road to Otter Cliff, where we parked and then descended the stairs to stake out a prime spot to watch the sun come up. Tremendous as the view was - and it was incredible - we were not so excited to be joined by many, many mosquitoes, which bit Abe at least two dozen times. We were slowly joined also by a few sets of humans, and were very pleased overall with our chosen spot and our superb visual experience.

We returned to our car and drove to Jordan Pond, where we decided to make the most of the early morning hour and walk the 3.4-mile loop around the pond. This mostly shaded path goes through the woods and, for a portion, over long boardwalks made of sometimes stable wood and other lengthy series of rocks that make you question whether you’re still on the path.

We finished what was listed as a two and a half hour walk in about an hour and a half, and drove across the street to Jordan Pond House, which wasn’t open for its famous popovers just yet but still provided a beautiful - and very peaceful - view of the Bubbles, two large mountains right next to each other. Though Arielle could have sat there forever, we eventually got up and drove back to the hotel to eat breakfast, managing to get there earlier than we had the day before when we were just starting our day. Arielle was delighted to try the blueberry toast, which she loved. After breakfast, Abe got very tired and managed to fall asleep in bed for an almost three-hour nap, which is totally uncharacteristic but also completely understandable since we got up at least three hours earlier than we usually do. Arielle went to lay by the pool and enjoyed a bit of less uninterrupted napping thanks to the presence of some rowdy children.

We had a lazy afternoon after that but then got ready to seize the day and drive into Bar Harbor. We stopped at the second, far smaller location of Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream that is located a few blocks from downtown, and realized that we had been doing it wrong the past two days when we discovered the “Flight.” It costs $8, as compared to two $4.25 single scoops, and contains four large scoops, though the woman working at the store was kind enough to give us five slightly smaller (but still huge) scoops. From left to right: Brigadeiro, Cookies and Cream, Buttermint, Cereal Milk, and Blueberry Buttermilk Sherbet. It was quite something.

We moved our car closer to the waterfront and explored a few restaurant options for dinner, as well as an ice cream shop that had a flavor which contained real lobster which grossed Arielle out. We laid down on the grass by the waterfront for a while until nearby smokers forced us to get up and move. Abe tried to find the same pair of Sperry flip-flops he was wearing and had purchased in Bar Harbor six years earlier, but the make seems to have gone out of style. Arielle was intrigued by a blueberry-themed store and purchased an Old Soaker blueberry soda to try on our drive the next day. Arielle had been excited the night before about trying to go up onto the roof of a fancy-looking hotel that faced the waterfront, and while we managed to get up to the fifth floor, roof access required a key. We asked at the front desk and were told we could have an escorted tour an hour later, but getting permission made the whole thing less exciting for Arielle, so we decided to skip it. We ultimately settled on Terrace Green, a highly-rated restaurant attached to the Bar Harbor Inn, for dinner. While Abe’s swordfish and Arielle’s salmon were nothing special, the experience of sitting out and looking at the Harbor was pretty great. Arielle was also thrilled when our waitress Kim managed to get her a few small pieces of bread to finish off the butter that had come with her fish.

We left downtown and returned to the hotel in time to dip in the pool and the hot tub, which wasn’t particularly hot but was pleasant enough. We changed and went to the campfire to make some s’mores, which Arielle always loves. We returned to our room and watched a bit of TV before going to bed, exhausted from a long day full of both activity and rest.

Approximate number of miles covered: 9

Day 30: Bar Harbor, ME to Acadia National Park

Since we had been up late the night before and were staying in Bar Harbor for three nights, we didn’t rush to get up in the morning, taking our time and enjoying the fact that the free breakfast went until 10:30am. It was an impressive spread, featuring eggs, both hard-boiled and in omelette form, coffee and juices (including a citrus peach juice), oatmeal, cereal, and French toast that was quite good. Abe took a bagel and some peanut butter to make for lunch, and Arielle brought leftover cabbage salad from Katonah. We drove into Acadia National Park, which was about ten minutes away, and arrived at the Visitor Center, taking note of the incredible view of the water out the window along the way. The ranger recommended a good, lengthy hike for us as well as a few other suggested highlights, and we got a fancy hangtag holder for our Annual Pass so that we could prove that we had paid the entrance fee. We weren’t sure which way to go, but since the road is a loop, we had no trouble finding signs for the Blackwoods Campground. We pulled over and parked on the side of the road, beginning our 3.5 mile trek up the Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail. We commented a number of times along the way that this was a good choice for us, though we really had no concept of how far we had to go since the uphill climb made it seem much longer than we thought 3.5 miles was. Fortunately, we got to walk through trees and then open up to incredible views of the water far below. We started to doubt that there would indeed be a place to fill water at the top, but realized that we had much further to go and that we would meet up with a drivable road when we finally reached our destination. It did prove to be worth the hour and forty minute ascent, and we sat and ate our lunch overlooking the water and the islands calmly nestled within it. We took plenty of pictures and stared for a while, enjoying not being in any rush to get back down. When we did start back down, it took us about an hour and a half to reach the bottom.

Thoroughly satisfied with our seven-mile hike, we drove straight into Bar Harbor, finding a parking space surprisingly quickly given how crowded and busy it was. We stopped into a few stores such as Cool As A Moose, which Abe remembered from his visit to Bar Harbor six years ago, and walked toward the waterfront. We saw a restaurant called Geddy’s that appeared to have nice prices and good fish options. Arielle got fish and chips, which were delicious, and Abe got blackened tuna, which was good.

We looked out at the waterfront a bit while we digested, and then walked a few blocks back to Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream, which was considerably less crowded at this earlier hour. This time, Arielle got the Cereal Milk and Buttermint, while Abe got the Brigadeiro and Cookies and Cream.

We ate and enjoyed in the park, and then drove home to our hotel, stopping for a few sunset pictures along the way. We were excited to go in the pool but were disappointed to learn that it closed at dusk because they don’t have lights. We took advantage of the early hour to try to get to bed for an absurdly early start the next day.

Approximate number of miles covered: 14