We all woke up ready to go. We made our way downstairs for a quick breakfast- Marley stayed back in the room, so we made sure we weren’t gone long at all- in fact, we had a hard time finding seating, and there weren’t any highchairs available, so we just packed up a breakfast, and headed back to the room. Another perk of our extended stay hotels- we have a kitchen in the room, complete with utensils and plates, for situations just like this.
The breakfast was your standard included breakfast fare… Waffle machines, fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, sausage/bacon. Something for everyone. Once we were done with breakfast, it was time to hit the road.
I would like to take a minute to remind you that this was unlike many of our previous trips. We made the decision to come north only a week or two before our departure. Typically, we spend at least twice that researching, planning, and preparing for our getaway.
The good news is that it seems we had learned quite a bit over the past year and a half, and for the most part, the weekend went just fine. The sad news is that there is no doubt it could have been even better, if we had found time to do the research.
But enough of that. Bangor is about an hour from Mt. Desert, and Acadia National Park. Our kids had dropped their second nap about 6 months prior to this particular trip, but considering the combination of fresh air and exercise we expected, we were hoping they would get a little snooze in on the way to the park, and either take a nap in the KidComfort IIs, or sleep on the way back to Bangor in the afternoon.
As we got closer to the park, we saw signs for the Thompson Island Information Center. We thought we’d check in there to see what we needed to do, as far as entrance or parking passes- See what I mean about not being prepared? It turns out we were able to purchase the pass right then and there. For $25, we were granted a full week of entry.
Problem solved, it was time to find our first hike. Between google, speaking to people who had been, and the park map we had procured at the Information Center, we made our way towards Cadillac Mountain. A favorite. For a reason.
Of course, smarter travelers would have found out not only where to find the trail head, but also where to park to start at said trail head. The TwinsTraveling bunch just weren’t on their game this time. Before we knew it, we found ourselves up at the top of Cadillac Mountain. No regrets. It was beautiful. Even Marley couldn’t get enough of the views.
I’m not sure how, but we found a prime parking spot. We loaded the kids up in their packs, and rolled with it. We started down a trail, and figured we’d just do it backwards. No biggie.
Wouldn’t you know, the trail we decided to check out was the Cadillac South Ridge Trail? It’s considered ‘Strenuous.’ In other words, probably not the smartest trail to start with when you have 25lb kids on your back. We didn’t make it too far before we came to that conclusion all on our own- no research needed.
Luckily, the Cadillac North Ridge Trail is only considered ‘Moderate’, with some steep grades, and some level surfaces. This trail is 4.4 miles, round trip. We probably made it about halfway down before we realized we had been taking too many photo stops, and that we should turn around in an effort to making it to find lunch at some point. At our midpoint, we let the kids out of the packs, and they were pretty happy to check out the view.
Once we made it back to the top of Cadillac Mountain, we took our time returning to the car. There is a short walk at the top that allows for some beautiful photo opps. We also visited the Trading Post. Next we were off to Bar Harbor, to find a late lunch. We had heard that Bar Harbor was extremely pet friendly, so we were hopeful. Even more hopeful, as he was pretty exhausted from our half-hike.
After a quick walk through town, we checked in at Cherrystones. We were seated outside, and Marley took a snooze while we were eating. The kids happily colored their menus as TT Dad and I decided which delicious sandwich to try. I will only tell you that our selections left us wanting to try everything on the menu. The kids were happy with their choices, as well. Big hit.
Full Bellies, we walked around some more. Most stores had water bowls for dogs set out, and many restaurants allowed dogs on their patios, as well. We quickly understood where the nickname ‘Bark Harbor’ came from.
We set up camp on the green, letting the kids burn off a bit of energy while TT Dad and I took turns doing a bit of shopping.
At that point, we realized we were probably better off packing it in. We just didn’t know where to go, or what we could really do with the rest of the afternoon. Time to regroup back at the hotel.
By the time we were headed home, everyone was tired. We ended up ordering room service for dinner, for the kids, since we didn’t think taking them back out again was such a great idea. TT Dad and I did our trademark ‘Hotel Date Night’ after they had gone to bed.
Each time we’re away, we try to have at least one ‘Hotel Date Night.’ We order room service, and set the table as if we were at a restaurant. Then we enjoy our meal, just the two of us, and end the night with a movie. This is one of the main reasons we try to always get a suite… We don’t want to give up our Date!
Except this time, we didn’t end the night with a movie. We were determined to do a better job planning out Day 2. So, instead, we enlisted the help of Google. Armed with the various things we had heard/seen from our first day at Acadia, we put together a pretty good plan, or so we thought. Stay tuned to see how that went!