I'm so thankful Meg was all like "let's go to Maine" for Labor Day Weekend. I had never been and it felt like our final impulsive summer roadtrip for the season. We had one last long weekend to get out of dodge before both of our schedules filled up with a lot more obligations. I've just passed my 11th year anniversary of moving to New York City, and the more roots I grow here having a place of my own, the more I want to invest in my little corner. Adulting: le sigh.
I'd like to say becoming an official New Yorker also means becoming well versed in all of the New England getaways, right? Well, I will definitely dream of becoming a Maine regular with age. Our little travel squad of 3 couldn't have loved Maine more on our 3-day weekend. (Charley, the family dog who also goes by Charles the Feminist, proved to be quite the pro at the hiking and camping bit too!)
Though it's about an 8 hour drive from NYC, we made it in record time thanks to waking up super early to avoid traffic and the 90s hip hop station. Upon arrival, we set up camp at Blackwoods Campground and headed over to explore the seaside at Bass Harbor Lighthouse in the late afternoon light. I had my first ever proper lobster dinner complete with local blueberry beer with little blueberries floating around in it. Charles happily sat at our feet (and flirted with everyone else there) on the deck of the restaurant as we enjoyed the sunset over a bay of sailboats... I'd say that's a pretty good welcome to Maine.
If you visit Acadia National Park, going to the top of Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise is hands down the top thing you should do (pun intended). It's the highest point in the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place that you can see the sunrise in the USA for the majority of the year. You won't be alone in your venture and you'll have to get a head start (sunrise was at 5:50am), but there's enough room for everyone to find their own rock to enjoy the panoramic views of the sun drenching up over the hundreds of little islands in view.
We took a pitstop for breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe in Bar Harbor for a refuel before a few hours of hiking. It was comfy and crepes may have been involved... Charley was a champ on our hike, making it up several impressive scrambles, surveying the area around Bubble Rock, and strutting his stuff around Jordan Pond. I may be the last person on Earth to learn this, but walking around with a dog is the best way to make a lot of friends. We stopped and met many new friends on our walk around Jordan Pond (which is a beautiful mixture of planks, paths, and rocks) and once we crossed the halfway point to make our way back around the other side of the loop, we met those cheerful familiar faces again. Several of them said how they had been talking about how cute Charley was for the past 30 minutes since we last saw them. It's a really tough life being a Westie in Maine.
Though Acadia and Mount Desert Island were an epic start to our laborious Maine vacay... the island hopping was just beginning.
