Maine

Kevin and I kept going in Maine to Acadia National Park located on Mount Desert Island. Holy smokes, it is gorgeous. The park encompasses mountains, woodlands, tidepools, lakes, and ponds with rocky shores and cliffs along the bays and the Atlantic. Blackwoods Campground was our home for the weekend, and it actually turned out to be pretty empty. It’s in a great location, close to a number of park entrances and trails. I did meet Glenn and Margaret, a couple that has been to almost all the national parks in the U.S. We spent a night around the fire while they told me some cool stories and gave me some great tips for Acadia and beyond. One Glenn and Margaret must-do for Acadia is a really cool 27-mile park loop drive that gives you an outstanding look at all the various landscapes in the park. We drove the loop and stopped off to hike up to Thunder Hole, an inlet in a small cavern that gets a little wild and crazy when the tide rolls in. We also hiked around Jordan Pond, which turned out to be a really neat hike, with a number of changing terrains.

Things are going well so far, except that Kevin hates camping. He loves the hiking and is great in the car, but the nights have not been going too smoothly. The fire is like Kevin’s portal to hell; he sits as far away as his leash allows and constantly shakes. Throw in some strange wilderness noises and the roaming smoke stream, and he is a mess. After 4 nights of unsuccessfully trying to acclimate him, I’ve decided to skip Vermont and head right the Cleveland, where Kevin will be staying for the rest of the summer with my incredibly awesome and helpful parents! A little bump in an otherwise smooth road, so no big deal. I found another “friend” to travel along with me after I drop off Kev, check out the pics to see who I’m talking about. Any recommendations for camping/hiking/fun in Asheville, NC, my next stop after a week in Cleveland, would be much appreciated!

Need some work on my selfie game

Kevin and I rolled into Portland, Maine after Connecticut to an outstanding campsite right on the ocean at Recompence Shore campground, located at Wolfe Neck’s Farm. The working farm houses sheep, cows, chickens, goats, and a number of vegetable gardens. It is attached to a state park, so the hiking was fun. Downtown Portland was also neat, and Kevin got to hit the beach for the first time. The campsite was actually located in Freeport, Maine, the original home of L.L. Bean. I checked out their campus as well, and it was giant and pretty cool. Since I’ve been avoiding major highways as much as possible, I really get to see the beauty of Maine. It also means I pass by tiny towns and on my way out, I ran into Top Dog, a cute little hot dog stand that I had to stop at of course. It was pretty bad though and I am already getting sick of hot dogs. So I’m on a hot dog fast for my next leg, Acadia National Park.