Tim and I just recently took a trip we have been planning for months and one we could not have been more excited for...We joined his parents and went to Acadia National Park. Since we pulled the camper (which is a very long drive!) we also made a few stops along the way there and back to break up the trip somewhat. So here's the low down on what we saw and where we went, as well as our favorite memories.
Day 1: Travel to Niagara Falls Canada
- This was a longggg day or travel. We got a bit of a late start - I was guilty of packing up to the last minute as this trip took me longer to pack. Blame it on meal prep (I was on Whole 30), me being an overpacker, and this being a long trip. Once we got started it also rained nearly the whole way there 😢 In all, it took us about 9-10 hours between this and having to go a little slower when pulling the camper. Once we got there we got set up and settled in for the night.
Day 2: Niagara Falls
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| Campsite in Barre, Massachusetts |
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| Sweet little fam bam |
- We somewhat took our time getting packed up and driving to our next stop. It was about a 6-8 hour drive to Barre and the campground was in the middle of nowhere. The drive was rather pretty though and we had a relaxing evening at the campground before our next day of travel.
Day 4: Travel to Bar Harbor, Maine (Hadley Point Campground)
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| At a rest stop on the way - Ali was scared of the Moose 😂 |
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| Mama had to sit with her girl after she had an anxiety attack 😢 |
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| Sleepy pup after Benadryl and mama cuddles |
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| Not a bad view/spot |
- Our farthest (though not final!) destination. This was about a 5-7 hour drive from where we stayed in Massachusetts. It was a really pretty drive up - we saw lots of bays and old homes - both my favorites! Once we got into Bar Harbor, we went to the grocery to grab a few things. Though I had mostly packed all our food for the trip, I needed some more produce - as it goes bad fast and I was eating a lot more of it being on Whole 30.
Day 5: Bar Harbor, Maine
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| Across from Sea Wall |
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| Tim & Ali in front of the road in front of Sea Wall |
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| The Sea Wall |
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| Sitting in the Sea Wall |
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| Bass Harbor Lighthouse |
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| Bass Harbor Lighthouse |
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| Seal Cove |
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| The top of The BeeHive hike |
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| Top of the Beehive hike |
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| Other side of the view from the BeeHive |
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| That on the left of the mountain...is what we hiked up 😮 |
- We spent the first day exploring Acadia National Park and the surrounding area. We dwent to the visitor center and drove the Park Loop. We picked up a map and decided to hit a few spots based on what we'd read about the area. We drove from the visitor center down through the Southeast Harbor to the Seawall, which is basically a big "wall" of boulders and rocks blocking the sea. We walked along here and enjoyed the view for awhile. Then we continued down to road to Bass Harbor and the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. We hiked down to view the lighthouse from a couple different spots. We then returned to the Seawall to sit and have lunch by the sea. We then continued on after lunch to go to Seal Cove. Though we didn't see any seals, we saw lots of pretty boats and views. Last, we went back to the main area of the park and hiked to both the Beehive and Sand Beach. The Beehive was my favorite hike while we were there, though at the time I did not at all think it would be. You literally climb up the side of the mountain along the rocks - using metal bars/rods drilled into the mountain to hang onto. So cool to say you did this...but so terrifying at the time. Especially for a girl afraid of heights. However, the views totally made it worth the hike...and the path back down was much less treacherous.
Day 6: Downtown Bar Harbor
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| Looking over the harbor at Bar Harbor |
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| Ali's treats |
- While the boys went hiking in the par again, Tim's mom and I got the explore downtown Bar Harbor! We walked around all the shops, had lunch at a cute cafe called Route 66, got a cup of tea from a local coffee shop, and walked around the harbor. We even found a cute little pet shop that made homemade treats that Ali could have (it's hard to find treats for her since she can't have grain, beef, or chicken)! It was a nice, relaxing day (though tiring on the feet!). My favorite finds were: my matcha tea from Coffee Hound Coffee Bar, treats for Ali, a few fun early Christmas gifts for family, and the cutest books for my little niece and nephew.
Day 7: Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park
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| Shore Path - Bar Harbor |
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| Climbing rocks on the Shore Path |
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| Bar Harbor |
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| Walking in the water along the sandbar |
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| Sandbar |
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| Cadillac Mountain View |
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| Jordan Pond View |
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| Northeast Harbor |
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| Northeast Harbor |
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| Hike up Beech Mountain |
- The first thing we did this morning was go to get a coffee and walk along the Shore Path in Bar Harbor - my request to Tim. I LOVE trying new coffee shops and walking along the water. The views were incredible and it was a nice, paved path. We then walked down to the sandbar since the tide was out and walked across to the bar - this is what the area is known for after all! We then went to Cadillac Mountain to enjoy the views and have lunch. After this we went to Jordan Pond and House and hiked and walked around here. We also drove to Northeast Harbor. Last, we went over to Beech Mountain and hiked up to the fire tower - a very hard and straight up hike but very worth it!
