We were driving to our first tourist destination and saw a flea market at the Quechee Gorge Village shops. We had to stop of course!
We bought a jar of zucchini relish, which ended up being a lot sweeter than we thought it would be. There were several neat pieces, including some old wooden chests, but nothing that would fit well in the RV.
There were a few permanent stores in the shopping area as well. We found a great gift/souvenir shop and Vermont Spirits. The gift shop had some really cute kid items. We bought a maple vodka to share with visitors.
We stayed at the Mt. Desert Narrows Camping Resort near Bar Harbor, Maine so we could visit Acadia National Park. This is part of the Thousand Trails network, but was not included in our membership. It was on the same island as Acadia, so it was conveniently located.
The laundry room was under the backside of the office. Washers and dryers were $2/load (quarter machines, no change machine). Each site had a picnic table and a fire pit. There were some nice views of the water and the campground was large enough to get a nice walk in. The campground had free WiFi (standard campground level), but it was a nice feature for a Thousand Trails campground.
The campground had a pool (not open yet while we were there), an arcade, playground, camp store, and a laundry room. The arcade was only open on the weekends Friday to Sunday 9am-8pm. It was older, but the kids still enjoyed it. The games were $0.25 per game, except for the ball crane machine at $0.50. There was a change machine in the arcade. The laundry room charged $2 per load for both the washers and the dryers and were coin operated, but there was not a change machine in the laundry room. The laundry room was open during office hours. The camp store sold ice for $2.25 and firewood for $5.25.
Bathrooms, Camp Store, Laundry Room with book exchange
Most of the sites had trees for shade. It looked like most of the sites were pretty level, although there were a few that were on part of a hill that could be harder to level a RV. The campground was large and made for some nice afternoon walks, especially since the tent area was empty while we were there. It faces the ocean, so if you get closer spots, you could have some great views.
Our site, playground, pool, ocean view at low tide at campground
Bar Harbor was 15 minutes, Acadia National Park was 10-11 minutes away (to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center entrance). There was a grocery store in Bar Harbor called Hannaford’s that was 15 minutes away, and Walmart was located in Ellsworth and was 15 minutes away.
SIDE NOTE: The campground used well water, so it did have a bit of an odor to it that we were not used to. We just used our awesome Berkey* and filtered all the drinking water. The Bar Harbor area gets its water from Eagle Lake and wells, nearby Seal Harbor from Jordan Pond.
One of our last trails of our stay in Maine was actually a trail outside of Acadia National Park. The boys got to pick form my list on AllTrails app, so of course they picked a short one at .9 miles. Following the AllTrails app directions, there was a very small parking spot off the road with only room for 1-2 cars. However, we later learned that there was also an access road with some parking options (Trail Map/Parking Options).
The path through the woods was an easy path, but had plenty of roots to keep an eye out for. Along the trail we saw a beautiful wild orchid called a lady’s slipper. The trail ended up on the water. We walked along the beach and saw some sea gulls eating a crab. We doubled the length of the hike by walking on the beach, which was really fun. The boys loved climbing on the rocks.
We saw a fun looking 4-mast ship in Bar Harbor and booked a ride. Our schooner was called the Margaret Todd. We chose an afternoon booking and while it was a chilly day, it was rain free.
The ship did have a bathroom (aka head), but I would recommend you use one in town or before you board the boat.
Although the schooner had 4 sails, only 3 of them were raised on our sailing. Ben, Will, and Nick got to help hoist the sails. The captain gave some interesting information at the very beginning of the cruise. There are two high and low tides in Bar Harbor and they can vary by 15 feet! No wonder we could walk to Bar Island at low tide.
We were able to see a bald eagle on one of the islands with our binoculars, but no other animal sightings other than a few other birds. The cruise was 90 minutes long. We went out a little bit from the harbor, near Porcupine Island, and sat for a while. It was very quiet during that time, no fun facts or anything like that. We were able to walk around the boat though, so we could see the views on each side.
It was a rainy day, but we made it to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. There is a smaller parking lot at the lighthouse, but there is no parking along the two lane road going in. Needless to say, tourist season had just started, so there was quite the line to get in. We waited about 45 minutes in line before it was our turn to park in the lot.
