Last of the Lower 48
Leaving New Hampshire we headed for the last new state for us to visit on the United States Mainland – Maine, in the far northeast corner of the country. We now only have one state of the United States of America to visit – Alaska – and we are already planning our “50 State” finale for next year !
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves !
Day 1 – Destination Bar Harbor
We are heading back to the east coast and have the next 3 days staying in Bar Harbor.
The day started sunny again and we drove back through Franconia Notch to start our drive toward Maine.
We had a fairly long drive for the day and as we headed toward the Maine border with Mt Washington ahead of us we could see that we were likely going to end up with some rain at some point.
The rain was only very patchy and there wasn’t much of it so we were able to stop at a nice rest stop for our coffee break without getting wet.
We arrived in Bar Harbor late in the afternoon and we are staying only a few blocks from the main street at a nice hotel – the Little Fig Hotel. After checking in we walked down to the town to get our bearings and investigate options for our dinner.
There were lots of people around with quite a few tours in town. We ended up for dinner at “Testa” and tried the New England chowder for dinner as well as local fish and chips. We checked out a bit more of town and then headed back to the hotel as we wanted an early start the next day.
Day 2 – Acadia National Park and Lobster Boating
The crowds are growing for leaf peeping and it is Columbus Day long weekend coming up so we were away early to do the drive around the national park.
There was a bit of rain overnight and it was overcast as we set off to the park. The main drive around the park is a loop drive and all one way traffic. So our hope was that an early start would give us a good chance to be able to get parking spots along the way.
The last section of the loop takes you to an area called Jordan Pond. Maine is full of “ponds”. They are basically lakes but are usually shallow so the sun can reach the bottom of the whole area. This one is a big pond and has a number of trails around it. We walked a short trail near the visitor centre. The colours around the lake were giving a great show.
Out of the park and further south near the island entrance is one of the iconic lighthouses in the area along the coast. It is a popular photo opportunity and unfortunately the access and parking to get there are minimal. When we arrived down the narrow access road we basically hit a queue of cars wanting to get into the car park. There is limited place to turn around so it was basically a wait for a car to leave and the next car to take it’s parking spot. Luckily it didn’t take too long. Also luckily the access path to the “iconic” photo op spot was a bit awkward so many viewers weren’t actually seeing it from the correct sot and were leaving quickly.
We made it down to the rocks with a number of other people and unfortunately I didn’t think the lighthouse turned out to be that great after all – the trees seem much taller or the tide may have been further in limiting the angle behind the trees.
We drove back to our hotel to leave the car and walk down to the town to find some lunch – such a bonus to have the parking at the hotel as it is very tight around the town with all the tourists !
Seafood is obviously a big ticket item along the coast of the north east and a lobster roll is a must. So we found a little cafe and ordered our lobster roll. The fresh lobster is added to lettuce on a toasted bun – pretty simple but very tasty !
After lunch we had a lobster boat trip booked however we had a little time up our sleeve and we walked partly along the “Shore Trail” which winds around the harbour shore.
One thing we were a little surprised about in Bar Harbour is it is a popular port for large cruise ships. There is no terminal so the ships anchor out in the bay and passengers get ferried into town. We found out that the locals have actually just voted to limit future cruise numbers after next year. Adrienne’s investigations found that the ships are just day visits but there is a new ship each day in the peak months. The place certainly gets packed when they are there during the day.
Then we were off on our lobster boat tour. The lobster industry is huge and the little lobster bouys bob up and down all around the harbour. During the tour they told us that there is currently a 15 year wait to get a new lease !
The tour took us out of the harbour, through many of the leases and out past some of the nearby small islands. Along the main shore is an area known as “millionaires row” where around 300 mansions were built of varying sizes.
Out on one of the small islands there is a colony of grey seals who were conveniently sleeping when we went passed so we could get a good look. A couple of bald eagles were also around perched on rocks.
We then made our way back closer into shore and they hauled out a couple of their lobster pots to show us the catch. The first pot had a small undersized lobster (which got thown back) and a couple of crabs however the second pot had a good selection of lobsters to show off. The 2 hour cruise was very informative and well worth it.
For dinner we found a quirky “route 66” themed restaurant and the meal was good – salmon for Adrienne and seafood pasta for me. Then back to the hotel after a busy day !
Day 3 – A visit to Canada ?
We search out treasures high and wide when we travel and this one today was only about 2 hours away ! But first we had booked a slot to drive up to Cadillac Mountain which is the peak within Arcadia National Park looking out above Bar Harbor. Due to the crowds and the limited parking at the top, you need to book a half hour time window to go up to the peak so the number of visitors are restricted. Unfortunately the weather was again a bit overcast this morning however the views are extensive and it gives some perspective to the lay of the land around the harbor.
The weather started to improve and our drive north gave us plenty of fall foliage to enjoy. It is not a “tourist” area so the traffic was pretty light along the way and easy to stop where we wanted.
Our destination was not exactly Canada but pretty much as close as we could get ! However it is certainly as far east in the United States that we could go. Lubec, Maine holds the title of “easternmost town in the United States”. It is also an entry point for Canada as the islands across the strait belong to Canada.
Lubec was an active fishing and boating location in the late 1800’s and was a major point of trade for the sardine industry. It began its decline in the early 1900’s – and there isn’t much there now ! Everything seemed to be closed however we eventually found the Lubec Fisherman’s Wharf and the Inn on the Wharf was buzzing with people – well about 20 anyway ! We had nice fresh crabcake sandwiches – the fresh seafood bought up from the wharf below past us as we waited – and of course a beer from the Lubec Brewing Co !
Nearby is the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. And, of course, it is the eastern most lighthouse in the USA ! Not sure why it is the “west” Quoddy Head lighthouse if it is on the easternmost point – I suppose everything has to be west of the easternmost point !
It is also unique as it is the only lighthouse along the cost with this distinctive red and white stripe pattern.
Back to Bar Harbor and we decided a walk was needed as it had been a mostly driving day. Though with the crowds we decided and early dinner then a walk might work better and having initially thought we would have pizza we decided on the Atlantic Brewing Co as they were also serving “snacks” with an Oktoberfest theme – Oktoberfest seems to be a big thing as we have come across it a few times. Adrienne had a nice schitty and I had a sausage plate and with a side of german potato salad it was a good size. And the beer tasting platter went down a treat !
We walked around town again for a while through some of the quieter areas and then back to the hotel. Starting back down the east coast next tomorrow.