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7 Oct 18, 10:23 AM |
#1
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Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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Expedition East Coast: Day 14 Bubbles and Nubbles, Jordan Pond & Bar Harbor
1 August
After another good night's sleep (must be all that fresh air) we got up and had another leisurely breakfast in the cabin. Then we made our lunch and set off for our final day in Acadia. When we were originally planning the trip, I had wanted to go kayaking and hire bikes in the park but once we were here, we realised that each of those activities would take up most of a day and we were happier exploring by bus and by foot. I'm sure it would have been fun, but I'm also glad that we had so many opportunities for hiking as we enjoyed it so much. We parked at the Visitor's Centre and caught the shuttle bus to Bubble Rock. We had researched the walks and decided to do the North Bubble as you can tag on Connor's Nubble (love those names!) and make it a longer walk. Plus it tends to be a bit quieter and the only thing Paul enjoys more than a walk with few people on it, is a walk with no people on it! The trailhead is the same for both Bubbles and then splits off and we took the path to the North Bubble. We also spotted this lovely creature. It was a really lovely walk and very quiet which was great. At the top of the Bubble, you get great views over Jordan Pond. And another opportunity to hang tough. It hadn't taken very long to get to the top of North Bubble and after a stop to admire the views, we followed the trail on to Connor's Nubble. The trails in Acadia are marked either by small cairns or blue paint/material and aren't that difficult to follow. We had also downloaded a guide to the walk which was helpful. The route to the Nubble was another lovely walk with more fantastic views. We could see Eagle Lake as we walked and very appropriately, there was an Eagle flying overhead, keeping an eye on us. We failed to get a picture of it though. The views really were beautiful and coupled with the peace and quiet in this part of the park, we felt completely relaxed and very privileged to be able to spend time in such a lovely place. As we headed back down towards Eagle Lake, I managed to slip and land on my backside, scraping my palm as I did so. The sympathy from my family was expectedly lacking, although Paul did produce a plaster when I pointed out that I was bleeding from my injury. They then reminded me to be careful at regular intervals, which was helpful. Not. The path takes you through the woods and then down to the shore of Eagle Lake. Hannah took the opportunity to channel Ariel the Little Mermaid - she clearly wins best poser of the holiday! The trail takes you over boulders and is really cleverly thought out as you pick you way through and over the rocks. Then you go through a marshy area on boards and fortunately, Hannah was the one who spotted the trail and kept us on the right path. It wasn't too long before we were back at the trailhead again and we decided to climb up the South Bubble as well. This route takes you to see Bubble Rock and is much shorter and considerably busier. Bubble Rock looks quite odd - stuck out on the side of the mountain and there were people queuing up to take pictures of themselves pretending to push it off. Even though it has been there forever, I couldn't watch them do it, just in case it suddenly fell. Irrational I know! You can see the Bubble here. There are more views of Jordan Pond but you get better views of it from the North Bubble and we were glad we had done that first. We had our picnic and then headed down to Jordan Pond. The route down was a fairly exposed climb and scramble and it felt a lot harder than the ladders on Beech Cliff. Again, it would have been better to have come up it I think, but we all managed it and I didn't cry (much). I was quite relieved when we were all safely down at the bottom and the rest of the family could mock me gentle for being a big Jessie. To be fair to me, I had freaked out mildly at a drop I wasn't sure I could safely do, but then I had got on with it and the rest had been fine. The rest of the walk takes you along the path by Jordan Pond, which is very pretty. Compared to the rest of the walks we had done, it was a bit dull as it is all very flat but the lake itself is lovely. We didn't spend long at Jordan Pond as there was a bus due and a bit of a wait for the next one. We got the bus to the Visitor Centre and paused there for a comfort break and to take a picture of this quotation from National Parks founder John Muir. I wanted to see Bar Harbor as we hadn't been there yet. We had thought about getting a shuttle bus but didn't want to get stuck there waiting for the next one back to the Visitor Centre, so we drove. Parking was a bit tricky but we managed to find some street parking a short walk away from the centre. Bar Harbor is okay but compared to the peace and quiet of the parks it all seemed a bit too busy. It reminded us of Estes Park near Rocky Mountain National Park and we weren't big fans. We did manage to pick up some nice souvenirs and I found a nice women's t shirt with Acadia National Park on it which made a change - usually there isn't much choice for women and all of the good t-shirts are for men. We had a brief walk to the harbor itself and then headed back to the car to go home. We called to Hannaford in Ellsworth for some supplied, picking up some shrimp for tea and a jar of Maine Blueberry jam. There are wild blueberries all over Acadia National Park and so we had to take a reminder home with us. We also got Hannah to pose by the Hannaford sign, obvs. Back at the cabin, we had shrimp, hot dogs and fresh corn before lighting our final fire and grilling more s'mores. We just got done and then it started to rain, so we headed back inside to look over our pictures and talk about our time in Acadia. I know I keep saying how beautiful the park is, but it's really true. It is definitely up there as one of the best National Parks that we have visited and I'm so glad that we had a good amount of time there. It was a long drive to get there from Washington but completely worth the effort and I can thoroughly recommend it as a place to visit.
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
7 Oct 18, 10:32 AM |
#2
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Apprentice Imagineer
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Another lovely day, well done for making it back down the climb in one piece!
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Emma |
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7 Oct 18, 10:39 AM |
#3
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Imagineer
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It is such a beautiful place! You certainly did a lot of walking - my two don’t mind too much but do like their breaks
I agree with Paul - the quieter walks are much better! I think you may have the female version of the t-shirt J bought from Bar Harbor!
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Index of my trip reports 2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg |
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7 Oct 18, 04:05 PM |
#4
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Apprentice Imagineer
Join Date: Feb 13
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The hiking looked fantastic and great views. Hannah has most definitely the best photo poses, love the Ariel especially!
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7 Oct 18, 10:14 PM |
#5
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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Such a relief, honestly!
Possibly. I think it will make an appearance later on. Our used to complain more about longer walks but they are really good now. It’s me who is at the back as I’ve got the shortest legs! I love that picture
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
13 Oct 18, 09:05 AM |
#6
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I am not a shopaholic
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Oh poor you taking a tiny tumble !
More outstanding views, truly gorgeous. Brilliant navigating and managing all those timings . I know for sure we would get completely lost. What a fabulous couple of days you have had here.
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. |
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14 Oct 18, 12:16 PM |
#7
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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I appreciate the sympathy - which is more than I got from the rest of my family! We really did have a wonderful time in Acadia, can thoroughly recommend it.
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
16 Oct 18, 08:04 PM |
#8
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VIP Dibber
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More beautiful views today . And more perilous drops! Well done on all the hiking, it certainly seems worth it.
Continuing to love all of your photo poses ...
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All of my trip reports are in this INDEX My most recent reports are below: *Complete* A Tale of Two Cities - Washington D.C. & Boston - March 2023 We Love Food! An Offsite Dining Report - May 2022 |
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17 Oct 18, 08:02 PM |
#9
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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The hiking was so good and we all really enjoyed it. We do like a silly holiday pose . . .
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
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