acadia national park

When we left Augusta, ME, we were only TWO hours away from Acadia , so we decided to go ahead and make the drive up there. I mean, when are we ever going to be that close again? Our friend Heather from Vermont told us about a sweet little campground, Hadley’s Point, just outside of Acadia. There was a pool, wooded campsites and it was reasonably priced!  It was here that we learned that Posie can let herself out of the camper van in the middle of the night! Thankfully, we had super sweet neighbors that returned her to us. She was out looking for her Poppy, who was looking to take a late night shower. Yikes.

One of our favorite actual sites.

Riding bikes to the pool.

I used my first coin-operated shower here, learning that seven minutes isn’t quite enough time for me to complete a shower. I ended up cleaner than I went in, so it was pretty much a win.

Wishing I could have found just one more quarter.

We heeded the rv reviewers that suggested that we rent a car for getting around the actual park area, and then we changed our initial plan and reserved two nights at Hadley’s Point. Harper met a friend, Summer, in the pool that first day, and they instantly hit it off. We started our Acadia adventure by driving around looking for Thunder Hole. It wasn’t super active due to the tidal flow, but Harper couldn’t resist climbing on the rocks (and giving her Poppy heart attacks).

Looking for barnacles.

No big deal, Poppy.

My little adventurer.

Like it was nothing.

Harper and I went closer to the water to see if we could find barnacles, and there were thousands of them!

Aren’t they the cutest?!

Super bright green sea moss?

Totally at home by the sea.

We then drove up Cadillac Mountain, the highest elevation on the entire Eastern Seaboard to watch the sunset. During certain months, if you catch the sunrise there, you would be the very first people to witness the sunrise in the whole U.S. because of the position and the elevation. It was so much colder up there than we anticipated!

SO very worth the cold.

A snuggle huddle.

We found out from some nice folks that the park rangers were meeting folks at Sand Beach at 9pm that night to point out all the visible constellations. We went there and listened to the highly entertaining rangers tell stories of how the constellations got their names and the mythology behind them. We left before it was over, because toddlers aren’t as interested in stars past 10pm. It was super cool while it lasted though.

The next morning, Harper went to see Summer and her sister Anya. Turns out, they and their dad, Schuyler were planning to hike the very same trail as we were and so off we went! Summer rode with us to the trailhead. We hiked both Bubble trails and saw Bubble Rock, which looks like it could roll down the face of the mountain at any given moment. Posie was such a trooper for most of the way up the mountain, only needed to ride on shoulders here and there, while Harper, Summer and Anya forged ahead.

Balancing, climbing like a bear, and jumping off of boulders on the way up!

On Poppy’s shoulders.

Little mountaineer.

A sweet older couple offered to take our photo.

Trying to keep up with the big girls.

Posie had used up all of her energy and actually fell asleep in my lap on top of the mountain! It was so chilly up there and we got to watch the fog rolling in from the bay. We also, of course, tried our best to push Bubble Rock over, like so many before us. Chris ended up having to carry Posie –asleep-on his shoulders, down the mountain.

KInda over being cold on a mountaintop.

Sweet sleepy baby.

Bubble Rock!

We thought for sure Chris and Schuyler could do it!

Harper tried, too.

After the hiking there, we went to Thunder Hole again to see if it was making more of a splash than it was the day before. It was a little bigger and a lot louder, plus, there was so much fog, it was like a completely different place!

Thunder Hole!

Same rock as yesterday, same time of day, SO MUCH FOG!

We went into Bar Harbor, ME with our new friends, also. We found a restaurant called Geddy’s, that had food that we all wanted and then we explored a tidal beach/land bridge that is only exposed twice per day. Then we walked around to find Balance Rock, and of course, we tried to push that rock over, too.

Had some lobster at Geddy’s.

Land bridge (at high tide, it’s under 9 feet of water) and FOG!

The girls found little crabs everywhere.

Our treasures we gathered.

Balance Rock on the shore of Bar Harbor.

Acadia National Park did NOT disappoint, and we are super grateful to have made more new friends along the way. It was well worth the extra stop and driving time!

Next stop: Concord, NH!