Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor

 

You may ask a traveler, “What is your favorite place?”  The RB’s would have had a hard time with that question before, but not anymore!  We love Acadia National Park!

When we arrived at Acadia, the likelihood of getting a campsite was questionable.  Friends had told us that sites full up very quickly and reservations should be made months in advance.  Undaunted by this, we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce for information.  The extremely helpful clerk called for us, got a reservation set for the last open tent site at Seawall Campground, and told us how to get there.  Neither Bilbo nor I knew exactly what to expect at Acadia.  Of course, we had ideas from books and internet searches, but that only gets you so far in these situations.  Likewise, my words are not enough to describe the wonders that were seen during our trip; therefore this post will be more pictures and less words.  I think that will suffice!

A rocky outcrop leading to a misty, rolling sea introduced us to Acadia National Park.  We took some time to walk along the rocks and take pictures, but not too long due to the COLD breeze from the ocean. 

The next area we visited that first night was Cadillac Mountain.  This is one of the trademark sites in Acadia and boasts a 0.3 mile “trail”—a paved walkway—around the summit.  The view from atop Cadillac Mtn. was a panorama of the Acadian mountains, islands, and waters.  As you could guess, this was a very popular spot!  We were still able to spend a good amount of time there before heading back to set up camp. 

 

We began our next morning with a hike along the Sand Beach Trail.  It was a loop, a little over a mile, beginning on Sand Beach, leading up cliffs, through woods, and back down to the beach.  This was a wonderful beginning to our first full day!  I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves…

 

After a short rest, we scurried off to the Otter Cliffs Trail.  Bilbo was excited to scope out this area because it houses on of the main rock climbing crags within Acadia.  This trail was a bit shorter and more “easy access” with paved paths and stairs.  On approaching, we saw a deer grazing on the edge of the woods to our left.  Much to our surprise, Bambi didn’t run away as we drew closer.  It just stood up and posed for our pictures.  Very dashing and brave little fellow.  If you look at the middle picture below, you’ll notice another brave fellow.  That’s Bilbo trying out the rock!  We didn’t stay at Otter Cliffs for rock climbing that day because I had never belayed (held the rope) from above the climber before.  Don’t fear for a loss of fun, though!  We spent a few hours at the Precipice climbing area within our trip.  It was nestled below Champlain Mountain, another of the landmark Acadian sites, and more favored by the locals—so we were told by a worker at the Bar Harbor rock climbing shop.  Fun time…but we didn’t take any pictures.

 

 

Our last hike for the day was to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. It was another short hike with lovely views, one of which was—you guessed it—the lighthouse!  It is still in commission and a Coast Guard family still lives in the light keeper’s house.  A successful first day wrapped up, we headed back to the campsite for some R&R. 

 

 

Our second morning began with a trip down Wonderland Trail.  It was about a mile long, leading through a wooded area to the bay.  Once again we encountered a brazen buck!  This one was even more photogenic than his friend as he let Bilbo get within 10 feet of him for the photo shoot.  After the Wonderland hike came the rock climbing mentioned above, lunch, and a little rest in the shape of a drive around town.

  

Recuperated, we headed to Bubble Rock Trail.  It is a short rocky climb up to the famed “Bubble Rock”, a boulder balanced treacherously on the edge of the mountain.  There’s Bilbo trying to push it off!  That wrapped up our excursions for day #2, and we were back to the tent.

We began day #3 with the plan of a hike, more rock climbing, and another hike.  So, we set off for Precipice Trail.  The hikes that we had done thus far were all found in the book, “Easy Day Hikes in Acadia”, but this one was not.  Judging by all that we had encountered to this point, we assumed another easy traipse up the mountain.  We were mistaken!  The trail began with a scramble up a talus field and lead to the tricky scaling of rocks.  As we went up, the trail became steeper, more narrow, and scarier.  This gave way to a wooden bridge between cliffs, ladders anchored into the rock wall, and sliver-thin passages over the edges of the cliffs.  We didn’t see the sign below until reaching the summit. 

  

 

Here’s a view of the trail from ground level.  We were much relieved to be seeing from this side by the time we finished!

