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Maine Event - Days Eleven and Twelve

See the photographic evidence.

Wednesday sloshed into view with a nice downpour at the time we were loading up to head to Acadia National Park. We managed to get loaded up without getting too wet and hydroplaned our way northeast. The scenery between Wiscasset and Acadia is quite nice if you take US 1 instead of the interstate, so we enjoyed some nice views and gave the towns a once-over as we drove through.

The tourism industry really starts to dig its heels in around Rockport and is in full blossom in Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor sits on the edge of Acadia and has an endless number of bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, galleries, and tour operators.

It was about a 3 hour drive, so we ate lunch before we got to Bar Harbor. Our plan was to drive around Acadia, enjoy the views, and generally check things out before checking in at the hotel. We failed at this due to my faulty navigation--I didn't see that the eastern part of Park Loop Road is one way. So after driving through the west side of the park, we went to the hotel in Bar Harbor and checked in.

Dad was ready for a nap and mom was ready to not be in the car. Leigh wasn't too excited at first, but I convinced her that we needed to hop back in and drive the eastern part of the park. We did just that, and when we got Schooner Head Leigh proclaimed that we needed to check it out. She was right! We walked down the paved path to the coast and thoroughly enjoyed climbing on the rocks and listening to the surf.

Our next stop was Sand Beach, and since it had been a rainy day there weren't many folk present. The rain had stopped by this time, though, so we were able to enjoy the sunless beach for a while. We proceeded to Thunder Hole, which wasn't too thunderous, and were advised that it would be at peak viewing between 10:30 and 11:00 day next.

We wheeled our way back to Bar Harbor and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Bedtime was rather hectic because we found about 9:30 PM that the sheets on Ma and Pa's bed hadn't been changed, and it took the hotel staff a while to get this resolved. Emily wasn't cooperating, and we really needed to be able to turn out the lights and be quiet, but until the issue with the bed clothes was resolved these planets weren't going to align.

Anyway, we managed to finally get everyone to sleep in their own bed with clean sheets, and awoke the to a cloudless sky the next morning ready to tramp around Acadia. We partook of the morning meal at Jeannie's breakfast (highly recommended) and set out for Cadillac Mountain. No hiking involved here--just drive up and walk around the paved .3 mile loop at the top to get some incredible views of the islands.

There is a lot of smooth granite and a little vegetation, so visitors can climb around quite a bit without ruining anything. As with most of the other things we visited in Acadia, I could've spent more time there just sitting and soaking up the view like a giant view-sponge.

We grabbed lunch at Michelle's Brown Bag Cafe (highly recommended) and then proceeded on to Schooner Head, Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole. Emily had so much fun at the beach--and we had so much fun watching her! Sand Beach is quite picturesque. It's about 300 yards wide and has cliffs on each side extending out a ways.

Thunder Hole was perhaps a bit more thunderous this day, but due to the calmness there was little wave action, and waves are really what make money here. I managed to get a picture of the biggest splash that we saw. Regardless of it not being overwhelming, it was still *very* cool, and the rock formations in the area were fantastic.

We headed for the park exit, stopping for ice cream on the way, and then pointed the car back toward Wiscasset. Emily slept a sleepy sleep for much of the ride home. I would have slept, but with two adults and a car seat in the back of a Subaru Forester, there's not much room to get comfy.

Once home, we got some pizza for dinner, vacuumed the sand out of the car, and relaxed. Emily pulled up her chair in front of Papaw to watch TV, and then hit the sack after a futile attempt to bathe the sand out of her hair.

That pretty much does it--day thirteen consisted of getting up early and uneventful flights home. Our trip to Maine was filled with fun, yet quite relaxing. We got to know the area well enough that we already have a list of things we want to do when we go back (we haven't seen any puffins yet). Maybe we'll stay for three weeks next time. :)
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