Maine

Itinerary Oct 13 - 20 Maine

10/13: Fly to Porland, ME

10/14: Explore Portland, Lighthouse, Drive to Camden

10/15: Hiking in Camden State Park, Lighthouse, Drive to Bar Harbor

10/16: Hiking Acadia Nat Park

10/17: Hiking Acadia Nat Park

10/18: Hiking Acadia Nat Park

10/19: Drive to Augusta, Explore Augusta

10/20: Drive to Portland, Fly Home

Oct 13 (Sat) Chicago - Portland, ME

Flew JetBlue from Ohare to JFK to Portland, Maine. First time we flew JetBlue and it was a nice airlines. Trip was long but uneventful and got to our hotel around 6:30 pm.

Had dinner at DiMillos down on the water. Nice restaurant. We both had a cup of the clam chowder and I had the Lobster Tail and Kathryn had a Seafood Medley of Scallops, Shrimp and Haddock. Both meals were very good.

Hotel: Fireside. Rating 3.5

Oct 14 (Sun) Portland, ME - Camden, ME

Breakfast at the hotel. The weather was cool (mid fifties) but sunny, a nice fall day. Not much to do in Portland so we took a walk down Congress Street which is the downtown area. It had a few interesting things to see mixed in with a residential neighborhood. Kind of boring. We did end up on the waterfront so, got our first views of the Atlantic and relaxed on a park bench. After that we headed over to Commercial Street which is is the Old Port section of town. It is down by the bay and is the main touristy location with lots of restaurants and shops.

Portland

Lunch

Ate lunch at a nice place called Gilberts Chowder House. I had a Lobster Roll and Kathryn had Clam Chowder and Calamari. Both meals were good.

Pemaquid Point Light House

After lunch we headed out of Portland toward the town of Camden. We took a detour to visit one of Maine's most iconic light houses. The Pemaquid Point Light House. Had the chance to climb up into the light room which was pretty cool and learned some things in the attached small museum. Interesting to to know that of the 62 light houses in Maine, 57 are still lit every night. Pretty cool spot.

We realized it is not so easy to see more than one or two light houses. We were on Hwy 1 heading up the coast to Camden but, to reach a light house you generally had to drive about 30 miles into one of the many, many peninsulas so, since it was getting late we headed the rest of the way to Camden.

The fall drive was pretty and passed through many rural Maine towns along the way eventually reaching the quint town of Camden.

Camden night life was hopping and we settled for a restaurant called HoxBill right on the water which the B&B owner recommended. It was OK for me. Kathryn liked it.

Camden Main Stay B&B

The place we stayed was the Camden Main Stay B&B which was excellent. It is a home built in 1802 and in some rooms still had the original wide plank pine flooring. The house was maintained/revised to perfect condition. Room was nice, the owners were super nice. Rating: *****.

Oct 15 (Mon) Camden, ME - Bar Harbor, ME

We had a very nice breakfast at the B&B and enjoyed the company of another couple from Sarasota, NY.

Camden State Park - Mt Battie

Weather was pretty gloomy and pretty overcast but we headed to Camden State Park and drove up to the highest elevation point, Mt. Battie (1500ft). Great views of the ocean, harbor and color change. One difficulty in picture taking of the ocean is your always pointing East into the sun. Later afternoon pictures would be much better. We did the short, steep hike and got some nice views along the way.

Fort Point Light House

This light house was pretty underwhelming especially compared to Pemaquid Point. It was all closed up so could not get up into the light house and the grounds were pretty boring too. We did hike around a bit and then continued on our way to Bar Harbor.

Waldo Hancock Bridge

We did one other picture stop at the Waldo Hancock Bridge.

Lunch - Gateway Lunt's Lobster Pound

Nearing Bar Harbor we found a great Lobster Pound. The staff all appeared to be 70 - 80 years old and the main chef was 93. The place was packed and got even more crowded once we had our table. Food was delicious!.

Since it was raining and we got to our hotel pretty late we just decided to order in pizza from Little Anthony's. Watched the Brewers game and waited over 2 hours for pizza delivery. Only to find out we were only 3 minutes away from the pizza place if we had picked it up. Pizza was good.

The hotel we are staying at is the Bayview, Bar Harbor. Huge room, very new, very clean, with a deck overlooking the ocean. Rating: *****. Staff friendly and the cookies at the front desk hit the spot.

Oct 16 (Tue) Bar Harbor, ME

Slept in, had a great breakfast of quiche, fresh fruit, pastries, yogurt and other things at the hotel.

Temps in the high forties today with lots of sun and winds 15-20 mph so, cool but, we picked a rather sheltered hike to be mostly out of the wind.

Around noon we headed to Acadia National Park. We ran into some trouble with parking. We decided to do the Jordan Pond Trail and when we got the trail head parking it was packed without a parking spot to be found. After driving around for a while we left and thought about plan B. But, we decided to head back one more time to see if we could get lucky catching someone leaving. Just as we were about to give up we finally grabbed a spot!

Jason Pond Hike

The hike was well worth it. It circled Jason Pond and was flat but, there were some tricky areas near the shore where you had to make your way through rocks and boulders. The views were spectacular!! Trees perfectly changing, and a bright sunny day. I think the hike took 2 - 3 hours so not so sure the trail map was accurate in it only being 3.6 miles. Rating: ****

Dinner at Testas

For dinner we went into Bar Harbor and ate at Testas. Lobster Mac and Cheese appetizer. Kathryn had two fried lobster tails (huge) in a chili sauce and I had another Lobster Roll. A decent place for dinner.

