Bar Harbor Eats

Hello everyone!

Our Maine trip posts would not have been complete without a food post, so here we go!  haha

First and foremost, I have to tell you about the Graycote Inn. It's a quaint little Bed and Breakfast run by Pat and Roger, and we had a lovely time staying there during our time in Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park.  We had a cute little room to crash in every night, and we enjoyed getting to know Pat and Roger!  We found that we have a lot of similarities (they taught at BU and MIT, and studied in Seattle!) so we clicked right away.

Not only were they incredibly helpful in guiding us on what to do throughout our Acadia trip, but they also cooked up incredible breakfast every morning!

We were happy to get up every morning because we knew we would not leave for our daily adventures hungry =)

The menu changed every morning, and I loved that there was never a shortage of fresh fruits! 

I'm glad my guy shares my love of snapping photos of anything and everything  =p

For lunches and dinners, we went foraging in Bar Harbor and had considerable success.

Honestly, I can't really tell you if all of these foods tasted so good because they were actually that amazing or if it just tasted that good to us because we were so hungry after all of the hiking and the biking... but the important thing is that we loved every bite of it, right?

I mean, look how excited I am about pizza... I don't even usually like pizza  haha

For one of the lunches, we visited the Jordan Pond House, which had a 45 min wait...

It is famous for its teas and popovers, so we ordered some popovers and some sandwiches.

Popovers are these gigantic hollow bread balls that you enjoy with tea, butter, and jam.  I felt rather British enjoying my tea and 'biscuits' haha

I think my favorite part of the meal was actually the apple chips.  The sandwiches were good, and really, everything there was pretty good.  However, I don't think I would go back.  The first time was pretty fun, but I'm not sure it is worth the 45 min and quite the hefty price tag for a second visit.

Lobster being one of my favorite foods, we set out in search of the best lobster place in Bar Harbor. Pat and Roger informed us that for best lobster, we would actually have to leave Bar Harbor for the neighboring town of Bernard.

It was a pretty short drive to Bernard (maybe 15 min or so), so we took off to experience the 'best lobster pound' near Acadia.

a lighthouse in Bernard

It was actually a little tricky getting there because both of our cell phones had spotty reception, and that meant no GPS...  How did we ever survive before smart phones and Google Maps?  Next time we go, we're definitely bringing paper maps!

We did eventually find our way to Thurston's, much thanks to giant signs in the town pointing us to it! 

Apparently, Thurston's is mainly a lobster catching business, and they only open during the summer months as a restaurant.  They catch the lobsters right in front of their restaurant in the harbor, and the customers can pick which ones they want right there, ensuring maximum freshness.

She offered to let me hold it, but again, not a big fan of seeing my food live and kicking over here, so I passed...

David tried his hand at holding one, and has informed me that they are quite strong.

Once we picked our lobster, we sat down to wait while enjoying the relaxed/bar-like atmosphere and the warmth of being indoors.  

We got a lobster roll as well as our lobster, and personally, I really loved the lobster roll!  The bread was crunchy, it was stuffed full with lobster, and most importantly!! we didn't have to do all of the work that's involved in trying to eat a lobster  haha

David, however, preferred the whole lobster. It was incredibly fresh and very delicious, but I think I still like the lobster rolls better because wrestling with the shells gets pretty old if you have lobster every day like we did haha.   

Next time you visit Acadia/Bar Harbor, I hope you give these places a go.  Also, let us know where else we should try on our second visit (because we are definitely going back!)  ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

--Janny

Acadia National Park :: Biking

Hello everyone!

On our last full day at Acadia National Park, we decided to explore a little of their 'carriage roads' system!  The carriage roads connect all different parts of the park, and it's delightfully automobiles free.  It was constructed by one of the founders for his personal use, and then 'donated' to the park so that other people could enjoy carriage rides on them.  Today,  many people choose to bike or walk on the trails, though horses and carriages are still welcome!

I've only recently gotten into biking, thanks to David, and it was a pretty spectacular 'first ride'.  I mean, look at this view.  This is just one example of what we were seeing as we were riding around the park.

There were quite a few uphill battles (we were climbing a mountain, after all), but these views made the trek worthwhile.

gotta stay hydrated when you're biking!  ;)

The weather really couldn't have been more perfect: It was just slightly warm when we were riding uphill, but we cooled right off when we were speeding downhill.  

The uphills were actually pretty challenging, and I couldn't get out of the bed the next day, but it was doable... with many miles of walking the bike instead of actually riding it...  =p  haha

mmm look at those sexy sandals!  I'm already on my second pair, and they are my favorites for any outdoor adventures! now I have David hooked on them as well! =) perfect for any summer hiking, biking, frolickings in the water, etc.

We had a map when we first started on this adventure, but somewhere along the uphill struggle and the downhill speedyness, it got lost...

Thankfully, every fork in the road had these little sign posts, so when we got lost, we could sort of find our way back to where we had originally aimed to go   haha  

We biked for about... 5 hours, so somewhere in the middle of that, we stopped to have some lunch.

Look at our picnic site!  Better than any restaurant, am I right?

After lunch, we rode around a little more, taking a few more photos... 

I mean, everywhere you went in this park, you saw such stunning views!

I would have never gotten a bike in Boston because sadly, I have seen so many bikers get hit by cars during my one year of living there. However, I'm glad David convinced me otherwise.  I may not ride as much in the city, but I loved riding it on the carriage roads at Acadia National Park, and I hope we get to do it more in the future!  =)

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

--Janny