Vacation and traveling are important to me. I’ve always been fond of the quote
“work hard, play hard.” After
getting dumped by my boyfriend of 1.5-yrs I needed to slide in a replacement
trip, and quick. The ex-bf and I had plans of taking a road trip and camping in
Michigan. With a click of a facebook relationship status change those trip dreams quickly faded.
I wanted to
drive and I knew exactly which direction I was headed. I needed to see Maine. I’ve wanted to visit for seven years
and felt Arcadia’s Costal Region would be very similar to the Oregon
Coast. Lots of planning and
budgeting later I was on my way.
Location: Somesville, Maine 13-miles from Bar Harbor
Road Trip: 8.5 Hour drive 490-Miles I-95
NYC>Connecticut>Massachusetts>New
Hampshire>Maine
The most states I’ve ever driven through in one day.
Day 1
Driving Early
For road trips I prefer to leave early in the AM and drive
while most people are off the road.
I was hoping to leave at 4am.
Plans changed when I didn’t get to bed till 1am. After three hours sleep, a quick shower,
and packing the car, it was time to hit the road.
First destination McDonalds: I know that doesn’t’ sound like
me but it’s a family tradition, and in loving memory of Grandpa Ramos. Large Coffee and Sausage McMuffin had
enough fuel to get me half way to my destination.
Three incidents nearly took me and Zig out while on the
drive:
1. A kayak flew off a SUV and all the cars on I-95 slammed on their brakes and came to a complete stop. Kayak was recovered and the drive
resumed.
2. Ziggy
distracted me from the road for one sec and we played OFF-the-ROAD ON-the-ROAD at 80 MPH.
3. Family of
geese tried to cross the road and they didn’t make it. It was a horrible scene and I won’t go
into detail…. horrible and abandoned little geese babies…sorry
After the incidents it was smooth sailing with lots of fun
scenery changes. I got butterflies in my stomach when I saw the sign for ALL MAINE
POINTS.
The House
Here's the cute 1930’s bungalow I rented for the
week.
As I pulled up the steep
gravel driveway I saw two cars. One
of the cars belonged to one of the homeowners, Terri. She was mowing the lawn and prepping for my arrival (I was
two hours early). The other car
belonged to a nice couple that stopped by. The woman informed me her grandfather originally built the
house. She told me some stories of
her childhood summers. We laughed
and had a very nice exchange.
She insisted I was brave to do this trip solo. The couple left heading to Bar
Harbor leaving Terri. We chatted and
discussed cycling; she told me she’d leave a cycling-in-Maine book at her
restaurant. When she tried to
leave her car was dead, thankfully I had jumper cables in the trunk. She called me her hero and left me to
get acquainted with the property.
I hit up the local
grocery store and witnessed five separate run-in’s: “Hi Bob, how are you?”
“Jim, good and you?”
“Sandy, good to see you, did you get that thing you wanted for last
week?” I felt right at home, small
town feel :-D
My first evening it was nice enough to sit outside and enjoy cheese, crackers, and wine.
Day 2
A full day of sun! Cadillac Mountain was the first hiking
destination. Ziggy and I found the
entrance off Hwy 3 across from Blackwoods Campsite. The trail starts off in the woods with a few log
bridges guiding you.
With smiles
on our faces we were soon faced with huge sheets of granite.
There were a few people on the trail
and some fun dog encounters. I met
a nice woman with two dogs and got her to snap this shot.
Just a mile more of climbing and we
were at the summit. Nice little
break and view.
The decent was
tons of fun because the trail was relatively simple it was
way more fun to run then walk. I bounced and ran down the mountain with quick easy
movements. We jammed up and down
Cadillac in three hours.
A lot more time was spent sitting in the Adirondack chair on
day 2. After recovering from the
hike and listening to my growling tummy I drove down to Bar Harbor in search of
a lobster roll. I found a nice
restaurant and enjoyed the roll and fries. I’d love to show a picture but I ate it too fast :-D
Day 3
Rainy day 1….
I had to rearrange the furniture and re-hang the artwork in
the house. What can I say, being
raised an interior designer has made me a bit OCD. I couldn’t handle the small pictures on big walls and big
pictures on small walls. There was
no balance and all the furniture was pushed up against every wall. The place looks so much better,
hopefully I get my deposit back :-D
After hours of rain it was time to get in the car and figure
this place out. Ziggy and I drove
for two hours. We looped and wined
our way thru highways and back roads.
We spent some time in Bar Harbor walking thru town and along the footpath.
After walking around for a while and not sure what to do next I decided to stop at a restaurant. There was something about this cute place that made me stop. Ziggy and I were the only ones sitting outside, and I enjoyed the lobster early bird special. While waiting for my meal to arrive a nice gentleman came
over and shot the breeze with me.