Once you are parked and facing towards the lighthouse/water, there are two ways to see the lighthouse. Option 1: Paved path marked by the red and green buoys to the right. This path was the smoothest path and has some nice information on a board nearby. Options 2. On the left, past the bathrooms, was a dirt path leading to wooden and stone stairs. The trees block some of the lighthouse here, but you could still see it. There were nice ocean views as well. Some people were climbing over the rocks by the water to get better views, but I didn’t want to risk it in the rain. (I’m just a little too klutzy for that. 😉)
We were lucky enough to see the craft fair listed on Bar Harbor’s event calendar. It was a rainy weekend, but the tents were set up nicely on the green.
We found several gifts for people among the booths. There were embroidered items, knitted items, photography, wooden gifts, ornaments, jewelry, and honey.
I had a lot of luck at a jewelry booth called M Designs. They had some really neat pieces that included bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Her display was really well laid out and pretty.
Our favorite story of the day was at a wood/leather booth. They had leather and wood fly swatters, as well as many other things for sale. Ben was browsing this booth while I was at another booth. The salesman informed Ben that customers had told him the fly swatters were good for…ahem…other activities.
You just never know what you are going to find at a craft fair!
After our morning hike, the boys and I stopped at Jordan Pond House for lunch. They are known for their popovers and tea.
The prices seemed a little high to me, although there was already a line and a waitlist when we got there a only few minutes after they opened.
We waited about 45 minutes and got a seat in the main room. There are some tables with a nice view of the pond, so I would ask for a window seat!
I ended up getting tea and we all tried a popover. They were good (but still just a regular popover). It was a beautiful setting to relax in. There was a trail around the pond as well (about 3 miles).
One of things we never do back home is wake up early to catch the sunrise. Apparently, this the thing to do when near Acadia! The sun rises a bit earlier here, so we woke up at 3:30 am to make it up to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. (Starting 5/26, you will need to buy a car pass ($6) to access Cadillac Mountain.)
The parking lot was already pretty full, but we did find a spot. We walked across the rocky top and found a spot to watch Mother Nature’s show. It was an amazing view overlooking the city, the islands, and the bay/ocean. When the sun peaked over the edge, the pinks and reds were reflected in the water.
I probably will not make a habit of watching the sunrise often, but it was definitely worth getting up early for.
We finally made it to our Northernmost Eastern Coast stop: Maine. For our stay here, we focused on being near Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
We had never been to Maine and were eager to explore. Bar Harbor is a cute waterfront town. There are several parking lots and the streets are lined with parking meters. We saw a sign stating that paid parking was in effect May to October. The lots are pay by machine or app, and the parking meters are pay by credit card/quarters or app. The weekend was very busy and parking was hard to come by. I was not expecting it to be this busy so early in the season. The town itself didn’t really open up until around 10:00 for most stores.
Town: fountain, park overlooking water, playground and little library, shops
We found the one pressed penny machine in town inside a store. (The National Park did not have one, so if you collect pressed pennies, you have to go into town.)
There was a great walking path around the water called the Shore Path. There were also historical signs around the town called The Museum In The Streets. There was some interesting information on them and are found throughout Bar Harbor.
We stayed in Rochester, Massachusetts at a Thousand Trails campground called Gateway to Cape Cod.
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The laundry room was open. Laundry machines ran off of credit cards or an app. Washers costs $2.75/load, and dryers cost $2.50/load. The camp store was open but was limited in their selection. The store sold ice for $2/bag and firewood for $7/bag. The pool was closed (supposed to open Memorial Day). The campground was located behind a neighborhood, near a cranberry farm, and had a walking trail that led to a lake.
The campground was within a 15 minute drive to grocery stores (Walmart and Target) and some restaurants. There were several homes nearby that sold firewood (we found one for $5 for soft wood and $10 for hardwood). Cape Cod was about an hour way, Salem was about 1.5-1.75 hour drive, Plymouth Rock about a 30 minute drive, and Boston about an hour.
Sites were decent sized with lots of trees. Sites were a first come/first serve policy, as with most Thousand Trails. Some of the turns were tight with larger rigs. The interior roads were also a little rough with potholes. The rest of the campground seemed pretty well maintained and the campground staff was nice. There was visitor parking by the office that many people took advantage of. However, with the visitor parking and the island, it made leaving tricky for larger rigs. We had to drive down the campground, turn on one of the other lanes to work our way out.
