We camped at Narrows Too in Trenton, ME  just outside Bar Harbor. It’s part of the Thousand Trails/Encore group of campgrounds. There are three affiliated campgrounds and if you are camped in one you have access to all three. I believe the other two are on the island. The next morning we drove onto the island and went to Acadia National Park first. A couple of things you need to know. You have to stop at either the information center or the gate at the entrance to the one way road on the Park Loop Road and get a visitors pass to drive through the park. We’ve had the Seniors Pass for several years. It is a one time cost of $10 and is a lifetime pass. What a bargain!

Getting Around.

There are many ways to see the park. We took the Park Loop road. It’s a scenic one way road that is part of the Park Loop, that goes along the ocean.

 

 

Thunder Hole

Unfortunately we arrive at Thunder Hole when the tide was still coming in. We saw a little splash, but not the thunder. More like splish splash I’m taking a bath!

 

 

 

If you start on the the two way road you can only go half way around because you run into the one way road. You can take the free bus (except for the pass) which stops all along the Loop. Or you can go on the Carriage Road and Bridges. The Carriage Road is only open to pedestrians or bicyclists. No motorized traffic.  Hey! I see it below…shout out to Rocky Mtn. Westy! – Eileen

 Cadillac Mountain.

If you’re an early riser you can be the first to see the sunrise on the eastern coast from early March through early October from Cadillac Mountain. We only missed it by a few hours!

 

 

 

Jordan Pond House

We had lunch at the Jordan Pond House. They are pet friendly so we took Max along. YOU NEED MAKE A RESERVATION or else you’ll have an hour wait, even still it’s worth it!-Eileen

Bar Harbor

We drove into Bar Harbor and got a parking space right away. That was luck!

Bar Island below is only accessible on foot or ATV at low tide. This view is from Bridge Street which is off the ocean side of West St. Parking is free in Bar Harbor for two to three hours at a time. They will come by and mark your tires and put a ticket on your windshield if you go over your time limit. A little known fact is there are no parking time limits on West St. I don’t know how little known that fact is, because we couldn’t find any open spaces. West St. is where you can get excursions to whale watch and harbor tours.

 

we had dinner at Abel’s Lobster Pound. We were going to eat outside on the picnic tables, but as it was close to 6:30 pm and starting to get chilly we opted for a table with a view. As we were eating we could see diners putting jackets on to stay warm.  Abel’s is only open from July to Sept.  Bummer!

 

 

From my daughter Robin who goes to Acadia at least twice a year.

 Places to Eat & Drink:

The Lompoc (awesome food, brew, music) – http://www.lompoccafe.com/ . We always get the “bang bang chicken” sandwich.

McKays (nice dinner) – http://www.mckayspublichouse.com/ . Scott usually gets the “seafood risotto.”

Jordan Pond House (popovers, located in the park, beautiful view, need reservations to sit outside otherwise it’s a very long wait of an hour or more) – http://acadiajordanpondhouse.com/ .

Geddy’s (casual) – http://www.geddys.com/ .

Café This Way (breakfast and dinner, great food) – http://www.cafethisway.com/ .

Rosalie’s (pizza) – http://www.rosaliespizza.com/ .

Thirsty Whale (casual, beer, burgers) – http://www.thirstywhaletavern.com/ .

Siam Orchid (Thai) – http://www.siamorchidrestaurant.net/ .

Two Cats Inn (breakfast) – http://www.2catsbarharbor.com/cafe.html .

Coffee Hound (best iced java) – http://www.barharborcoffeehound.com/ .

 

Things to Do:

Park Loop Road (lots of things to see and do right off of the Park Loop)

Thunder Hole

Sands Beach (no dogs allowed)

Trails and carriage paths: Eagle Lake, Jordan Pond, Witch Hole Pond, Bubble Rock

Cadillac Mountain Sunrise

Acadian Nature Cruise (harbor cruise out of Bar Harbor) – http://www.acadiannaturecruises.com/

Schoodic Point (another cool part of Acadia National Park that is located off of Mount Desert Island) in Winter Harbor, ME

Buses (run by LL Bean) will take you all over the place – http://www.exploreacadia.com/

 

 

 

No trip to New Hampshire would be complete without a stop at the NH State Liquor Outlet.  (I would have bought more but no room in the RV.  I need a wine rack Gene)!

 

 

Camped for several days with my cousins at Tuxbury Pond RV Resort. Nice place, a bit out of the way. It took us a few days to find our way around. Then we found Coconut crusted haddock at Shaws. That was delicious! Below is Diane our resident expert on s’mores making.

 

There were two motor homes and a travel trailer. We were all camped together. We did more of this than anything else. EAT.

 

These next couple images are of 10 of us trying to play the card game 13. There are eleven rounds to this game and 22 wild cards (seemed like that many). It took us about an hour and a lot of aggravation and laughter to play a round.

 

Dave didn’t get involved in the game of 13. He was watching TV instead. At least we think he was watching TV, because if we thought he was sleeping somebody (not mentioning any names here) was going to dump a bucket of cold water on him.

My cousin Rich couldn’t make our family day at Tuxbury Pond RV Resort. He was being honored by students that he taught  Carpentry to at Lynn Vocational Tech. These are some of the many students and their families that showed up.

Next up is Bah Habah (Bar Harbor) ME and Acadia National Park.