August 17, 2024
We only had two events worth posting about in our brief time in Maine. I will be covering our entire stay on this post, but the bulk of it will be spent talking about our trip to Acadia National Park.
Leaving Vermont
We left Stockbridge, Vermont, early the morning of August 9, stopping for gas and ice for the cooler before hitting the interstate. After a brief stop at the Walmart in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, we crossed back into Vermont and headed north for a bit before heading east, back into New Hampshire, and into Maine.
With some time to kill before we were able to check in to our next AirBnB in Wilton, we passed it and headed into nearby Farmington.
Farmington has a cute little downtown area that had lots of book stores, a witchy shop and a department store called Reny’s. We decided we would come back the next day to shop around a bit.
In the meantime, we started making our way back toward the AirBnB, passing a Dollar General on the way. We stopped in for a couple of things then made our way in to Wilton to our home for the next not-quite-two-weeks.
AirBnB
The AirBnB we got in Maine was a pretty stark contrast to where we’d just come from. The space was the bottom level of a 2 story building. There was a main door then the door into the lower level “apartment” where we stayed, then stairs to the upper level that, from what I could gather, was wholly unoccupied during our stay. We never heard a peep from above us, and there was an obviously dying smoke detector battery that was left unattended.
The condition of the building, as a whole, left a lot to be desired. There were two windows in the kitchen, one had a crack that spanned an entire pane, and the other had a small hole in it, as if it had been shot by a BB. One of the windows in the bedroom was likewise cracked and had been taped up with clear packing tape. The kitchen was laid out funny, and the countertop was not secured to the cabinets upon which it was sitting. The garbage disposal did not have a switch to control it. Instead, there was a plug-in switch in the outlet where it was plugged in under the sink. I had to kneel and reach WAY to the back of the under-sink cabinet to operate it. The only real seating they had in the living room was a terribly uncomfortable futon and the dining room set was very, very old.
On the plus side, there was a full size tub/shower combo and a king sized bed, but those didn’t sufficiently offset the detractors of the space.
Luckily, we weren’t even there for two weeks.
Acadia National Park
During the weekend we had in Maine, we took a trip to Acadia National Park, about 2 hours from the AirBnB.
We left the rental just after 7:00 am on Saturday, August 17. We stopped for a pee break in Ellsworth then continued on, arriving at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center at the National Park just after 10 am. The parking lot was bigger than most of the visitor center parking lots I’ve seen, but it was still packed. I found a spot fairly close-ish and made my way toward the building, leaving Brandy and Ash in the running truck.
There was a small pagoda right next to the parking lot that I initially assumed was an entrance to the visitor center, but it seems it was just a small shelter. No, instead the visitor center was up a 52-step flight of stairs. Helluva workout to get in to it. As I reached the top, there was a sandwich board sign stating that there was a group that elected to practice their first amendment right to free speech and that their views did not reflect those of Acadia National Park. Right next to that sign were three people, each standing with a presentation easel promoting their religious beliefs. They were well mannered, not harassing the crowd and just standing there waiting for their opportunity to speak to someone. For their restraint, I respect them.
I made my way into the visitor center store and browsed about for our take-home trinkets. After making my purchase, I headed back to the truck and we made our way through the bustling town of Bar Harbor to our first hike on Compass Harbor Trail.
Compass Harbor Trail
AllTrails has Compass Harbor Trail listed as an easy .8 mile out and back trail with a whopping 42 feet of elevation gain.
The trailhead parking lot is on Main Street in Bar Harbor. Brandy and I were concerned that, being a weekend, the trail would be crowded but when we got there, there were only a few cars in the lot leaving plenty of us to park the beast.
We hopped out, leashed up Ash and started down the trail. The trail immediately plunges hikers into a coastal forest, plenty of tall, green trees surrounding the path. About a quarter of a mile into the hike, we encountered a fork in the trail. We headed left and soon found ourselves on the rocky coast of the Gulf of Maine. According to AllTrails, this is where the trail ends. We elected, however, to drop down onto the coast and walk down a bit toward the water.
After having been across the country in Oregon two months prior, being a wildly different beach was a unique experience. The beaches in Oregon were sand with plenty of driftwood obstacles. There are some boulders here and there, but by and large, the beach is primarily sand.
In Maine, however, the beach itself was nothing but rocks. As we clambered over the stones, I was taken aback by the sound of the rocks shifting under our weight. It sounded like the rocks were piled on a metal platform with nothing under it and the rocks seemed to make a tinny echoing sound as we trod over them.
Soon, we found ourselves at the place where the water lapped on the stones where I snapped this stunning photo.
We hung out for a bit, taking in the marvelous scenery of where the forest meets the ocean, then scrambled back up to the trail.
According to AllTrails, hikers should retrace their steps back on the same path that was used to get where we were, but the National Park Services recommends using the trail south east of the one we were just on.
This branch of the trail took us to the remaining foundation of the old Dorr Estate.
George Dorr was a preservationist and considered the “father of Acadia National Park”, overseeing the formation and expansion of his park for the better part of his adult life. A residence was built in Bar Harbor in 1878 where Dorr lived as the park was built around the area. The home was ultimately demolished in the 1950s but some artifacts remain, namely the brick foundation that hikers cross as they head back up this side of the loop trail.
