Southwest Harbor Archives - Go See Do Explore

Wow! The trip was at the end of June and its the middle of October and I have finally finished my recap. As you can tell, it was a very busy trip that covered a lot of Mt. Desert Island. We were able to do all of the things that we weren’t able to do on our short visit last year. We hiked South Bubble Mountain and explored the carriage roads. Chris did several other solo hikes that I still need to get him to write about for you.

We watched the sunset over Cadillac Mountain from the water and explored waterfalls I didn’t even know were in the park. We saw several lighthouses and explored the Schoodic side of the park. We visited both the winery and brewery on the Island and spent time exploring Bar Harbor. We stayed in both Southwest and Northeast Harbor and spent time in both towns.

The Terrace Grill in Bar Harbor

We also got to do some shopping and enjoyed a lot of good meals. We picked up some fresh Maine lobster and cooked it at home, which Chris did not enjoy killing. Our first meal in Maine was at a place called The Liberal Cup in Hallowell, Maine. We enjoyed the views at Jordan Pond House and The Terrace Grill in Bar Harbor. We found a breakfast place we enjoyed within walking distance of our house in Southwest Harbor called Sips. We dined for a cause at the Common Good Cafe. Our final Maine meal was at a local hangout in Portland called Becky’s. In all of these places, TripAdvisor helped up find delicious, memorable meals that would otherwise fly under the radar!

After a week in Maine, have I seen it all? Absolutely not. I think I got my Mount Desert Island fix, though and I now I want to spend more time in Portland and I want to go back to Hallowell. I would like to see Castine, as well. Bar Harbor is the biggest tourist area in Maine and I would like to see places where most people don’t go. So, I will definitely have to return to Maine!

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, visit the Mainely Acadia Trip Report page. To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! 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.

A Gilley duck on display in the Wendell Gilley Museum.

Have you ever made a stupid mistake when planning a trip? On this trip, even though four people were sitting around the table when we booked it, somehow we managed to book our flights a day later than our house in Southwest Harbor. Luckily, the owner of our house sent us a reminder the day before so we had time to find someplace new to stay. The bad thing was that we had several hours to kill between when we needed to be out of our house in Southwest Harbor and when we could check-in in Northeast Harbor. Luckily, there is plenty to do to kill time on Mount Desert Island.

We started our day at the Common Good Cafe, an interesting coffee shop/breakfast place that is entirely on donations to support the soup kitchen they run in the offseason. We enjoyed popovers and coffee outside on our last full day in Maine while we listened to local musicians. It was a unique dining experience, but it was good to know that you were supporting the local people and the popovers are just as good as Jordan Pond House!

Carved Puffin at the Gilley Museum

After breakfast, we headed to another Southwest Harbor establishment, The Wendell Gilley Museum. Wendell Gilley was a Mount Desert Island plumber who gained fame for his wooden bird carvings. The museum opened in 1981 and features many of Gilley’s pine and paint bird carvings. The carvings are very intricate and amazingly lifelike. The museum is small and typically features a non-carving exhibit among the many carvings. If you’re in Southwest Harbor with time to kill or looking for something to do a rainy day on Mount Desert Island, The Gilley Museum is not a bad place to check out. They regularly have a carver on hand and it is very interesting to watch them work!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop by next week to see where else we went to kill time on our last full day in Maine. Be sure to read about previous entries in our Mainely Acadia trip, as well. To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! 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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Tag: Southwest Harbor

Mainely Acadia Recap

Mainely Acadia: Wendell Gilley Museum