Tag: Acadia National Park Page 2 of 3
Cadillac Mountain Panorama
Looking back on this trip, and I have to think that this was one of the best trips in my recent memory. We visited three places that I have wanted to visit for years. We visited three places that I want to return to. There is so much history in Boston. There is no way to see it all in a day. Acadia National Park is giant and I feel like we only scratched the surface. Watkins Glen is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen. I would love to see it in the fall. All three of the stops on this trip will have to be revisited later.
Soldiers & Sailors Monument
Boston Highlights: Honestly, the best thing about our time in Boston was dinner at a trendy, Mexican restaurant called Lolita Cantina that was unlike anything we have at home. The meal started with a complimentary granita with a splash of tequila and ended with cotton candy and temporary tattoos. I often wondered if I was cool enough to eat there. I was worried they were going to throw me out. For me the biggest thing about Boston was just being in this historic city. Boston played a huge part in the early part of our country and there are many sites to see. Walking the freedom trail and knowing all that happened there was unreal.
Acadia Highlights: My favorite part of Acadia was probably the sweeping vistas along the Park Loop Road. I’ve thought about that a lot since I’ve been back home. When work gets tough, I can go back to Cadillac Mountain and hear the rush of the water and smell the salt air. Its not a matter of if I will get back there but a when. And it needs to be for longer. And maybe not in August. Lunch at The Jordan Pond House was good too. Eating a lobster roll and looking out over Jordan Pond is not something you can do anywhere else.
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail
Watkins Glen Highlights: Obviously, Corning Museum of Glass was great and I want to go back and create some more glass. But, the gorge trail at Watkins Glen State Park was unlike anything I had seen before. As beautiful as Acadia was, Watkins Glen was more photogenic. The beauty was more compact. Every turn was more beautiful than the one before. I had expected beauty and was blown away.
As I kind of mentioned about Boston, one of the best things about this trip was the food. We utilized TripAdvisor’s Cheap Eats a lot and got to try off the beaten path places that were surprisingly good! We had Asian Fusion is Corning, Gyros in New Hampshire, and poutine in Boston. Probably one of the best was a little Italian Place in Lexington (Massachusetts) called Marios that had unlimited bread and ridiculous portions of very good pasta. We were able to get out of there for less than $25 for two people. It was insane. We wouldn’t have found it without TripAdvisor.
Thank you for stopping by and for following along with this trip! To read more about our East Coast Adventure, click the link to get to our itinerary. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
You’ve seen the iconic photos of this lighthouse, right? Gorgeous sunset over the water and the lighthouse atop the rocks? They’re really something. I desperately wanted to get one of those pictures this trip!
As you can see from the above picture, I didn’t get the beautiful sunset I was dreaming of. First, I wasn’t prepared for how early the sun sets in eastern Maine. In Michigan, we’re lucky in that the sun stays up until 9:00 in the summer. In Maine, the sun sets more than an hour earlier. We were getting ready to make dinner and the sun was going down. It was like the opposite of camping at McLain State Park in the Keewenaw, where the sun didn’t set until almost 10. The other thing that made it difficult was the fog. Every evening we spent at Acadia was foggy or rainy. This is not a complaint, just a statement of fact. I was actually OK with it because it took the pressure off getting the perfect sunset photo.
Set the weather aside for a second. Because of the iconic nature of this lighthouse, everyone wants a photo of it. Photographers were lined up all over the rocks near the lighthouse. Here’s the kicker, they weren’t just taking a photo and heading on their merry way. Nope, they had their tripods set up and they were not budging until the sun was past the horizon. Chris is more daring than I and he weaved in between them to get this shot. It was not worth it to me. Honestly, I was disgusted with my fellow photographers over this. I could not believe the photographers looking out at the sea of other photographers, shrugging their shoulders and saying “well, I got here first”. Craziness. Especially because it wasn’t even that great of a sky that day.
So, you are going to be at Acadia and you want to try to get this shot. Here’s my advice for you. Avoid summer. If you want to visit Acadia at all, avoid the busy season. The crowds are ridiculous. Late spring and early fall are supposed to be much better. And in fall you get the colors. I will have to make it to Acadia sometime in the fall. If you want the place to yourself, go in the winter. It never hurts to be the person staking out a spot. Try to get to the lighthouse early, just don’t be rude about it.
