Honeymoon in MAINE!
photo: Kelsey Gayle Photography - Sea Wall, Southwest Harbor, Maine
Gosh, where do I start? I have had Maine on the brain since before we went, and even more intensely after we returned home! This was our first TRUE vacation since our 2017 trip to Hawaii, and wow, it made me REALLY realize how we need to do this WAY more frequently! The investment in our time together, away from real life (I am highly grateful for everything in my real life, but getting away makes me a better human) for even 7 days, exploring, connecting with each other, sharing memories and moments and letting our world away from our routine unfold, was monumental to me. This trip, with my husband, made me feel even more refreshed in our relationship and allowed us to continue making memories for this, what I call second half of life.
I cannot lead you astray, this blog entry is a lot, like A LOT ALOT. I narrowed it down as much a I felt I could. If you stay till the end, bless your heart lol. Even just scrolling through the photos, you can get an idea of some of the exciting place we visited!
So, why Maine? I remember sitting at our 1/11 year anniversary dinner at The Butchery and dreaming about taking an actual vacation for our next anniversary. I mentioned Maine! I am very keen on exploring more of our country and seeing things that aren’t across oceans, but here in our back yard. Neither of us had been to Maine, and we both thought it would be fun! The idea then got pushed aside just a little, as life got busy, again. Getting closer to time, we revisited the idea of taking a trip together. We even considered a more grandiose trip say to Greece or somewhere overseas, but came back to the fact that we really wanted to go to Maine! The decision was the very best, for us!
We booked a really cute VRBO that was a newly built home that could house someone upstairs (that was us), and then a studio unit on the main level. We planned our dates of travel around our actual anniversary date, and started getting other details in place!
I definitely talked about it a LOT to people, I was so excited!!! Thank you to everyone who was so supportive and excited for Chris and I! Your enthusiasm for MY enthusiasm was very touching and heartfelt!! <3
As per my usual format, I’m going to tell the story through the photos and add text where I need to elaborate a scosh more! If you follow my Instagram, you may see some repeat images that I took on my cell phone and shared in my stories, but most of my and Chris’s photos from the trip have not been shared until now. I really felt that yes, there were some one off “bangers”, but truthfully, they were way more impactful as a story, all together. Maybe approach this as a picture book so to speak, with a little narration and side chatter!! Click each picture to see the full frame and read the caption!
Here we go!!
HEADING TO MAINE - SEPTEMBER 17, 2022
We finally landed in Bangor (we barely made our connection in Newark), it was late, and while Chris secured our rental car, I googled a place for us to eat on our way down to Southwest Harbor! We found a really cute little restaurant called Union River Lobster Pot in Ellsworth and as our luck would have it, they would still be open so we could get some food! This night was enlightening to say the least! We both learned how to eat a lobster and how to get all the meat out, and to my delight, we learned that blueberry pie was as important in the Maine dining scene as lobster was! Blueberry pie has long been a favorite of mine, but I never get it because you never find it around!
We got back on the road, and in the pitch darkness, made our way to Southwest Harbor to locate the rental! Southwest Harbor is a tiny town, kind of easy to not know where to go for a newby, and at night, but we found it and couldn’t believe how perfect it was! 2 bedrooms, a huge open main room, a gorgeous patio and was on a secluded lot surround by dense trees!! We were excited for daylight to roll around so we could see the gorgeousness we were sitting on!!
OUR HOME FOR A WEEK
We woke up fresh, and anxious to get out and see this beautiful new place we found ourselves in! There are definitely some things we had to get used to in this tiny town, things like coffee shops and/or restaurants that were not open 7 days a week!! Can you tell we live in a city of constant access to what you want? lol We found a really cute diner called the Quiet Side Cafe & Ice Cream Shop that was right around the corner from our house. The food was plentiful and down home good!! Following our bacon, eggs, potatoes and coffee, we headed over to Acadia National Park to purchase our week pass!!! This was the first time we passed the infamous Sea Wall that we would visit MANY times during our stay! It was super close to the house and such an incredible place to spend time!
BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHT STATION
Our first stop after getting our parks pass was Bass Harbor Head Light Station. This was one place we saw in the book that Chris bought us to look at the sights that were available. As a side note, we made ZERO plans other than a paid photo shoot with a local photographer. We wanted to take it day by day, and stay free and relaxed!! BEST STRATEGY EVER for two people who’s real lives are super scheduled! Bass Harbor…as we walked down a short path to access a wooden set of stairs to allow us to descend down the rocks to the shoreline. I heard a LOUD bell clanging and realized it was the buoy that was out in the water and the sound carried so strongly!! We made our way down and thankfully, we were there at a time that fewer tourists were around, and made our way out on the rocks to get a better view of the lighthouse and the rocks and sea life that usually lives under water!! We ran into a couple from Italy who we exchanged taking each other’s photos! This was also my first experience seeing the brilliant mosses that lined the forest floors. I immediately became obsessed.
LONGS POND
Back in the car, we decided to drive back to Sea Wall, as I was mesmerized by it the first time we drove by!
We drove by Longs Pond and stopped for some photos. Acadia was so full of variety. The landscape, the forests, the natural life entities…all were connected but different!
SEA WALL
Our time here was brief but satisfying. I was on a mission to find that first place that struck me, so back in the car we went and headed straight to Sea Wall, It was semi sunny when we got there, even though in general it was a more cloudy day. The temps were cool but beautiful. We spent a lot of time shooting, wandering, and absorbing all that we saw.
The theme of our trip became “time”. We had nothing but time. We took this approach with everything we did and experienced. Neither of us felt rushed, or felt the need to rush each other. We sat in the silence of our location. We explored the beauty through our lenses. We held space for each other to feel fulfilled, with no limits. This was key.
