My mom and I recently took a trip to New England. We visited Nantucket, Boston, Bar Harbor, Portland, and Ogunquit, Maine. The weather was fantastic and the leaves were more beautiful than I ever imagined!
Our first day in Bar Harbor, we started the morning off with blueberry pancakes at Jordan’s restaurant- a no fuss establishment with wood grain walls, classic diner stools, and plenty of “regulars”. They boast that their blueberry muffins and pancakes are the best in Bar Harbor, and I am not one to protest.
Following the blueberry filled carbs, we headed out to Acadia National Park. Our first stop – Bar Island. When the tides are low, the island is accessible by foot! Mom and I took in the views as the autumn hued leaves peaked out from behind thick fog. We wandered around picking up deep blue and purple shells and marveling at the quaint beauty of this harbor town. 
After Bar Island, we drove to the trailhead of our first hike – The Bowl – a short 1.6 mile (round trip) trek to a body of water lined with rocks and multi colored trees. It rained on us the majority of the time, but we were too enamored to care. Mom loves nature as much as I do (if not more). The “ooh”s and “ahhh”s seemed to increase with every step along the trail.
After working up an appetite on the trail, we drove to the Jordan Pond House – the only restaurant inside Acadia. In the summer months, they open the lawn for tired hikers to relax and refuel with a glass of lemonade and one (or two! or three!) of the restaurant’s famous popovers. Mom and I, chilly from our wet clothes, chose to warm up with hot tea, a bowl of soup and, of course, a popover. Mom tried the Maine Seafood chowder, while I got the Bar Harbor Farmers Market Stew. Both were delightful!
Feeling recharged, we headed out to the Jordan Pond trail, which starts right behind the restaurant and continues for 3.3 miles around the second clearest lake in Maine – Jordan Pond! This hike is considered one of the top hikes to complete in Autumn. Sadly, the fog was so thick, we only got a glimpse of the vistas that Jordan Pond had to offer. But we returned the following day on a much clearer morning, and boy was she a beaut! Half of the trail takes place along wooden beams built up about a foot off the ground. A brief portion leads you across a number of large rocks, where Mom and I were slightly concerned we had lost the trail! And the remainder is a narrow, clearly marked trail along the bank of the pond. It’s rated moderate, likely because of the rocks, but is definitely family friendly. Mom was a champ on this hike!
In addition to The Bowl and Jordan Pond, we caught some of the prettiest views just by driving the 27 mile Park Loop road.
Acadia is truly the most beautiful place I’ve ever visited. It has so much to offer for every kind of outdoorsman/woman. And I have so many more photos to share. This was just day one! 😉 Stay tuned, y’all.
[…] the last day of our trip to New England, Mom and I drove into Ogunquit, ME in search of a highly rated lobster shack, but what we found was […]