The excitement and exertion accompanying our conquering of Precipice Trail left us in the mood for relaxation.  So we drove into town to experience a few local attractions.  As you can see, this included the second of our New England brewery tours to the Atlantic Brewing Company.  This tour was free, just like at Long Trail, but it came with a tour guide and free tastings.  Much classier!  Our guide gave us a high spirited summary of the brewing and bottling process at Atlantic Brewing as well as a bit of their history.  He said that they were the first to add blueberries to their beers, despite to popular belief that Seadog held that claim to fame.  I’m not a connoisseur nor a beer historian, so I don’t know who is telling the truth.  After our spin around the factory, we were given a very thorough sampling of the various beers made there.  Bilbo said that he enjoyed their beer much better than Long Trail, especially their “Real Ale”.  I, who hate beer, even half-way enjoyed the one with a coffee flavor to it. 

 

After beer came lobster—a logical transition, I know.  On the advice of the ever-helpful rock climbing shop boy, we chose Luntz Lobster Pound.  We were taken aback by the initial site of the place.  It looked like a persistent yard sale had vomited all over the inside of the dining room.  The atmosphere grew on you, though, and the lobster made you forget any qualms you may have had.     Neither Bilbo nor I had particularly loved lobster prior to this experience, nor had we eaten one whole.  I guess WV isn’t to be know for its awesome crustaceans. However, the lobster in Maine is out of this world!  So sweet and tender, not fishy at all…Yum! 

 

Sadly, the lobster was our last experience in Acadia as it was time to move on to Boston.  This has been  our favorite part of the trip so far!  The small town beach feel of the island with all of the amenities of Acadia had us considering the possibilities of living in Bar Harbor.  The famous shop boy but a stop to that, though.  When asked how the winters are in Bar Harbor he said, “Well, the island is completely closed down a few months every winter because we’re buried in snow.”  Never mind!  We’ll just visit!

Trails and Treats in Vermont

Have you ever looked at a postcard of a homestead or  small Americana town and wonder what it must be like to see such places for yourself?  Wondered if these places still exist in so pristine a state, free of time’s changes and degradations?  If so, you need to drive through the Vermont countryside.  It is full of small, seemingly self-contained communities, none of which contained a Wal-Mart Supercenter or Kroger.  The groceries there were found in farmers’ markets and specialty shops, which were apparently supplied by the farm homesteads that lay among the hills.  Yes, this state has charm! Of course, pictures never do these things justice, but here are a few anyways.

 

 

 

We were overtaken by this charm as we made our way from Springfield, MA, to Jamaica State Park…in Vermont.  No dreadlocks, fun accents, or bongos were to be found.  The park, surprisingly, wasn’t much to write home about.  Actually, we were in tight quarters with tiny campsites and drunk neighbors; but we did survive the one night that we spent there and it was very cheap.   Besides, the day ahead of us promised fun and our spirits were not to be daunted. 

We started with a trip to the Grafton Village Cheese Company.  There were trays of cheese samples lining the counters with other complimenting items (crackers, jams, things like that).  They ended up being our breakfast.  The cheese that we both liked best was the Four Star/Four Year Vermont Cheddar.  We bought a brick of the cheese and a loaf of local artisan bread…olive and rosemary, my favorite! 

 

Our spoils were taken to Coolidge State Forest for a little hike and picnic.  We found a trail with the word “vista” in its name, so assumed a nice view must be ahead.  A mile uphill later, we came to the summit.  The view wasn’t the breathtaking spectacle that  we had expected,  but still pretty…and the hike had us ready for that cheese!

Following our picnic, we drove by the Calvin Coolidge State Historical Site.  We didn’t go in, but I think this is where President Coolidge was sworn in after his predecessor died.  Don’t quote me on that, though!  We also passed his grave site on the way out.  I was surprised by how unassuming the headstone is.  I wouldn’t have known it was his if not for the Presidential Seal atop. 

 

One of the sites recommended us by our Eye Witness to New England book was the Woodstock Farmers Market.  Bilbo and I are both big fans of farmers markets and buying local so, naturally, we had to check it out.  Some fruits and veggies, a new loaf of bread, and deep fried chili peppers made their way into our basket and we left happy!

 

 

Next stop was the first of our New England brewery tours, Long Trail Brewery.  It is named after a trail that follows a portion of the Appalachian Trail, part of which is in this area of Vermont, and terminates in Canada.  Before the tour, which consisted of standing on a platform over their tanks and reading a sign, Bilbo had the sampler and I enjoyed a Diet Pepsi…because they didn’t have Diet Coke.  Bilbo thought the beer was average, I didn’t have an opinion because I don’t like beer, and we both enjoyed the atmosphere.

