Bound for New England

Covid continues, alas. And so, no international travel. Yes, we know that some are doing it already, but the uncertainties are still too great for us. All is not lost, however. We found a cheap flight to Boston. And this time, the car rental was almost reasonable. 

The trip went as planned with no delays or difficulties other than some near-stationary Boston traffic. Once out of the city, our drive to Portland, Maine was uneventful. In just a few hours we visited two U.S. states in which we had never been: New Hampshire and Maine (and actually a third, Massachusetts, because previously I had only passed through Logan Airport).

We are just a bit early for fall colors here. They are just starting -- much as they are nearer home. We drove in rain much of the way, and the gray skies did not enhance the colors. But the sun began to break through at the end of the day.

Portland is a nice little city, and the old town near the harbor still has many old buildings and old brick pavements that date to previous centuries. A few even go back to Colonial times. We walked around the historic area, and ate lobster rolls at a harbor-side restaurant with good tap beer and live music, before seeking out our motel.

After breakfast, we drove three hours northeast in bright sunshine to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park. Again, the fall colors aren't quite here yet. But a few trees are quite stunning in yellow, red, or orange, mixed with the evergreen pines.

Acadia is also stunning. The mountains are not exactly the Himalayas, but they rise to more than 1000 feet from the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, providing some stellar views. We drove the "loop road," along with several thousand other cars, trucks, and campers. The park was very crowded! Parking in the various parking lots at key locations was a real headache. But we were lucky to find parking spots in the locations we desired, even if we had to drive around the lot a couple of times.

After parking, we walked. Our short hikes for the day added up to somewhere between 6.3 and 7.0 miles (the health apps on our two identical iPhones disagree, even though we walked together the entire time).

The Oceanside Trail was very popular and crowded, but provided beautiful vistas of the ocean and the many islands just off the coast. We also hiked beside Jordan Pond, and discovered that what they call a "pond" in Maine would be a good-sized lake in Minnesota. Interestingly, this walk was almost entirely a boardwalk on narrow planks to protect the Pond's fragile ecosystem. It made meeting hikers coming the opposite direction interesting!

We left the park and drove into the town of Bar Harbor. This is a classic tourist town, and if parking was difficult in the park, it was nearly impossible here. Luck was with us as we encountered a car just leaving a municipal lot, which turned out to be literally across the street from one of the restaurants Mary had picked out from reading reviews. The seafood was excellent, and we even hit "happy hour" for cheap drinks. 

Our third walk of the day was the Shore Path along the harbor. This was also crowded, but a beautiful view as the sun set behind the mountains.