FLYING MOUNTAIN
Flying Mountain trailhead was literally 2 minutes from home. The hike wasn’t too long, but ended up being pretty tough on both of our injured ankles! Didn’t matter, it was totally worth it! We found out there were blue marks on the trees or rocks to mark the trails…very easy to get off on the wrong area! WE did find our way though and found a beach with beautiful multicolored rocks, paths with all encompassing root systems and rocks to climb over. Of course, at the top there was the most epic view of Somes Sound and Northeast Harbor!!
DAY TWO - Bar Harbor, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole…and our Anniversary!
Happy 2/12 anniversary to us!! We started our day at the Sugar Bakery for some Americanos and a pastry! Fueled by sugar, we headed over to Bar Harbor to do see a couple of things we thought looked cool! The first place was Bar Island. During low tide, you can walk from Bar Harbor, across the waterway, and find yourself on Bar Island! This was one of those touristy things we felt we needed to do! There were a lot of people already 1/2 way across. We ended up hanging out and seeing what we could see from a place that not always accessible, then decided we were good and headed back to Bar Harbor.It was awfully cool out there, but it was like watching water boil waiting for the land to be uncovered enough….
Back in Bar Harbor, we found a place to grab lunch and then headed off to a string of sights that were close to the area. I truly cannot imagine being here during tourist season, because it was absolutely nutso making the trek to these popular places with hoards of other people as well!! I’m glad we did it but wow, I’d rather be in the less populated areas lol.
We started at Sand Beach, then walked along above the shore line to Thunder Hole. Pretty cool stuff to see!!
DAY 3 - SEA WALL IN THE RAIN AND WIND, SIEUR DE MONTS, THE TARN, JESUP PATH, EMERY AND HOMANS PATH
We woke up early, and headed out for some much needed hot coffee at Milagros (which just now opened up for the week). The coffee was amazing, the weather was cold, rainy and windy, and we were excited to get out into it! We stopped at Sea Wall to see what it was like during high tide, checked out the picnic area just beyond the sea wall, and then headed over to hike around Sieur de Monts!
I tried to take my pinhole camera out as the day would call for some seriously cool moody shots that this camera could help me get, but wow, I couldn’t even keep it standing upright or protected!! Not a good day for that camera lol.
Sieur de Monts
This was another place I had spotted in the Maine books that I really wanted to see. So many diverse landscapes all in one close area!
We started by walking down to The Tarn, which is a large pond with beautiful grasses, water plants and is naturally surrounded by sky high trees! The ranger told us after seeing our cameras strapped around our necks, that we HAD to hike up the Emery Trail as she has never seen the water scapes so beautiful. The mountain is basically made of granite, so all the run off from the massive amounts of rain they had this week is making the water run down the stone stairs that we need to climb the trails! It was truly magnificent and I am SO glad we did it! We added on an extra 3 hours of hiking but holy cow, worth every step!!! Jessup Path wrapped it up and was also as impressive as the guide book led us to believe it was! Highly recommend!!
We finally headed out from Sieur de Monts exhausted, hungry and satisfied! We had a most incredible day! We had received many recommendations to go to Trenton Lobster pound so we headed out to get our dinner and go home to crash onto the couch for the evening!!
DAY 4 - PHOTOSHOOT!
Today is the day we get to our only planned event of the trip. I had booked a photo shoot with Kelsey Gayle Photography to help us document our big adventure! Kelsey is a super relaxed film photographer and she really made some beautiful images for us!! Here are some of my favorites! We shot at Sea Wall, the picnic area and Flying Mountain!
Remember you can click over each image to see the full frame! Trying to conserve on space here so scrunched them all in together!!
Following the shoot, we ate at a local hot spot, Beals Lobster Pier and enjoyed a really relaxing a clear night!!
CADILLAC MOUNTAIN - SUNRISE (?)
We had tried to make reservations a couple of times to see the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain, and finally got one of the spots! The day however, had 100% chance of rain, so we got to see another kind of beauty up at the top! 4am wake up call, fog, rain and wind. It was so magical I can’t even explain. Ill just show you.
CARRIAGE ROADS AND WATERFALL
Coffee and breakfast places weren’t open when we headed down from Cadillac Mountain, so we made a pit stop to hike the Carriage roads that someone had recommended! Still raining we geared up and headed up! We took a wrong turn which is easy to do up there so added 15 minutes to our hike! lol yay us!!
The waterfall was beautiful !
We ended up back in Southwest Harbor about 30 minutes before the restaurants opened for lunch, so we headed to Sea Wall to see it under yet another weather condition, pouring rain!. It was beautiful. We backed in by the shore and popped open the hatch. We sat in the back, listening to the rain and watching the gulls and waves.
We ate at a fun little place called The Upper Deck which was comfortably warm, made a GREAT hamburger (and pie naturally), and we had a great view of the Marina! That night, we wanted something simple so headed to Mainely Meat BBQ , the best way to wrap up our eventful day!
DAY 6 - SEA WALL, BAR HARBOR, BANGOR
The day had come for us to pack up and say see ya later to our beloved Southwest Harbor home. We set off to say goodbye to our favorite Sea Wall, this time in full sun (1t time), and then to grab some souvenirs in Bar Harbor. We were staying the night in Bangor as our flight left at 6:30am and we didn't want to drive the 1.5 hours at that time of day!
I truly fell in love with Southwest Harbor, and Acadia, and my time with Chris in a brand new area to us! Thank you a million for coming along for the ride! I feel like this could have been a little like when we used to be subject to “slide shows” at our parent’s friend’s houses, but there was no escape lol. I hope you took in what you wanted and passed by what didn’t speak to you! I am happy you are here regardless!
Until next time,
health and love…
<3