Anniversary Trip 2018 Part 1: Maine

For our second anniversary, Brandon and I were planning to use a cruise voucher we'd gotten at one of our timeshare presentations. When I called a few months before, though, I found out the promotional cabins were booked for June so we'd end up paying over $1000 to go on the cruise. We thought about still making the trip to Miami to explore the national parks there (we have a goal to visit all the national parks), but we decided that we could go to southern Florida any time of year, but we can't visit all the national parks anytime of year. So we started looking at parks farther north and decided on Acadia National Park in Maine.

My friend and former institute teacher Darrin Simpson and his family live in Boston, and they generously agreed to let us use their car. So we flew into Boston and drove up the coast to Bar Harbor, Maine. Along the way, we stopped at some lighthouses along the coast.

Owls Head Lighthouse in Owls Head State Park

The fog was so thick off the coast, but disappeared in the harbor. It was so eerie!

Next stop: Portland Head Lighthouse in Portland, Maine

In Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert Island, we rented an over-the-garage apartment from a guy named JC on AirBnB. He was such a helpful, generous host. He let us borrow fishing gear, umbrellas, and a cooler, and he even took Brandon fishing on our last day. Bonus - he's from Indiana!

Our first full day there was beautiful - sunny and 70s. It was such a nice break from the already 90s weather we'd been having at home. We decided to take advantage and went for a hike. We chose the Beehive Trail and loved it. It was really interesting - lots of scrambling and even some metal rungs to climb on. And the views all the way up were gorgeous!

We took another way down that looped past a mountain lake and came back out to the coast.

We walked back to our car via a trail that runs right along the coast. There were a few stops along the way but we didn't hang out much - we were so tired and hungry! We did not come adequately prepped with water and snacks.

Once we got back to the car, we drove around the other side of the island to check out the views and stopped at the cutest historic inn for lunch with a beautiful view from the back deck where we ate. Then we drove into town to get some groceries for Sunday and got some ice cream. On the way back to our apartment, we saw this sign for the church. Haha!

Sunday was our anniversary and we kicked it off by getting up at 4 am to drive up Cadillac Mountain to watch the sun rise - Maine is the first place in the U.S. to see the sun, so that was cool. It was very chilly and very windy, so we mostly watched from the car, but it was so pretty!

We went back to the apartment and went back to sleep before going to church that morning. We packed a picnic lunch and drove down the Schoodic Peninsula. Such gorgeous views and hardly any people, since it's across the water from the main park.

Two years with this guy feels like a minute and a lifetime all at once. Marriage hasn't been the easiest transition for me (turns out 30 years on your own gets you pretty set in your own way of doing things), but Brandon is a gracious and patient partner. He serves and loves me every day, and he still makes me laugh constantly. He is my favorite person in the world and I would gladly spend every second of every day with him. It has been the happiest, most rewarding 2 years so far and I am eternally grateful to have him in my life.

I grabbed a blanket to sit on for our lunch, but I ended up being grateful to have it as a covering. The wind was so chilly! We sat at a table and I wrapped up in the blanket and ate while Brandon fished off the pier in his church clothes.

Our beautiful weather luck ran out by Monday, when we woke up to rain. Fortunately, we had a very comfortable apartment to hang out in and were grateful for the opportunity to relax! We ventured out that afternoon to visit the town of Bar Harbor, where we did a bit of souvenir shopping among the excursionists from the cruise ship that was floating just off shore. I had no idea Maine was a popular cruise stop!

Being in Maine, of course lobster was on our must-eat list, but it's just so expensive - even in Maine. Our host had offered to help us catch our own lobster, but it was still early in the season and he didn't have any traps out yet. So we took the advice of a volunteer we'd met in the park the day before and went to a local lobster pound, bought the lobster meat, and made our lobster rolls ourselves. Turns out they're just lobster and mayo - no special seasoning, nothing. They were pretty good! Honestly, though, I don't notice a huge difference between lobster and crab and I'm not sure the $40 per pound price tag is worth it.

On our last day in Maine, we explored the southern tip of Mount Desert Island. We visited Bass Harbor lighthouse and hiked a short trail to some very cool tidal pools. It was misty but not too wet so we were still able to get some good views.

It was hard to tear myself away from this place. Our few days in Maine had been so relaxing and so refreshing. The scenery was stunning and the vibe on the island is just so laid back. The people were incredibly generous and kind. We loved it!