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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On our second day at Acadia National Park, we set out to hike the Jordan Pond Trail. Jordan Pond is one of the iconic features of the park and by taking the trail around it, you get into the woods and experience the real Acadia. As I mentioned in last week’s post, after two hot days in Maine, a storm rolled in and cooled it down to more comfortable, hiking weather.
The View from the Jordan Pond House
The trail begins near the Jordan Pond House Restaurant (left). The 4.3 mile trail is described as an easy, family, friendly hike. 2/3 of the trail are pressed dirt and boardwalks but the rough, rocky terrain near the back side of the pond surprised me. There were some spots where it was hard to get my footing and I was worried I was going to fall. If you want to enjoy the park and get away from the crowds, I recommend taking a hike. The parking lot was full, but it felt like we were the only people on the trail.
We were hoping to do some more hiking before we left Acadia but the weather did not cooperate. Chris really wanted to hike Bubble Rock (the mountain the can be seen straight back in both of the photos). Somehow, its described as an easy hike. How can climbing up a mountain be easy? Anyway, it stormed on our last day so we left early and began heading home. We will have to come back to Acadia another day and maybe I’ll be brave enough to conquer the Bubble.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back next week as we photograph Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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Egg Rock Lighthouse
After exploring the Park Loop Road we decided we wanted to see Acadia from the water. After looking online, I found Acadian Boat Tours and decided to take the sunset cruise. Luckily, tickets were still available. I was concerned about it getting cold out on the water after the sun set, but after the unseasonably hot day, it actually felt pretty good.
A waterfront Bar Harbor “cottage”
After leaving Bar Harbor, the boat hugged the shoreline and we got the view of some beautiful “cottages” near the park. In the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, Bar Harbor was the vacation destination of America’s 1%. These cottages were owned by Rockefellers, Pulitzers, and Vanderbilts. Unfortunately, the great fire of 1947 destroyed 237 homes on Mount Desert Island, burning over 18,000 acres (Bar Harbor Historical Society). With the economy of the 1940s, most families didn’t have the money that they had when the cottages were built so they were unable to rebuild and many chose to donate their land to Acadia National Park.
Harbor seal relaxing on a rock
Being a lighthouse fan, I really enjoyed getting up close to Egg Rock Lighthouse (top). Of course, the highlight of the tour for me was all the wildlife we saw. Harbor porpoises jumped near the boat. Harbor seals and puffins were relaxing near the lighthouse. I had no idea that seals and puffins lived on the east coast so that was a pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately a storm rolled in so we didn’t get a sunset on our sunset cruise, but everything else we saw was definitely worth it. This boat ride was a highlight of our trip. The guide was very informative about the area and very interesting. If you are in Bar Harbor and you want to get out on the water, definitely check out Acadian Tours!
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back next week as I share about our experience hiking Jordan Pond! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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Cadillac Mountain Panorama
Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the east coast and is the first part of the country to see the sunrise each morning. At 1,530 feet tall, you can see most of Mount Desert Island from the top. As you can see from the photos on this page, fog is a common occurrence in the summer.
Cadillac Mountain is named for the French explorer, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac who was given 100,00 acres of wilderness (including Mount Desert Island) in present day Maine from the French government in 1668. Of course, this is the same Cadillac who founded what is now the city of Detroit and is the namesake of Cadillac Motors. I love that little Acadia to Michigan connection. Before the name was changed to Cadillac in 1918, the peak was known as Green Mountain.
Oceana Insignia in Bar Harbor, as seen from Cadillac Mountain
In recent years, Bar Habor has become a popular destination for cruise ships. I know a Canada/New England cruise is on my bucket list. A lot of people who cruise to Bar Harbor want to explore Acadia and of course, make a stop at Cadillac Mountain. The day we were exploring Cadillac Mountain, we could see a small ship off in the distance. The cruise nerd in me wanted to know which one it was, so I went onto CruiseTT, and discovered it was Oceana Insignia. It was funny walking around at the top of the mountain and seeing people who were dressed way too nicely to be exploring a National Park. I’m sure those were the cruisers.
If you visit Acadia, definitely make the drive up Cadillac Mountain. If you’re an early riser (and lets face it, I’m not) head up there at sunrise. The photos I’ve seen are breathtaking!
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop back here next week when I will share about exploring Acadia by water! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
