Heading North

Day Two we headed north along the coast from Boston through Massachusetts, part of New Hampshire and on to Bar Harbor Maine. What a beautiful drive from one little seacoast town to another. We were constantly amazed at how clean and well kept all the houses were. No junk anywhere and the homes freshly painted. The gardens and flowers were beautiful. We made a photo stop at the town of York, Maine for ice cream (there were always a number of people on the bus who managed to get their ice cream whenever available) and views of the York lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean.
Our lunch stop was at Freeport, Maine where we had our first taste of yummy fresh Atlantic crab. The area we stopped at what was actually a type of factory store outlet, but looked like a charming small New England town. L.L. Bean also had a large retail store there. I didn't know it but this was my last Starbucks stop for four days and the hotel coffee was terrible. We then proceeded on to Bar Harbor which is actually a island off the coast of Maine. That night we sat down to dinner and were provided with a bib and crackers and were each served a whole lobster. Delish!

The next day we toured Acadia National Park and stopped at Sand Beach which is made of little bits of sea shells rather than sand.
Then we made a stop at Thunder Hole where in storms and high tide the water splashes up around 30 feet in the air.
From there we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain where we had a spectacular view of the bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain on the East Coast.

Lunch was in downtown Bar Harbor where I had fish and chips with, once again, fresh Atlantic fish. I really think the seafood here is the best I have ever had - even better than in the Northwest. Then we boarded a cruise boat and took a nature tour of the bay where we saw eagles, eider ducks, seals, and even porpoises. Besides that we were able to see some of what they call cottages that were unbelievable. They are really mansions that are called cottages because they are only used for a couple of months a year and the owners real mansions are in another location where the winters aren't so brutal.

After the tour we wandered around the town for awhile grabbed some crab and lobster rolls for dinner and headed back to our hotel.