Our cruise ship pulled into Boston harbor, and we went directly from the dock to the airport, as we had a scheduled flight to Bar Harbor, Maine. We will be spending time in Boston at the end of our trip, but we scheduled Bar Harbor first while the fall colors are at their peak.
First off, let me state that Boston Logan airport has to be the most conveniently located airport to a major city in the country, if not the world. It took us a total of 10 minutes to get from the cruise dock to our drop off at the departures terminal. Amazing!
Despite Kim’s reservations, we boarded our small 9-seater plane run by Cape Air for the one hour trip to Bar Harbor. The staff member from Cape Air was seating us according to our weight. Not sure how it happened, but I got the one seat with decent leg room. Bonus!
Here we are, packed in like sardines. Kim’s initial reaction to getting into this little plane was predictable.
You can’t really see him, but Tony let me know that the guy sitting next to me was pissed that I got the better seat. I didn’t board until after him, so I didn’t hear him bitching about it. Another BTW, if you ever fly on Cape Air, bring ear plugs!
Downtown Boston came into view as we ascended.
We actually banked over downtown before heading up the coast.
It was a mostly clear day so you could see thousands of islands along the Maine coast.
Here is our destination airport, Hancock County – Bar Harbor.
It was nice to see the colors in all their glory as we made our final approach. This was a fun flight, and Kim was a trooper!
After checking into our hotel we made a quick excursion into Acadia National Park since we still had some sunlight. This is a view from Egg Rock Overlook.
This view is from Schooner Head. There is a short trail from the parking lot to the water, which is well worth the stroll. I’m just glad we caught it with some sun!
Downtown Bar Harbor is well lit up at night. This is looking south on Main Street.
We had our first dinner in the Reading Room restaurant, which turned out to be one of the best restaurants in Bar Harbor. It’s high end and a bit pricey, but well worth it.
The next morning we had a reservation to go up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. This spot has become so popular that they set up a reservation system to control the crowds, so make sure you book this in advance. Shortly upon entering Acadia NP, we drove by Eagle Lake, and the lighting was perfect for photos!
A group shot in front of Eagle Lake.
We then entered the Cadillac Mountain gates and drove to the top. The views from here are amazing!
Amazing enough that I had to try out my limited selfie skills. It’s interesting to compare the photo above and below, as the sun briefly broke through the clouds in the upper photo, bringing out all of the colors!
Cadillac Mountain, at 1530 feet, is the highest mountain on the Atlantic shoreline of North America. It is named after the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, who owned this land when it was under French rule in the 1680’s.
Here is a shot from the summit looking towards Bar Harbor. Two cruise ships can be seen in the harbor. The smaller one is the Oceania Insignia, the cruise ship that we just got off of the day prior. The huge one on the right carries over 4000 passengers, and we could feel it’s impact before we left Bar Harbor that morning. The downtown area was just overrun!
We drove back down the mountain and along the Park Loop Road. We came across this meadow with a beaver den and dam. Beautiful spot, but unfortunately no signs of the beavers.
We then took a walk on the Jesup Path that starts from the Wild Gardens of Acadia. There is an excellent boardwalk trail into the sometimes boggy meadow.
The trail loops back via the forest, and it was exactly what I expected a hike in Maine to look like.
We took Tony and Julie back by Schooner Head before we headed into Bar Harbor for lunch. I’ve gotta say that’s a decent selfie! It’s just too bad the sun wasn’t cooperating like it was the day prior.
Speaking of the lack of sun, as we drove back into Bar Harbor, we could see Cadillac Mountain completely enclosed in clouds, so going up in the morning was the right choice.
Coming up, more of Acadia NP and the Bar Harbor area.