maine! the quiet side, bar harbor, acadia's carriage trails.

the view from our cottage

we drove past this view each day on the way to our adventures

charlotte rhodes garden in southwest harbor

asticou garden

asticou garden

asticou garden

lobster roll and clam chowder

bar harbor - ocean path

bar harbor

acadia national park - carriage trails

acadia national park - carriage trails

acadia national park - carriage trails

southwest harbor

bar harbor - sand bar

acadia national park - sand beach

relaxing on the rocky coast

I've decided to write one final post about our time in Maine. For some reason it has been difficult for me to put into words what this adventure meant to me. We decided quite some months before the trip that we would celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary by traveling to Mt Desert Island, Maine. We were willing to clear our schedule and set aside the funds to create this adventure, this memory to mark a milestone for our marriage and to share the experience with our children. We hadn't previously celebrated in this way, but knew that we had somewhat of a window in time before our teens would be potentially driving, working, more busy, and even our own responsiblities would conflict with a plan such as this. Now back at home we frequently reminisce about our amazing time in Maine, dreaming of returning and enjoying large pictures on the wall of our time there. As we have learned this year, travel plans can change in an instant (if there is a worldwide pandemic) which makes our trip last year that much more precious. It has never been lost on me to be so grateful to have this husband, these children, and our adventures together. 

This trip truly was about the stunning views. We are landlocked here in Missouri, which is fine with us. However, the ocean views are like none other and we enjoyed them every day, literally, waking up to the view of the ocean just feet from our rented cottage. First light was so early, 4am-ish, and if the room in which I am sleeping is not dark I will not sleep. So, I was up with first light, but I did not mind. Our bedroom faced the ocean, and strategically had a large window so we could breathe the ocean air and see the view from the bed!

As gardeners we had to visit a garden or two on the island. We chose the Charlotte Rhodes Garden near our lodging in Southwest Harbor and then the Asticou Garden closer to Bar Harbor. What sweet places to have a quiet respite during the day. 

Bar Harbor, the bustling city of the island, was a fun place to explore. From the Ocean Path to the Sand Bar to the parks and restaurants, it was fun to find "our" places and return to them again and again during the week. Oh, the food - Maine soda, ice cream, blueberry pie, whoopie pie, lobster rolls - we ate so well.

A real highlight of the trip was biking on the Acadia National Park carriage trails on the exact date of our anniversary. It was the perfect weather for a bike ride and picnic. We've never had a bike ride with these type of views! 

We were able to be on the island for eight days, but not able to cross everything off on our Must See list! This isn't a big deal to us as we'd rather enjoy our time and what we do see and experience, rather than rush around just to say we did it all. We would, of course enjoy returning to this special island, and hope to sooner than later.