Maine was incredible, despite the rocky start we had to our stay. We spent 2 weeks at Patten Pond RV Resort, just outside of Ellsworth and about 30 minutes from Acadia National Park. Patten Pond was next to, you guessed it, Patten Pond – which was more of a lake than a pond. We enjoyed several trips out on the ‘pond’ on our kayak. It was fantastic to be able to camp so close to water and just walk down to the docks and launch our kayak.
We also had fantastic neighbors there, who were just setting off on their own full-time rv’ing journey, but were Maine natives. We learned a lot from them, and they even hosted a lobster boil and taught the girls about the local traditions!
Aside from the campground activities, during our first week there we went full-on tourist and went to the Great Maine Lumberjack Show, which was very entertaining and somewhat educational. We learned about the state’s lumber industry while being entertained by a group of young lumberjacks competing in various lumberjack jobs.
On Friday, we took a late afternoon drive to Acadia, to scope out what we wanted to do there. We ended up at Jordan Pond, a popular destination where you can dine outdoors with the most amazing views.
We didn’t partake in the restaurant, but we did find a nice, quiet hiking trail to do a little exploring. We also found out some tips and tricks, like you have to have reservations to drive up to Cadillac Mountain, which we would do later the following week.
On Saturday, we drove down to Rockland, ME and walked/hiked out to the lighthouse that Gordon Ramsey visited on his TV show, Uncharted. (Ben likes to find these types of places everywhere we go). It was a long hike along the break wall to a small lighthouse on the bay, but it was a beautiful day for it.
The following weekend we spent a full day at Acadia National Park. The girls participated in the Junior Ranger program, where we learned that Acadia is unique in that you can actually pick blueberries and apples to take home. Most National Parks have a strict policy on taking anything out of the park. After their junior ranger program, we drove up Cadillac Mountain and had a picnic lunch overlooking the park. Even with reservations, it can be hard to find a parking spot. We got lucky and found someone leaving as we were going by, but we almost had to park much further away. There is a
relatively easy hiking trail around the mountain, but it has some great views the whole way. After lunch we decided to visit the Shoodic peninsula, which is straight across the water from Cadillac Mountain, but since you must drive, it takes about 2 hours to get to. We learned that pretty much anywhere you go in Maine, is at least 30 minutes, even if it’s only 10 miles away. It was worth the drive though. There are tide pools here, where you can climb down on the rocks and get right next to the Atlantic. I wish we could’ve stayed for sunset because it was beautiful there. However, hungry children had us looking for dinner options before too long. We also did some mini-golfing at Pirates Cove on the way back home. It was a busy day!
The last adventure on this leg of the trip was a ride on the antique train, the
Downeast Scenic Railway. (Everything in this area of Maine is called ‘Downeast’). It was neat learning about the history of the area and the train. It wasn’t the most scenic ride ever, but we all enjoyed it. After 2 weeks, it was time to pack it up and head down to South Hampton, NH for our next adventure near Boston!
I'm sad to say we left Maine without
seeing 1 single moose, despite all of the moose x-ing signs...maybe next time.
Stay happy my friends,
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