Stairs lead back up to the elevation of the parking lot then hook back to the parking area where this hike came to its end.
Pictures from this hike are found on my Photo Diary.
Jesup and Hemlock Loop
We loaded up and drove another 12 minutes into the park to our next destination, the Jesup and Hemlock Loop trail.
AllTrails has this hike listed as an easy 1.1 mile double-loop trail with another 42 feet of elevation gain. We arrived at the larger, and fuller, trailhead parking lot that is situated right at the Wild Gardens of Acadia, a botanical garden located within the park. Sadly, dogs are not allowed within the fenced confines of the garden so we bypassed it to get to the trailhead.
The first part of the Jesup Path is a boardwalk that takes hikers over the lush, green landscape of the national park. The forest is lined with huge birch trees, massive ferns and other trees, shrubberies and grasses. Informational signs were scattered along the trail educating those that stopped about the foliage we bore witness to.
The railed boardwalk was very narrow and would be better served if it were a one-way path, but we did come across a few groups going the other direction so we would find the small turnouts built into the path and would wait there until they passed.
Soon, we came to the end of the boardwalk where the Jesup Path meets the Hemlock Path. We could have continued on the prescribed path but instead elected to hook around on the Hemlock path’s return route to the trailhead.
Pics from this hike are also up on the Photo Diary.
By this point, all three of us were bushed, hot, sweaty and done with hiking for the day. We got back into the truck and decided to drive the Park Loop Road that would take us to much of the as of yet unexplored park.
Park Loop Road
Park Loop Road is a 27 mile loop that travels through much of the national park, offering periodic stops where drivers can get out and walk down to the coast or take one of the numerous hikes available.
We broke with tradition and avoided a holiday weekend on this trip but a weekend in the middle of summer made the park still very crowded. Cars lined the one way road for much of the loop and pedestrians were a frequent obstacle as we drove the coastline.
Every so often, we caught a turnout that wasn’t completely crammed with cars where I would park and hop out for some pictures of the shores.
The drive was beautiful and I did notice that some of the trees sported an occasional red or yellow leaf. More on this to come in a later post.
Soon we had finished the loop and so we headed out of the park, through the massively crowded Bar Harbor and on to a motel where we’d booked a room for the night.
Pictures that I took on the couple of stops we made on this drive are on el Diary-o de Photo.
A Disappointing Experience with Lobster
One of the things I absolutely insisted on while in Maine was having a lobster roll. As we had a little time to kill before we could check in to the motel, I found a small snack bar on the side of the road leading to it that promised delicious lobster rolls. We pulled in and were enticed by the 4.3 star reviews on Google. I went up and ordered two lobster rolls, two orders of onion rings and and ice cream cone for Brandy.
After a short wait, our food came out. I took them back to the truck where we unsheathed two identical lobster rolls (though one was supposed to be with light dressing and one was supposed to be with heavy dressing, they appears to both have the same amount of mayo.) They were served cold and were very bland.
The onion “rings” turned out to be these massive orders of fried onion “straws”, like what you’d expect to get on a barbecue bacon burger from a full service restaurant. Really, Brandy and I could have split one order and still pitched half of them. The taste was fine but that wasn’t what we were expecting.
Overall it was a disappointing experience but I will definitely try again in the future.
After finishing our food, it was time to check in at our motel so we headed up the road, checked in and called it a night.
The Most Famous Resident in Maine
On our way back to the AirBnB, we drove through the city of Bangor. Bangor just happens to be the home of one of the most prolific wirters in horror, the one, the only, Stephen King.
Being a huge Stephen King fan, I could not pass of the chance to visit the house that he and Tabitha called home.
The house is now home of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, a non-profit organization that is committed to helping the community in Maine, taking on projects such as funding local libraries, educational programs, conservation projects and more.
We exited the interstate in Bangor and made our way to an upscale historical neighborhood where the house is situated among other houses in a similar style, where these houses would be seen as out of place, they were perfectly at home- lavish, Victorian style homes on a street lined with mature trees, and then, one of these houses emerges and isn’t quite like the others.
Among the houses of more subdued colors, a solidly brick-red house stands with a wrought iron fence surrounding it. Each fence picket topped with a pointed finial and the posts at the gate guarded by a pair of winged gargoyles.
The fence post at the driveway is topped with a dragon peering down at anyone passing by on the sidewalk.
On the yard is a tree stump that’s been elaborately carved to look like a bookshelf stocked with books, cats lounging on it and topped with bird such as crows and owls.
As we approached there were already a handful of people there taking pictures of the house. They quickly departed so I hopped out and took a handful of pictures for myself.
Oh, the nerdy joy I felt!
I did take a handful of pictures that are, you guessed it, on the Photo Diary.
We made our way back to the interstate and were back at the AirBnB in no time.
The Rest
That was our only full weekend in Maine. We had only booked this stop for two weeks and we quickly decided that was more than enough. The AirBnB was extraordinarily uncomfortable, not well appointed with kitchen sundries and there wasn’t a whole lot to do nearby. Being scheduled to depart on August 23, we decided to cut our stay short by one day and we left on Thursday the 22nd. The next stop on our trip was a rather spontaneous stop that I don’t want to spoil the surprise of, so with links to my Photo Diary entries above, I will leave you here in anticipation of our next adventure.
See you soon!
-Phil