It’s true. We put in a good effort.
But Staycation Summer could only last so long.
We got the itch mid-June, and decided to get something on the books. What better time to head north than the nice warm summer?
This trip would include the pup, so it took a little extra planning. It didn’t take long to settle on a destination- Acadia National Park. I had been there (if we’re being honest) almost exactly 20 years prior, the summer after I graduated HS. A couple of my friends and I camped out for a week. We hiked, we swam, and we said goodbye to the life we knew before we left for college. It was an amazing week, and I have wanted to return ever since.
Done.
A quick google search left us with few options for pet-friendly housing. Both of us knew that it was most likely possible, but with limited time, and it being a holiday weekend, we wanted to make some concrete reservations as quickly as possible, and that meant skipping out on most of the heavy lifting, aka research.
After our very impressive experience with AirBnB in Charleston, we started our search there. Unfortunately, between our late start, and the fact that we were bringing a dog, there wasn’t much to choose from that would make sense for us.
Between the twins and the dog… our pickings were slim.
We checked various other sites as well, but with equal disappointment.
On to the next idea. We checked Acadia’s list of recommended lodging options, including a list of pet-friendly ones. None had vacancy advertised, and again, with our late start, we didn’t have the time to call each individual option to find out for sure.
Next on the list is your basic average every day hotel. Done. The Residence Inn in Bangor fit the bill.
We are partial to Hiliton hotels, mostly because of the HHonors program. As reviewers, however, we try to spread the love a little bit. This was the perfect opportunity. The trip to Acadia would be a long drive, so we thought it would be a good idea to set up HQ slightly south of Mount Desert Island. Our drive to and from the park each day would allow for the kids to snooze.
We put a lot of effort into sleep around here! Better sleep equals more flexible toddlers, equals happier family.
Our preferred hotel room, as you know, includes a bedroom, with a door that closes. It seems we’re getting closer to the day when that isn’t quite a necessity, but with two toddlers, the less distractions at bedtime, the better.
A Residence Inn is usually a safe bet for a suite, and this time was no different. As a bonus, they had pet friendly rooms available. Our room was on the second floor, in the back corner of the hotel. We had an exit & stairwell next to our room, with rarely used parking spots outside that exit. It couldn’t have worked out any better.
In general, we were very happy with our stay. We were hoping to get the kids in the pool, but Acadia kept us busy enough that we just never found time!
The room was perfectly laid out and plenty large enough. We had a kitchen, with all the standard appliances. We made the right choice with this one.
We got an early start on Friday, July 1st. The car was packed before we went to bed, so in the morning, we just woke up the kids, and delivered them quickly and quietly to their car seats. This strategy paid off, as they slept until we reached Maine. We stopped at a rest stop in Kennebunk, and took turns sitting with the kids and running in to grab breakfast. After breakfast, we let the kids meet their first moose, and then gave them some fresh diapers. Marley got a chance to check out some freshly grown Maine grass, and we all happily returned to the car for our next leg.
We didn’t get too far before we decided to stop again. This time we found ourselves in Old Orchard Beach. It was still early, so there wasn’t a lot to do, but we took the kids for a walk around the boardwalk area.
Our next leg was a little longer, but not much. The LL Bean outlets were calling our names. Freeport was a lovely little town, and it was there that we had our first lobster roll of the trip. Marley enjoyed a little extra fresh air, and so did the rest of us. We made it out of there with almost the same amount of money we went in with, but it was a close call!
Finally, we were on our way to Bangor. The 5 hr trip didn’t seem long at all, with our plentiful stops. We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon, and had plenty of time to settle in before starting to search for dinner options.
TTDad found a great pizza truck that was parked by the river. We would be able to bring Marley, and the kids that had been contained most of the day, would be allowed to roam free outdoors while we waited. Perfect..
If you can even believe it, the pizza was pretty good, too!
After an eventful day, we were all happy to be in the hotel, and resting. We had a pretty full weekend coming up, and we wanted to be ready for an early start!