 

One wall had a map of the US covered with push pins.  The addition of a push pin in your hometown was encouraged, so Bilbo made sure to represent WV!  Can you see the dense blob of pins in the New England states? 

Speaking of the Long Trail/Appalachian Trail, that was our next mini-adventure.  We loaded up our packs and hiked a small section of the LT/AT through beautiful scenes until we came to the shelter area.  Now, when you hear shelter area what comes to mind?  If it is anything involving shelter, you are wrong!  It was just an area with a few flat spots for tents, a stream, and an outhouse.  That’s it.  We met a man who is hiking the LT from Massachusetts to Canada.  He was a Vermont resident and gave us some insight into other activities that we should do.  Very nice guy!  After setting up our site, we finished off our cheese and bread, sharing some with our new friend.

   

 

When our night in the wild was over, we downed some granola bars and hiked back out to the car.  Lucky for us, the hike out was all down hill.  YAY!  There were just a couple of things left to do in VT, so we hurried up, changed clothes, and reloaded into the car…wishing for a shower.

High on a hill in VT sets the Trapp Family Lodge, our next site to see.  This lodge, now a resort, is located where the Trapp family (the real singing sensations who inspired the Sound of Music) fled during World War II.  To be honest, I’m not sure if any of the existing structure is original or if all has been rebuilt.  Either way, the lodge is lovely and the views—I’m sure that these are originals—are breathtaking.  We only did a drive-by, so no pictures from inside. 

 

 

From the Trapp Family Lodge, we bee-lined to…ICE CREAM!  The Ben and Jerry’s Factory tour to be exact.  The factory is located in Waterbury, VT, and offers a behind the scenes look at how the company was formed, how the ice cream is made, and wraps it all up with a free sample.  Did you know that Ben and Jerry’s goal is to use 100% Fair Trade products within the next five years?  I had no idea that they were so socially and environmentally focused.  I used to be a fan for the flavors alone, but now I love them for their principles!  By the way, the sample flavor of the day was American Dream Cone.

   

From that dairy haven, we continued our progress towards Maine.  The last stop on our way was the town of Burlington, home of the University of Vermont (That’s some of it in the first two pictures below).  A quick drive through and we were out of there.  Mostly because it was a cool rainy day and neither of us felt like getting out of the car.  The cherry on top was a pass through the covered bridge below.  Bilbo had been so excited about the covered bridges and was hoping to drive through one before we left Vermont.

 

By the end of the day we had made our destination in Maine—Acadia National Park.  I know you’re excited to hear about that, but you’ll have to wait for the next entry.  Here’s a little spoiler:  it has been our favorite location thus far!  Until next time…

A Little Stop: Springfield, Massachusetts

Hello, everyone!  I know that it has been a while, but we’ve not had access to internet.  So, we will be posting multiple editions of the Rambling Bauers today spanning from Massachusetts to Maine, and back again.  It’s your own personal tour of New England!  Here we go…Would you like pretzels and a soda?

On the way to Vermont from Connecticut, Bilbo asked to stop in the small city of Springfield in western Massachusetts where the sport of basketball was invented and a whole lot of firearms have been made. 

We opted to just drive by the Basketball Hall of Fame and spend more time in the FREEEEEEE National Park Museum.  We don’t really care about basketball so this was a really easy decision. 

   

 

The Springfield Armory was in kind of a weird location—in the middle of a community college, which include a large field area where a bunch of training future law officers were beating up dummies and yelling.  At one time, this museum housed the primary armory for American military arms.  In conjunction with the Harpers Ferry Armory, located in our beautiful state of WV, the Springfield Armory was commissioned to arm our troops during the American Revolution and subsequent wars. The armory in Harpers Ferry was burned down during the Civil War, but Springfield survived a rebellion and continued to produce arms until 1968. 

In the museum we found what seemed like almost every rifle made by Springfield and host of other weaponry, like pistols and hand cannons, and older things, like swords and spears.  They had quite a few exhibits demonstrating the evolution of warfare, of which Bilbo’s favorite cases included complete sets of weapons used by different members of the Axis and Allies during WWII. 

 

With Bilbo’s manly sites seen, we left Springfield for Vermont.  Our lovely experiences there will be coming live to you, in Technicolor soon!  Until next time…