Waking in Bar Harbor after a huge storm could be cause for concern but with a breakfast like this to wake up to, you can cope with anything.
We had poached pears, juice, coffee and those famous Maine blueberry pancakes. My word you get a decent breakfast in these parts. www.graycoteinn.com
We had received an email early in the morning from our next accommodation in New Hampshire. Sadly they had a tree down in the car park and as we were the only guests that night they thought we should relocate. They very helpfully found us a new place to stay and despite it being more expensive, promised us the same rate. Really big help and meant we didn't have to panic later. So a huge thanks to Sally and Dick at Carter Notch Inn and hopefully one day we will get to stay with you. http://www.carternotchinn.com/
Now we were booked on a Lighthouse cruise and couldn't get hold of the company by phone. So we drove down to the port to take a look. The cruise was understandably cancelled.
But this does.
To say I was glad of the cancellation was an understatement. Though it was shame as a Lighthouse cruise was one of my top things to do in New England. Ah well. Next time. (Speed Tourism...something to come back for.) Besides you always run the risk when travelling 'Out of Season'. http://www.barharborwhales.com/default.php This company do a range of cruises including The Historical Lighthouse Tour that we should have been on, which was around $50 per adult for a 3 hour cruise.
This trip to the port allowed us a brief glimpse of down town Bar Harbor in daylight. And what a delight it was.
So colourful despite the grey day.
Now if you don't do Acadia National Park when in Bar Harbor, then you really need to have a word with yourself. You can take the car and do a loop and you can even get a CD driving tour that explains what you are seeing (or should be seeing) at each stop off. But first it's over to the visitor's centre for park pass ($10, off season, valid for a week.) toilets, maps and exhibits. http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm
Hull's Cove Visitor Centre http://www.acadiamagic.com/visitor-center.html
When 'In season' shuttle buses also run from Hull's Cove for those of you who don't want to drive it yourself and do various legs of Mount Desert Island. (I love how it sounds like they are saying dessert island. He he. If only there was a dessert island........)
Check out the bus schedules and routes here: http://www.exploreacadia.com/
The Park Loop Road is generally operational until the end of November though if inclement weather is expected it may be closed sooner. The Road is then re-opened in April or May, which just goes to show the severity of the surrounding sea and that brutal beauty that dominates the Maine coast line. Hull's Cove Visitor Centre itself is closed November to April so we were lucky to catch it in it's last few days of operation. If you are travelling in Winter you can visit Park Headquarters which is open year round, though limited hours, and is just a few miles from Bar Harbor. http://www.acadiamagic.com/ParkHeadquarters.html
There are also a very famous collection of carriage roads, not for motor vehicles - throughout the park - which can be accessed from Hull's Cove. Again these are open from April/May to October/November and encompass many beautiful stone bridges too. http://www.acadiamagic.com/carriage-roads.htm Check it out if time, weather, health and season are on your side. I would. Freakin' love bridges.
Anyhoo. Armed with your driving tour CD, it's time to take to the road.
This is what we should have seen.
This is what we could see.
A huge highlight for us was Sand Beach. We stayed for quite some time watching the crazy waves beating on the beach. You can just imagine what it's like in Summer but I enjoyed the wild severity of the raging water. It felt like that was right way to see it; the way Maine intended you to experience it.
At Thunder Hole we were treated to around 5 minutes of sunshine and ridiculously high waves. I kept a very sensible distance, being terrified of deep water and all.
Yes those are steps in the distance and viewing platforms, completely under water. Terrifying.
Continuing along the one way Park Road Loop we crossed Otter Cove and headed towards Wildwood Stables and Jordon Pond House. Both were closed for the season (though we only missed it by one day.) and Jordon Pond House was the only eating establishment on the island, so take some snacks with you or a picnic. That was our slight downfall.
Cresting Otter Cove and wondering if the sea will catch us.
http://www.acadiamagic.com/wildwood-stables.html
http://www.thejordanpondhouse.com/ And if the weather is lovely you can take a few hikes around Jordon Pond to see what natural treasures you can find.
Back in the car and a brief stop off at Bubble Pond for a beautiful stone bridge and little water fall.
Into the gloom of Cadillac Mountain.
What a fantastic morning. You might think we missed out some, having such low clouds and little views but seeing this wild and ferocious landscape behaving wild and ferociously was worth every minute. Thank you Acadia. Maybe we'll be back one day to do more.
Lunch time and a little detour to Ellsworth (ME) and a guide-suggested eatery: Cleonice Mediterranean Bistro. www.cleonice.com The rain was so hard at this point we were soaked through just walking 50 metres from the car but inside awaited a warm welcome and some jolly good food.
Lovely staff, great food, great prices, warmth and nourishment. What more could you want on a grey day?
We were slowly making our way to Jackson (NH) but still had a few detours to make, one of which being Bangor for Stephen King's house. Both my partner and I are big Stephen King fans so just driving past his Spidery gates really boosted our afternoon spirits through the cold and wet. It was one of those days when you could easily imagine why a lot of his stories are set on the East Coast.
Augusta State House. Augusta (ME)
Looking up into the dome. Pretty.
Outside after our whirlwind tour.
I'd just like to say, bless them for letting us in with only five minutes to go. I even managed to see the hall of flags and use the toilet. So that was a well used five minutes. Want to know more about Augusta? Check out their website. http://www.augustamaine.gov/ If you have more than five minutes there you might also want to learn more about Maine and it's history. http://mainestatemuseum.org/home/
What you probably won't find out until you go and see for yourself, is that outside the State House in Augusta are lots of fungi that look like ice lollies. True story.
Time allowed us a brief stroll along the Kennebec river in down town Augusta but with the rain finally stopping it was very pleasant.
Now the relatively short drive, but sadly all in the dark, was for our final stop of the night: Jackson, New Hampshire and our accommodation: The Christmas Farm Inn and Spa. http://christmasfarminn.com/en/
Crossing our first of the famous Jackson covered bridges.
Communal area in The Carriage House
Our accommodation at The Carriage House.
Time for dinner. We got in there an hour or so before the last sitting, which was good. They have a special in the restaurant every night, which usually consists three courses for a very reasonable price. (Around $18.00) When we went it was salad with a choice of vinaigrette's followed by a turkey dinner and an apple bread pudding. Plus they had a great cocktail selection and lots of locally brewed beers. Lovely service from the waitresses who were very interested to hear what we'd been up to. Slightly weird to see Santa in the corner when it was only October but here it's Christmas all year round.
Next time we speed tourist the fuck out of New Hampshire and find lots of waterfalls. Plus we eat a massive breakfast. All that and more to look forward to in the next Sarky Traveller post.
The Sarky Traveller
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