Coastal Travels in Down East, Maine

This post continues the recounting of our travels in Maine at the end of May.  Alan and I had arrived at the Schoodic Woods Campground on the Schoodic Peninsula section of Acadia National Park the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend.  Thursday and Friday were spent on the peninsula and in Acadia proper on Mt. Desert Island.  On the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we preferred to avoid as much of the holiday weekend crowd as possible, and decided that exploring the new-to-us section of Maine known as Down East (also called Downeast) would be the way to go.  But, really, which way are we going – up or down?

Acadia National Park - Dining Our Way Across Mt. Desert Island

Just the thought of spending any time over Memorial Day weekend in the tourist town of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island was enough to inject fear into Alan’s heart and mine.  Those of us who are “socially selective” tend to favor opportunities for solitude in our National Parks over holiday bedlam.  That was reason enough to leap out of bed at o’dark-thirty on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  Okay, let’s face it, we no longer “leap” anywhere.  But we were up and out early on our way to Café This Way.  Which way?  This way . . .

Acadia National Park - Discovering Schoodic Woods

I just recently realized that we’ll need to quit traveling for about two years if I ever want to catch up on blog posts.  Alan and I spent 10 days in Maine toward the end of May, and then two weeks at home trying to catch up before heading out to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut for another 12 days.  Now we’re back home and playing catch up.  Again.  I’m not complaining!  We’re blessed to be able to enjoy this lifestyle in retirement.  But I always struggle with the decision on what to post first – the remainder of past trips that I’m trying to document (our West Coast National Parks journey, in this case) or our most recent travels while they’re still fresh in my memory.  Because my memory seems to take a vacation of its own at times, I decided that it’s probably best to strike while the iron is hot and our experiences are fresh in my mind, so I’ve put the West Coast trip on pause for now.

I absolutely love Acadia National Park in Maine!  While I’ll never commit to a “favorite National Park,” Acadia is always in the Top Three.  The park has so much to offer – that magnificent Maine coastline, miles of well-marked carriage roads for walking and biking, sparkling lakes for paddling, hiking trails that range from easy-peasy to holy sh*t, and, of course, popovers at The Jordan Pond House.  The only feature of the Park that doesn’t thrill me is Blackwoods Campground.  Blackwoods is a lovely campground, but space for bigger rigs like our 32’ trailer is limited to only 29 sites.  The section where we do fit feels a bit too tightly packed for my taste.  To make matters worse, at the time of our first two visits (2011 and 2014), campers reserving a site in the “big rig” section weren’t able to select a specific campsite; your site was assigned at the time of your arrival.  It was definitely not my favorite type of camping experience.  I always considered putting up with the process and the close quarters as the cost of doing business if we wanted to wake up in the park each day – which we did.  But now, we have a much better option.