After dinner the Brewer game started at 9:00 so we watched. It was a 1-1 tie after nine and the game went on and on until the Dodgers finally scored the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning to tie the series at 2-2. Heart breaker that lasted until 2:30 in the morning.

Hotel: Same-BayView Inn

Oct 17 (Wed) Bar Harbor, ME

Today it is about 50 degrees, overcast, rainy and windy. Fall comes early in Maine. Breakfast again at the hotel was great.

Cadillac Mountain

We headed back to Acadia and took the drive up to Cadillac Mountain. Unfortunately due to the wind, rain and overcast skies, the views of the ocean were not that great and so we did not spend too much time on the top.

Drove the Park Loop Road (total around the park is about 26 miles) and we made stops along the way to enjoy the spectacular scenery. The colors fall colors are amazing and the views outstanding. Some views are of the ocean, others rolling hills.

Thunder Hole

Stopped at a place called Thunder Hole where, if the tide and the waves are right they crash into a narrow passage and it sounds like thunder. We got a little of the feel but, the timing was not perfect. We then headed farther along the Park Loop and stopped for a hike. By now the clouds and rain had given way to partly sunny skies.

Ocean View Hike

The ocean view hike was amazing. It is flat but up on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with great views of the ocean and the rocky shore. Rating: ****. I recommend this hike for the views and it was easy.

Lunch - Otter Cove

After our hike, we continued along the Park Loop Trail and found a rocky beach in a sheltered inlet called Otter Cove where we sat and ate our boxed lunches prepared by the hotel. Quite good actually!

Loop Road

After our lunch stop we continued along the Loop Road getting back to Cadillac Mountain. We made another stop at the top hoping for a little better weather for pictures. Took a few but it was still mostly overcast again and the sea was a cold grey.

Late afternoon we headed back to the hotel with a stop in town at the grocery store to pick up some things for an easy meal at the hotel.

Brewers game 5 was on at 5:05 so we watched them in a losing effort. Arg! No hitting! Lost 5-1.

Hotel: Same-BayView Inn

Oct 18 (Thu) Bar Harbor, ME

Today the weather is pretty cold. 42deg , 20mph winds and rough seas.

Another great breakfast at the hotel.

To start the day we went for a massage. Kathryn said it was the best massage she ever had. A great way to start the day and they got some of the kinks out from prior days hiking.

Great Head Trail

We then went back into Acadia and drove along the Park Loop Road to Sand Point Beach. Here we did another hike, Great Head Trail, which turned out pretty tough. It starts on the beach and goes up to a platuae with spectacular views of the Atlantic. The trail circles the ridge so, tons of different views of the ocean in all directions. The hike had a lot of scrambling over rocks which made it intersting, fun, and more challenging than the other trails we had been on. Rating: ****.

Geddy's for Dinner

For dinner we went back into Bar Harbor to Geddy's. A pretty fun place. I had the lobster bake (steamed lobster, clam chowder and corn on the cob) it was delicious! Kathryn had Atlantic Seafood Pie which she also said was great.

Hotel: Same-BayView Inn

Oct 19 (Fri) Bar Harbor, ME - Augusta, ME

Last View from our Hotel

Today was great weather. Sunny, not so windy and low 50s. We headed out of Bar Harbor and drove to Augusta.

Late in the afternoon we headed to the Kennebec River Trail. Quite dissappointing. Walked along a bluff above the river next to railroad tracks. Then went over to the Capital Park with a nice view of the Capital building, which was about a 5 minute adventure. If these are in the top 5 of things to do in Augusta, they have some work do to.

In the evening we hung out at the hotel. Went downtown and picked up dinner at a rib place and brought it back to the hotel to watch another Brewer's game! A win of game 6 of the NLCS.

Stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites (Rating: *****). Brand new, huge three room suite, clean and comfortable. Wish we had more time to stay.

Oct 20 (Sat) Augusta - Portland, ME - Saint Charles, IL

Easy drive back to Portland to catch our flight.

Flying American home but ran into some hassles. They had canceled the orginal flight back through JFK and put us on a later flight to Phili. So we had a long airport wait. Then, once to Phili our flight to Ohare was delayed due to high winds in Chicago. Turned into a pretty long travel day but.... Home Sweet Home.

Summary

This was a great trip. Fall Colors were excellent and Ocean views were amazing. Weather was cool which was ok but, lots of overcast and some strong winds throughout the week. It really did not bother our hiking plans at all. Just the picture taking. Timing of the trip was great for fall colors and lower crowds. Although, we were right on the edge of the season. Places were talking about closing up within a week or so for the winter.

Portland is not much although lots of good seafood restaurants.

The Pemaquid Point Light House was really cool. Fort Point Light House not so much. Two light house visits was enough. They all are pretty much the same if you ask me.

Camden B&B was excellent and Camden was a nice stop over but, only a day or maybe two.

Bar Harbor is definately a tourist town and even in the fringe season it was crowded. In peak season I think it would be crazy crowded. The Bay View Hotel was great.

Acadia National Park was excellent. Just a little parking hassle the first day. In peak season I think it would be too crowded (for me).

The hiking all turned out good. The three hikes in Acadia were especially fun, interesting and afforded many spectacular views.

Augusta was ok. Not much going on there so, glad we only did one day. The hike along the river was dissappointing.

Seafood was amazing throughout the week. The lobster truely is the best and not expensive. If you like lobster, you have to visit Maine.

All in all a great trip.

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