Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain, Maine

Now the sun is rising on our time around Mt. Desert Island. Our cabin was located across from the island, on a peninsula in Hancock, Maine. I had always heard great things about Moxie, so naturally I had to pick up a case. My only regret is that I did not take a case of it home. Great stuff! It tastes like a cross between Birch Beer and Ginger Ale. 

Here is the view of Mt. Desert Island from near our cabin.

Now we enter into Acadia National Park, by way of the Jordan Pond House, a restaurant that traces its roots back to the 1870s. It is located at the end of Jordan Pond, an 187 acre lake that reaches depths of 150 feet. The two mountains seen in the distance in this shot are known as "The Bubbles."

Here is the view from the other end of Jordan Pond, where you can see me looking towards the Jordan Pond House.

The forests in these National Parks are always stunning. It is great to see these undisturbed and pristine forests.

Now ascending Cadillac Mountain, in the car this time.

Simply stunning views. 

The view of the many small islands in Bar Harbor

A cairn on one of the trails leading up the mountain. I decided to experiment a little bit and do a test hike a little ways down the mountain.

The vista from Cadillac Mountain is absolutely spectacular. The highest point on the Eastern Seaboard truly shows the majesty of nature.

The rock scrambles are pretty awesome, and especially awesome to hike on.

Off I head on my little hike for the day

There's Brit taking in the sights

Straight boulder hiking, my favorite kind of hiking.

I got down far pretty quick! 

Brit is up there somewhere.....

Now heading back down Cadillac Mountain. Such an awesome place to just cruise around driving. 

Maine Coastal Route 1

Today we continue on our honeymoon. We started off in Perkins Cove in our first post. On our other page we wrote about two amusement parks that we hit on the way up, including Funtown Splashtown USA in Saco, ME, and Palace Playland at Orchard Beach, ME. Today we pick up on some of our random stops and sightseeing on our way north up the coast towards our destination, Acadia National Park. We start off in Freeport, ME at the famous LL Bean flagship store.

 There are lots of cool things in the store, but I really loved the hiking boots test drive hike.

 And northward we go..

We head through Bath, Maine and head into the land of a million islands, waterways, and tidewater basins. This is the crossing over the Kennebec River. The newer highway bridge on the left was built in 2000, but on the right you can see a spectacular highway lift bridge, the Carlton Bridge, that once carried Route 1. It continues to carry rail traffic from the Maine Eastern Railroad. The Bath Heritage Days Festival was going on at this point and you can see a Ferris Wheel erected in between the two bridges.

 Next up, as the sun dips lower into the sky, we stop for a little rest on the shores of the inlet in Rockland, Maine.

Our next stop on this beautiful drive was the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. The bridge tower is 447 feet tall and home to an observation deck that looks over the Penobscot Narrows, Fort Knox State Park, and more. The bridge observation deck is said to be the highest of its kind in the world. 

We reached our destination at nightfall, a nice cabin located at a nice lookout point towards Mt. Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park.

Perkins Cove, Maine

On July 3rd we got married in the Finger Lakes region of New York, where Brit grew up. We set off for Maine on our road trip honeymoon. Our first sightseeing stop was at the beautiful Perkins Cove, Maine. This quaint town at the bottom of Maine is a relaxing place, with a manual drawbridge, little shops, and lots of lobsters. 

 It is hard to go anywhere in coastal Maine and not see Lobster traps. Lobster season is just starting.

 A small waterfall leads into the Perkins Cove basin.

The village area with many small shops, including a counter service restaurant that serves lobster. Only in Maine!

 There is this beautiful area with benches were you can look out onto the inlet and out to the ocean. This is just an absolutely gorgeous area.

 I love the Maine rocky coastlines. One of nature's most dramatic views is of waves crashing into a rocky coastline.

 The harbor, filled with lobster boats. Perkins Cove is a gorgeous place that is definitely worth a stop on a road trip through Maine.