He was a friendly older guy that had had a Calahoo for 20-years. When my food arrived he quickly said
goodbye and let me enjoy the buttery goodness.
The waitress told me to check out a trail that Ziggy would
love. Its Bar Harbors version of a
dog park and it was amazing. We
spent hours exploring the trails.
Evening
was spent enjoying a glass of Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley
Day 4
Rainy day 2
Time to find the lighthouse. Or so I thought.
I got a bit turned around and drove around in circles. It rained and rained. Ended up eating a soft crab sandwich at
the Lighthouse Inn. Not really a
lighthouse.
After dropping postcards at the post office, I decided to drive into Arcadia and see what “Park Loop Drive” was all about. I can’t believe it took me 4-days before I turned into Arcadia National Forest.
After paying $10 for a seven day pass I saw a sign for Sand Beach. I had no idea what to expect. I parked the car and followed the handful of people toward the beach.
This was one of the best moments of my trip. This was Ziggy’s first time ever running on a beach. He ran like crazy, and was in heaven- I was in heaven, and it just kept getting better.
I saw a guy come down some stairs and thought to check that area out. Zig and I crossed a beach stream and headed up the granite steps.
Little did I know I was headed to one of the most beautiful views of my life. The one hour hike was unbelievably rewarding.
I was able to get Zig back on the leash and head to the house, time for a bike ride!
The forecast was no rain till the following day. I packed up my riding gear and drove back
to the park. The loop is 19-miles
and 1.5 hours of my life well spent. The scenery was spectacular and I was
lucky to have some cloud breaks.
Day 5
Rainy Day 3
I wanted to further explore the “dog park” and try to
connect the trails I had been seeing on the map. Zig and I started late in the morning and enjoyed hours of
hiking. We explored Jordon Pond
and headed up to Pemetic Mtn.
Three hours of fun and lots of pictures later it
was time to head home, fuel-up, and go back out.
I had hopes of putting in 3-laps at the park…yea right. After 5-miles into my first lap I knew
my legs were toast. Even though I was soaked to the bone, I was happy to finish
the 19-mile loop. I hadn’t
anticipated the fog rolling in the last third of my ride. I popped in a ROM and went to bed early
on day 5… tired happy girl
Day 6
Big hiking day, with 30% chance of thunderstorms all day I
was willing to bet, little-to-no rain.
I had mapped out a whole section of trails and wanted to explore three
mountain peaks. Up early and
headed to one of the best breakfast spots in Bar Harbor. I indulged on a big omelet and carbed
up for an all-day hike fest.
Zig and I headed to Beech Mountain and started winding up toward the Fire Tower. We walked along Long Pond and enjoyed the gorgeous setting.
Its probably a magical view when there's no fog :-)
The FireTower at the top of Beech Mountain
Pink Granite bolders
Everything was going good until we got to Great Notch. Ziggy refused to go to Mansell Mountain, he saw a rock cliff and didn’t want proceed. Zig wanted
to take the razorback trail.
So we
did, and it was a slip fest. Wet
granite sheets on a decline can be very slippery. My body was tired and the fog rolled in. I started to worry that if started to rain…I’d be screwed. Even though
we were headed back I wasn’t sure if we had to keep climbing or if I’d come up
on an easier trail. The last half
of the hike was very challenging but mostly because I was physically
tired. When we finally made it
back to the car we had been out on the trails for five hours. After a long shower Zig and I headed
to Elsworth and got this amazing lobster roll. Guess who went to bed at 8:30pm.
Day 7
Rainy Day 4
With sheets of rain coming down it was time to geek out on some blogging and Netflix. Zig and I were tired from all the activities. We hung out at the house for the majority of the day. I took zig out for a drive and we finally found the lighthouse!
I had a $25 gift certificate at Casa on the Cottage, the homeowners Mexican restaurant in Bar Harbor. One Margarita and Enchiladas later I was headed back to the bungalow with a full belly and lil buzz.
I kept that buzz going with some Miller Light aluminum bottle beers, chatted on the phone with a great friend and laughed all night.
Day 8
Headed Home
Rainy Day 5
Woke-up early, had a little breakfast, and started to pack. After a few hours of organizing, Zig and I were headed for one more adventure. I wanted to revisit the beach and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain.
The ride home was quick and painless.
I went to Maine to refresh and recharge my soul. I've discovered since living in NYC that I need the coast. Not the beach, but the nature and scenery the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I connected with Bar Harbor and Arcadia Park in the same way I have with Tillamook, Seaside, Lincoln City, Florence and on and on. The Oregon coast has special soul recharging powers that I found in Maine. Yes! I can't wait to visit again and hit up the rest of the trails. Life is good!
Here's a video of the park loop
Special Shout Out to: MV for letting me borrow the car-
HUGE! JC for all the
cycling tips, training, and major hookups. Maki for taking care of my babies!
Parents cause you made this all possible.
