Amazing Acadia!!

Days on the Road: 5
Miles traveled: 1,286.9
States visited: VA, MD, PA, NJ, NY, MA, NH, ME

We hit the road Friday morning as if our trip was just beginning. We are now all in one vehicle, having left our van at Granny & PopPop's for their upcoming journey. With my driving buddy back on board, I was full of renewed energy and ready for our next adventure.

Our first stop was Freeport, ME. We found the RV parking downtown without any trouble and walked around the town looking at all the shops. All the kids loved the special fish tank bubble at the L.L. Bean store, as well as the display with the moose whose antlers locked together. We grabbed a small treat for the kids and continued North up I-95.

We drove into Acadia National Park about 3:00 PM after a lovely drive thru down-east Maine. Absolutely beautiful is the only way to describe the scenery in this part of the country. After squeezing our big rig through the tiny streets of Bar Harbor we ran into a snag however. Seems a structure fire had closed the road about 0.2 mi from the entrance to our campground. Our only option was to drive back through the narrow streets of the town and go all way around the island to arrive from the other side. We did not want to do that, so we went back to the RV parking area just outside the village and walked around. We figured we might be able to get dinner and wait for the road to open. Our only worry was that we would not be able to find a place to eat since the dog was with us. Boy were we wrong! Bar Harbor is one of the most dog-friendly places I have ever been. We stopped at a shop called Walkin' The Dog and they had a list of pet friendly eateries in town. From there we had no trouble finding a nice place for the girls to have their first official Maine Lobster dinner!

By the time we finished dinner the road was open and we drove into our campsite. That night we went to a ranger program at the amphitheater all about the geology of the park. Cate and Janelle dug it the most. Meg fell asleep so she and I went back to camp for the night. The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast of a dutch baby pancake with fresh Maine strawberries and homemade Maine raspberry preserves. It was awesome. Next was a ranger led walk through the park and a talk all about the different habitats and animals that reside here. Once the ranger signed their workbooks, both Cate and Meg earned their Junior Ranger Badges! This is Cate's fourth and Meg's first badge and they are both excited to get more as we visit more parks out West. We took a nice drive on the way back to camp with wonderful views and we even came across some volunteers keeping tabs on a rare peregrine falcon nesting site. They had their scopes all set up and let us get a rare glimpse of these endangered birds.

After lunch was the highlight of the trip. We drove across the island to the Wonderland area to explore the tide pools. It was amazing! Even the dog was having a great time checking out all the crabs, mussels, urchins, seaweed, rocks, and seagulls. The kids spent hours exploring and I even got a nap!

We went back to camp and turned in early so we could be ready for sunrise the next morning. We got up at 4:00 AM and drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mtn. From there, you can be the first people in the U.S. to see the sun. It was pretty spectacular, but also cold and windy and Cate was the only one able to stick it out and actually watch the sun appear.

With that done our trip to Acadia was at an end. We packed up and after a quick stop at Wal-Mart for supplies we headed West. Here is our slide show for the past few days.

Tonight we are in Austerlitz, NY; right across the border from Massachusetts. Tomorrow it is on to Niagara Falls, Ontario! Get out your passports!