Day 8: Travel to North Hampton, New Hampshire & exploring Portsmouth, NH
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| Portsmouth near Prescott Park |
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| Prescott Park |
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| Harbor Views |
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| Market Square |
- We got up early for this drive since it was shorter - only 4-5 hours. We wanted to get there as quickly as we could so that we could also do some exploring afterward! Once we got to our campsite at the Sea Coast campground and got set up, we had lunch and then went into downtown Portsmouth. We wanted to go into the Strawberry Banke, but alas, no dogs were allowed (and of course Ali was with us!). Instead we went to a couple downtown spots and walked around. We first went to Market Square, where there are a bunch of fun shops and coffee shops. We walked around and got some tea/coffee at a little shop. We then walked down to Prescott Park and walked around the park - literally because we couldn't bring Ali in. We walked over to an old graveyard and tried to walk across to an island, but had to turn back because Ali wasn't allowed on the island. After walking around this area, we drove over to the USS Albacore Museum. We didn't go in but saw the submarine from the outside! Last, we drove over to Fort Constitution in New Castle, NH to view the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. Unfortunately, the gates had closed a little while before we got there so we had to see the lighthouse from a side street but normally civilians are allowed to go into the Coast Guard station there to see the lighthouse. However, it was still a pretty view and the island was pretty to drive around.
Day 9: Manchester-by-the-Sea and Salem, Massachusetts
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| Witch Trials Memorial |
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| Graveyard |
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| Town Hall |
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| Cutest participant on the Walking Tour! With her own sticker |
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| Witch House |
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| Pickering Wharf |
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| Pickering Wharf |
- The first thing we did this morning was drive around Manchester-by-the-Sea - it was a quick pass through on our way to Salem just to see the pretty architecture! We then continued on to Salem, Massachusetts. We first did a walking tour through Salem put on by the national parks. We also watched short documentary movie on Salem at the visitor center. We then went and toured the only remaining structure from the Salem Witch Trials - the Witch house. It was the home of a magistrate involved in the cases. We grabbed a coffee at Front Street coffee and enjoyed sitting and people watching for a bit, then we walked down to Pickering Wharf. Last, we drove by Gallows Hill.
Day 10: Boston, Massachusetts
- Tim's parents were nice enough to watch Ali for a day for us so that we could go into Boston dog-free. Though it had been wonderful having Ali with us thus far, going into more metropolitan areas was more difficult with Ali. We decided to do a Trolley Tour with the company we had gone on a tour with in Savannah after loving it so much, however, we were actually really disappointed with the tour this time in Boston. We had to wait awhile to get on a trolley and once we did we were afraid to get off for fear of not being able to get on one again. We also couldn't hear anything once on the trolley or could just hear slight snippets of the conversation. Last, we didn't feel like it went super close to many of the stops so we still felt like we ended up doing a LOT of walking! However, here is what we saw (and liked!) in Boston.
- Fenway Park
- Harvard University (we drove by later)
- USS Constitution
- Boston Massacre site/memorial
- Faneuil Hall
- Boston Common
- Boston Public Garden
- New England Holocaust Memorial
- Old North Church
- Old State House
- Granary Burying Ground
- Boston Tea Party Ship
- Bunker Hill Monument
- Copley Square
- Old South Church
- King Street Church
- Boston Public Library
- Beacon Hill & Antique Alley
Some of these we just drove past ad others we took our time and walked around and within the sites. If I were to do Boston again I would just do the Freedom Trail to hit all the historical sites + Fenway, Harvard, Boston Common/Public Garden, Beacon Hill & Antique Alley. I honestly am not sure that we would do the Trolley Tour again after having a bad experience.
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| Fenway Park |
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| Around Long Wharf |
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| USS Constitution |
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| Old State House |
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| Boston Massacre |
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| Faneuil Hall |
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| Tim in front of Faneuil Hall |
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| Park Street Church |
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| Granary Burying Ground |
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| Antique Alley |
Day 11: Travel to Rush, Pennsylvania
- We started our journey back home! We had a 8-10 hour drive to our campground for the night - Black Moshannon State Park. It was very pretty and a very nice campground though we had a short stay.
Day 12: Travel to home!
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| Ali's first stop at home - bath! |
- Our last leg of the journey was 7-9 hours and I can't tell you how good it felt to be home after all that time in the car!
We truly had a wonderful time exploring the coast and are already looking forward to returning. In the mean time, keep your eyes peeled on another blog post about Whole 30 while traveling & tricks to traveling with a pup - as these were both learning curves during this long vacation!
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