Expedition East Coast: Day 13 Lighthouse, Echo Lake, Acadia Mountain and Lobsters

[CrispyA]

31 July

After the excursions of the day before, we all slept pretty well. Paul made us scrambled eggs for breakfast which set us up nicely for the rest of the day. We put together a packed lunch and got ready for another day in the park, everybody managing to remember everything they needed first time this time!

We drove to the other side of the island as we wanted to go to Bass Harbor and see the lighthouse. We had found a country radio station (97.1 The Bear) and enjoyed that on the drive. One of the quirky things about Acadia is that there are settlements and little villages dotted around, which aren't part of the National Park, so you go in and out of the park as you drive around the area.

Bass Harbor was quite charming and it didn't take long to get to the lighthouse itself. This side of the island is quieter and there weren't too many people here. We walked down to the lighthouse and spent a little time watching the lobster boats sailing by.

We also found the Bell on the End and, of course, got Evan to pose next to it. (My ballet teacher would be horrified by my posture in this picture!)

After this, we got back in the car to head to Echo Lake. We knew that the carparks at the popular areas fill up very quickly and as the shuttle bus schedule wasn't going to work for what we wanted to do today, we were going to have to drive and get parked up early.

It was a bit too early for a swim but we got parked in the carpark and set off to do our walk. The plan for today was Beech Cliffs.

We hadn't looked at the route particularly before we set off, but managed to go up the fairly gentle route which was a nice walk.

It didn't take too long before we were at the top with some wonderful views of Echo Lake and the beach.

We also chatted to some hikers who had Denali National Park patches. We would love a trip to Alaska and they confirmed that Denali was just as beautiful as we thought it might be. Long way to go though . .

We were loving Acadia so far - great hiking and a really beautiful setting. Plus it has just about everything you might want in a National Park - beaches and shorelines, mountains, forests and lakes. The only thing missing is a desert!

After pausing for snacks and to get a little bit gangsta, we headed back down for a well-earned swim.

We had spoken to some hikers who had come up a different way and who told us it was "fun", so of course, we had to go down that way. It turned out to be a very steep climb down, involving a number of ladders and was probably meant to be climbed up rather than down. I'm not great with scrambling and such things and found it all quite nerve-wracking but managed it without crying or having to get "tough love" from Paul (which has happened before!). The rest of the family clearly have goat DNA and managed it fine!

We did come across a family with very small kids who were heading up and warned them about the ladders. I wouldn't have done that climb with such small children as there isn't room to stop and come back down easily if they can't manage it - they would have been better off going the way that we went up.

We were very hot by the time we got to the bottom and the lake swim was very welcome indeed. There aren't many places to swim in Acadia as a lot of the lakes are used for domestic drinking water but Echo Lake is a gorgeous place to swim. The water was a much more pleasant temperature than the sea at Sand Beach and we really enjoyed being in it. With no chlorine or salt, freshwater feels really soft and silky and we are definitely lake swimming converts.

We had our lunch on the beach and went back for another swim after to cool down as it was so hot.

After a lovely rest on the beach, we eventually packed up to go to Acadia mountain. We had wondered about leaving the car at Echo Beach but it was too far to walk, so we drove to the trailhead and managed to get parked. There were people queuing for a parking space at the Lake so it definitely made sense to get there early.

It was another good walk up Acadia Mountain and a lot of trail went through the woods so it was quite shady. There are more lovely views from the top of the Somes Sound and out to the Atlantic.

The route down was a little nerve wracking as it circled around the peak and we weren't always convinced we were on the right trail. We were following the cairns and the blue splodges that mark the trails but there were no signs so we couldn't be sure this was the trail that went to the car park and not the route to another summit!

Eventually we hit the fire road in the woods and knew we were on the right track. We were all very sweaty by the end and had brought fresh tops to change into as we were planning to go out for tea on teh way back to the cabin.

As we were in Maine, we had to try lobster and it is something none of us have ever eaten before. There are plenty of places and we drove past quite a few on the way in and out of the park, seeing them setting up their smokers and boiling pots in the morning, ready for later.

We had spotted a small lobster dinner place on the Schoodic peninsula road, not far from the cabin, called Tracey's and as it had good reviews, we decided to go there.

We hit it at a good time as the dining room was fairly empty (although people were queuing for ice cream at the take away window). The server was about Hannah's age and seemed to be doing all the jobs - serving the dining room and the take away at the same time. She was really lovely, especially when we explained that we wanted the lobster dinners but had no idea how to eat lobsters!

The lobster dinner was pretty good value, around $20 each for a lobster and two sides.

Our server showed us how to break up the lobster and eat it, checking on us at intervals to make sure we were managing okay - in between doing all the other jobs as well. The lobster was very messy but great fun to eat and really tasty. We now feel fully qualified to eat lobster, although at the prices you usually pay for it, I can't imagine we are going to be eating it that often!

Lobsters conquered

The dining room did fill up while we were there so we had timed our visit quite well. There was a man at another table who looked like Bill Belichick, which didn't help to endear us to him (nobody likes the Patriots!) and he was quite rude to the server, complaining that the lobster dinner wasn't big enough. Not sure how many lobsters he was expecting for $20? She took it all in her stride though and kept smiling and we made sure to give her a decent tip as she had worked so hard.

I had been really excited about the thought of eating lobster in Maine and was so pleased that we had done it!

Back at the cabin, it was time for another fire and some s'mores. Paul was loving his role as chief pyromaniac.

Then we looked at the Acadia maps and guides to plan our next day in the park before bed.

[katiebaz]

Wow what a lot you packed in with walks and swimming. The lobster looked yummy too. I have never tried it in the shell as am not sure how to eat it, glad you got some help!

[anji]

Really enjoying your reports and looking forward to our Acadia visit next year! The views look wonderful

[CrispyA]

Originally Posted by katiebaz

Wow what a lot you packed in with walks and swimming. The lobster looked yummy too. I have never tried it in the shell as am not sure how to eat it, glad you got some help!

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Without the help,we would have been completely lost. But really, it’s just like a big prawn!

Originally Posted by anji

Really enjoying your reports and looking forward to our Acadia visit next year! The views look wonderful

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It’s a beautiful park, definitely one of the favourites that we’ve been to. You’ll have a wonderful trip!

[Melbatb]

We did the same walk in reverse I think! We did go up the ladders - you did well to go down them!

The lobster looks lovely. It was our first time eating it too!

[CrispyA]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

We did the same walk in reverse I think! We did go up the ladders - you did well to go down them!

The lobster looks lovely. It was our first time eating it too!

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I wished we’d gone up them, would have been a bit easier!

[i love jack]

Aah it looks beautiful. Acadia does sound perfect and has everything I think I’m looking for...mountains,lakes and beaches.
Glad you enjoyed the lobster, I’ve never tried it either.
Loving the fire

[CrispyA]

Originally Posted by i love jack

Aah it looks beautiful. Acadia does sound perfect and has everything I think I’m looking for...mountains,lakes and beaches.
Glad you enjoyed the lobster, I’ve never tried it either.
Loving the fire

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Acadia is brilliant, it was definitely the highlight of the trip for us.

Can’t imagine we’ll be eating lobster on a regular basis but at least we know how to do it now.

[Fuellady]

Well, that was a busy day. Lovely views for your climbing efforts, and well done for coming down those ladders, sounds very scary.

Great end to the day with the lake swimming, lobster, then more campfire fun

[WileyCoyote]

Fab day, the hikes sound awesome ( and tiring!) but what amazing views. Looks a beautiful place. Glad the lobster didn’t disappoint. Lol look at hubby chief fire starter, very proud !