September 2021
Where We Stayed: Harborside Hotel in Bar Harbor
As many readers of this blog know, my mom has a national parks bucket list of sorts that we are working through. Acadia National Park has been on the list and we finally decided to head to Maine! I’ve been to Maine a few times before to visit Bethany and Dan, but this was my first time venturing north of Portland. Here is my bullet-pointed thoughts and observations!
- Early morning travel is brutal and I’m 100% a morning person. We had to wake up at 3am to catch our flight out to Maine and then we had to drive 3.5 hours to Bar Harbor. Day 1 was a LONG travel day and I think we slept for 10+ hours that night!
- The Maine accent is pretty great. Bahhh Hahhhh Bahhh. “R”s don’t exist.
- We knew that the fall leaves would not be at their peak quite yet, but I was still surprised at how little color there was — considering the leaves back home were starting to turn.
- Bar Harbor is really cute. Very LGBTQ+ friendly. Lots of magnet and t-shirt shops (which I love and hate). Lobsters everywhere.
- Acadia National Park was… underwhelming. My mom and I agreed that it ranks lowest on the list of the parks we’ve seen. To sum in up: Acadia (and Maine, for that matter) is Wisconsin. Controversial opinion, I know! But it’s Wisconsin with an ocean. Acadia is just a bigger version of Peninsula State Park. Bar Harbor is Door County but with more t-shirt shops. Maine has blueberries, we have cherries. Maine has lobsters, we have whitefish. Same trees, same landscape, same vibe. But Maine has an ocean and we have Lake Michigan.
- We had beautiful weather – sunny most of the time and in the high 50s/low 60s.
- While our trip did not make the ranks of one of our favorites, I am 100% glad we went! Maine is CUTE. We had a great time together. We caught up on lost sleep and had lots of relaxing time. I had a great lobster roll and blueberry pancakes.
- I saw one of the best rainbows of my life on this trip. We were having dinner at our hotel and the restaurant had a big window that faced the harbor. I noticed that a wee little baby rainbow forming in the distance. I continued on with my cocktail and appetizer and then all of a sudden, BIG PERFECT FULL DOUBLE RAINBOW! I swear to you, half the people in the restaurant ran outside — in the rain — to take photos of it. It was beautiful!
- On our last day, we drove back to Portland and had dinner with Bethany and Dan and honestly, that was the highlight for me. I love them so much and I’m constantly bummed that we don’t live closer! Oh, and I got Hattie snuggles. And got to watch a few Golden Girls episodes in their cute beyond cute apartment. I was living my best life.
Detroit’s trippy tunnel from one terminal to another.
Waiting in the airport! And some lobster buoys (the first of MANY that we would see) on our way to Bar Harbor.
The vibe outside of our hotel.
Pretty cotton candy skies on our first night.
The lobby of our hotel – cozy, right?
Well rested selfie after 10.5 hours of sleep! And we went to Jeannie’s for breakfast because… of course.
Also stopped for donuts because this is what I do on vacations.
The signs of a tourist town: fudge shops, t-shirt shops, ROCK SHOPS!
I’m a sucker for sparkly things.
When in Maine you order the gigantic blueberry pancakes.
The CUTEST LGBTQ+ vibes!
We had a late lunch/early dinner at Stewman’s.
My delicious beyond words lobster roll. Plus my face when my mom refused to order or even try seafood.
When on vacation you order ice cream and get yourself a location-appropriate scarf.
If there’s a rainbow, I will find it. Look at that wee little baby rainbow!
Our first day in Bar Harbor was a cute success.
The next day we slept in (sensing a theme here?) and then visited Acadia.
It’s the eastern shore of Door County, RIGHT?
We came back from Acadia and took a nap and then went to dinner. Cocktails and RAINBOW, comin’ right up!
Blueberry pie!
The next morning we took one last Bar Harbor pic together and then hit the road to Portland.
Stopped at this cuteness.
And of course I had to stop at this cute roadside ice cream stand because I will forever be obsessed with cute roadside ice cream stands.
*exhale of relaxation at Bethany and Dan’s*
My sweet Hattie.
’til next time, Maine.