Bar Harbor and Acadia, AGAIN!

August 3, 2019

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When we visited Acadia National Park the other day we only managed to see about half of it before we ran out of time… so yesterday we decided that we HAD TO RETURN and see a few of the highlights that we missed. First, we wanted  to make a stop in Bar Harbor so that Mummy could do a little shopping in some of the cute shops along Main Street. As we headed in that direction, we passed the most adorable little painted cottages just off the highway! Each one was painted in a different pastel color and looked like a little “tiny house!” We finally arrived in Bar Harbor and found our way to Main Street, where most of the shops are located. Mummy was running low on her precious loose-leaf tea and we managed to find a darling little tea shop that had just what she needed to get her through the end of our trip… and she picked up a little tiny lobster spoon rest for her teaspoon too! SCORE!!! ☕️?❤️ We strolled down to the waterfront, passing by bushes of blueberries that are almost ripe, and attracting LOTS OF ATTENTION as we stopped many times to say hello to people and answer a few questions about ourselves. The top question continues to be, “How do you tell them apart?” Every time someone asks this question, Mummy looks down at us… just to MAKE SURE that she CAN TELL US APART!!! And sure enough, we really do look VERY DIFFERENT to her!!! A nice lady that we met commented on our harnesses with the ROUTE 66 patch and asked if we were going to eat lunch at the ROUTE 66 Restaurant around the corner? WOW… we didn’t know there was one, but now FOR SURE we would head over that way! Once we found the really cool looking place at the end of a walkway, we found out that they only have INDOOR SEATING so that meant NO DOGGIES. But once they saw our ROUTE 66 harnesses, they said that since we were in a covered stroller they just couldn’t refuse us… and they put us in a corner booth!!! WOW… now that was soooo nice. We were sooooo well behaved and didn’t make a sound. Believe it or not, Mummy said she has eaten ENOUGH lobster for the moment and she and Daddy split the DEAD END BURGER with homemade fries, which was just about the best burger Mummy has ever had!!! If you are ever in Bar Harbor… check out this restaurant… ROUTE 66!!!  The interior decor is really nifty and the food is GREAT. ?❤️????

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We said goodbye to Bar Harbor and headed back into Acadia National Park. Our first stop was CADILLAC MOUNTAIN. At 1530 feet above sea level, this is the highest point along the Atlantic coast! We drove up the 3.5 mile road to reach the rocky summit and Mummy and Daddy took turns getting out of the truck to walk across the rocky ledges and gaze across the horizon, and even though doggies ARE ALLOWED in this area… they wouldn’t let us out because it was just too high and there was nowhere to really safely park our stroller. Mummy got a pretty picture of the town of Bar Harbor far below, a cruise ship out in the water, several of the wooded islands, and even a sea gull who flew right into the picture… PERFECT! If you are a hiker, you can choose to hike a 2.2-mile, moderately-difficult path to reach the summit… or a 3.7-mile strenuous path. We chose to take the easy path by driving! ???

Our next stop was the OCEAN PATH where you can walk for several miles along a crushed gravel path that weaves in and out of wooded areas, getting glimpses of the ocean at the occasional turn-outs. There are stairs every so often that will take you down to the rocky beach area below, if you want to do more exploring, but doggies are not allowed on the beach… but they are welcome on the trails and we saw several on our walk. I want to mention here that before we began the walk, Daddy pointed us in the direction that HE SAID we needed to go in order to begin the trail. Mummy suggested that “since we don’t live here” he might want to ASK someone WHERE IT ACTUALLY STARTS???? Daddy said he already KNEW where it started and it was where he just SAID IT WAS! So Mummy just sighed and followed him across the parking lot. We walked past the trail leading to the beach for swimmers and sunbathers, and soon found ourselves at the bottom of a large staircase made of hewn wood, set into the dirt… rising higher and higher to the street above… where the ACTUAL WALKING TRAIL BEGAN. Mummy just smiled at Daddy and looked up at the 30 HUGE STEPS. Then they lifted our stroller and One. Step. At. A. Time. They lugged our stroller to the very top, and we began our nature walk. (I will only mention this one time… this path was only a few feet away from where our truck was parked… in the OTHER DIRECTION… on level ground… with no steps required to access the path. Just sayin)

We walked for about half a mile, stopping for a few pictures and chatting with people along the way… it was a pretty nice adventure for us in the stroller, although for Mummy and Daddy, the path DID go uphill on some occasions and their breathing got a little more labored! Mummy said that DOWNHILL was much better, unfortunately, when we turned around to go back, those downhill trips now became UPHILL trips. ??? But Mummy said they really needed to work off some of the delicious food they have been eating lately, so it was all good. We took a little potty break ourselves and stretched our legs before getting back in the truck to head for the next stop… THUNDER HOLE.

Thunder Hole was located at an outcropping of rocks, where a big gush of water rushes into a channel with the incoming tide and as it hits the overhanging rocks, it makes a loud BOOM, like THUNDER. There were steps required to get down to the area so Mummy and Daddy took turns waiting in the car with us. They said it was really pretty, but Addie Mae is deathly afraid of thunder so I don’t think she would have liked it too much, and by this point, we were all pooped out anyway. It had been another long day and we were getting sleepy so Mummy said it was time to head back. It had been another wonderful day in Maine. We only  have a few more days left… I wonder what Mummy will choose for us next? ?❤️??????☺️