Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

Our next stop on our tour of Maine was Acadia National Park. I had really been looking forward to this part of the trip and it did not disappoint. We went at the perfect time of year: the leaves were stunning, the sun was shining, and it was not nearly as crowded as it would have been in high-season.

We based ourselves in Bar Harbor, which is only a few minutes from the entrance to Acadia. First, let me tell you how amazing Bar Harbor is. I absolutely love this town. It's quaint, but also filled with fantastic restaurants. We had the cutest house just steps from Main street. A couple of nights we ordered food to go and brought it back to the house to eat while the kids slept. It was nice to have wine and eat at our own pace, without tantrums. Our favorite place was Mt. Desert Ice Cream--easily one of the top five ice creams I've ever had! The flavors were so fresh and clean. My favorites were the baked apple and speculoos. The chocolate that Zahara got was out of this world. Can't believe we didn't get any pictures.

We spent two full days in Acadia; the first day was on Mount Desert Island and the second was on Schoodic Peninsula. 

We drove along the scenic route and parked at Sandy Beach for our first stop. Zahara loved running through the sand and jumping in the puddles. We had a nice picnic lunch and then walked to our next stop--Thunder Hole. It was a nice walk with beautiful views. Thunder Hole is really cool, and we loved climbing the rocks to find hidden views.

Next up was the Jordan Pond House to experience their famous popovers. We sat outside looking at the pond and the Bubbles (the hills), while the waitress brought us fresh-from-the-oven popovers. They were so light and airy and paired perfectly with the Maine blueberry jam.

To keep Zahara entertained, Dan made up a series of "jobs" that she had to complete. Things like: count the number of chairs, whisper the answer to that bush, and then run back here. She couldn't get enough of these jobs. It was adorable.

Last stop for the day was Cadillac Mountain. It's the tallest mountain on the East Coast. It was pretty, but we (read: Zahara) were done for the day.

Next up, Schoodic Peninsula.

Read more about our trip to Maine:
Ogunquit
Camden
Schoodic Peninsula
Portland