Ockey Family Adventures: Boston Day 2

Acadia National park in the morning.

We are staying right outside Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, and that means getting an early start. We were up by 6, enjoying breakfast in the hotel by 6:30 and on the road by 7 o'clock. We'd heard that parking lots fill up quickly, and that was true.

Our first stop was a very steep hike called The Beehive. This trail was very short and steep. In fact, it was so steep that there were metal rungs and hand rails secured to the granite for much of the way up. The mountain was shaped just like a beehive, and the trail wound up and around it, which meant that sometimes you were walking right on the edge of a steep drop to the rocks below. It was amazing!

This hike was STEEP!

The views were beautiful!

It was fun to use the rungs!

Mom really liked it.

Acadia sits right on the ocean.

Taking a quick break.

Made it to the top!

Such a beautiful summit!

The trail continued down to a second area called The Bowl. This was a small lake set in a bowl at the foot of The Beehive. Almost immediately we heard some green frogs (we didn't hear the color, but that's what they are called). Soon we'd spotted dozens, and the boys were amazed at how their throats bulged out when they made their rumbling call. This was really fun for the boys.

The Bowl had a lovely lake.

We were glad we took this side trip.

Such a pretty spot.

We saw a ton of frogs.

The ones on the log were fun!

There was one flower by the lily pads.

This is one of the green frogs.

We also saw this woodpecker.

Back at the parking lot, we had access to sand beach. We quickly changed into our swimsuits, ignoring the cars that wanted our parking space, and walked down to the beach. This one was actually sandy, and Seth had fun playing in the waves while Dad and Dax waded along the shore.

We spotted a snake.

The beach was sandy, but also had rocks to explore.

The water was freezing, so we stayed in the sand.

After the beach, we finally did move the car. We drove to another busy parking lot where the original 1916 ranger station has been turned into a gift shop. From there, we did several more hikes. First we looked at a place called The Thunder Hole. Since it was high tide, the water slammed in making a thunder sound, though it sounded more like snorting to us. Then we walked down the Shoreline Trail for about a quarter mile.

The Thunder Hole area.

Walking along the ocean path.

This took us to our next trail, which was another climb. It seems like every trail here is a summit that starts at sea level and climbs up to 500-800 feet. This one was called Gorham Mountain. It was actually quite similar to The Beehive. Our big sighting was a cool woodpecker, but we also enjoyed a nice view out over the bay. Those hikes are real leg burners, though, and we were pretty tired afterward. We were glad to take a break for lunch in the parking lot.

Made it to the top.

The views are nice from the top, but the climbs are killer.

Such a good pic of Mark.

Seth was a trooper on these hikes.

Dax died after this hike.

Lunch in the car.

Still, we had a long hike that we wanted to try. This was a 3.2 mile trail around a large lake called Jordan Pond. Luckily, it was flat. Again, we were spotting frogs along the shore, but this time, we saw them in all phases of metamorphosis. Some had tails and legs, others had tiny front legs, and some were still swimming. There were also plenty of fish in lake. We even saw a loon right up close to the shore. Best of all, there were bridges along the way, and a narrow boardwalk ran about a quarter of the way along the shore. There were little passing lanes where you had to stop and wait for someone coming in the other direction.

Jordan Pond was super pretty.

Mom loved all the cute bridges around the pond.

The transitioning frogs were awesome.

Mom and Dad were loving this national park.

Some more green frogs.

Another fun bridge.

I love when people take pictures of us from so far away! Ha ha!

Mom caught a few butterflies in this pic.

After that hike, we were thoroughly worn out. We came back to the hotel for a bit and then went off to dinner. Bar Harbor has a nice, touristy little downtown area. We sat at an outdoor restaurant on the pier and enjoyed seafood. Mom's fish tacos were the best item on the menu this time, though the clam chowder was even better than last time. Afterward, we walked through town enjoying expensive ice cream.

Stopped at the Visitor Center.

Dinner was yummy.

So was the ice cream.

We loved walking around Bar Harbor.

It was a fun night!

It was getting close to sunset when we took the drive up Cadillac Mountain. You have to have a reservation to drive up there since it is the most popular place in the park. We enjoyed the short hike around the crown of the hill, but there were so many people you couldn't get a great picture. We didn't really get a great picture of the porcupine we saw on the way back down the mountain, either, but it was still exciting. It only sat on the side of the road for a moment before waddling off into the thick brush.

We were beat at the end of the day, but it had been a wonderful day!