People ask me, “What airport did you fly into?” They obviously don’t know my husband and me. We love road trips. Especially when it’s a trip through Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire and on to Maine and Acadia National Park in the fall.
The first thing we did was figure out how to drive there. It’s a 14-hour drive. What we chose was a stop in Geneva on Seneca Lake five hours into the eastward drive, followed by another five-hour drive to Hampton Beach near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and then a leisurely four-hour drive north to Acadia National Park. It was the second week in October, the perfect time for fall foliage. And on the way home, we drove seven hours to Albany and seven hours home.
Yes, it was worth the drive. Yes, I would do it again. Yes, Acadia is a beautiful and special place. How did it transform me? I’m still figuring that out. Maybe I’ll figure it out as I write this. Yes, writing is often about figuring things out.
We have been to the Finger Lakes wine region a dozen or more times over the years, and we like Seneca Lake because of the number of wineries and beautiful views. We arrived in time to have lunch at McGregor Vineyards with afternoon winery stops at Prejean and Fox Run. McGregor Vineyards served us warm brie and charcuterie while we sipped wine and enjoyed the view of the lake and vineyards from the hilltop above. We had good conversation with the owners of Prejean Winery in Penn Yan, which introduced us to new French hybrid reds during earlier trips. Fox Run has been expanded into a winery with floral gardens and an enlarged tasting room and retail stop, and it was busy on a Saturday afternoon.
We left the wineries with bottles to take home. When we arrived at a two-bedroom apartment at The Wheat House on Main, a large early-1800s house in the Historic District of Geneva, it was dinnertime. We took a leisurely walk to Eddie O’Brien’s, where I ate a haddock Rueben sandwich, a delicious surprise, then leisurely walked back. Every house was different, all were old and kept up and in character.
The next morning, a Sunday, we headed for the ocean where we had a reservation at Hampton House Hotel. Hampton Beach is near Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s only seaport and its oldest settlement, but we wanted to be by the sea. We could hear the roar of the surf from our minimalist partial oceanview rooms. As soon as we settled in, we went to the beach, blown by nor’easter winds. The waning autumn light left the sky and water dark when we walked to the Boardwalk, a lively and casually comfortable restaurant further down the beach. Seafood was in season, and I ordered savory stuffed haddock. A visit to the ocean always calms me, and that was when the true vacation began.
A new day, and we meandered on ocean shore roads past 17th-century homes, the waterfront, and the downtown district of Portsmouth. We took our time, heading northeast. We pre-booked four nights at a spacious three-bedroom apartment called The Barnacle, which was carved from an old home above street-level shops in Southwest Harber. Southwest Harbor is on the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island in Maine and is located about 20 minutes from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Paul and I chose the top floor room and left the first floor of the apartment to my sister and brother-in-law. Our room was enchanting — a king-sized bed was centered below the sloping roof and diagonally faced the big window on main street, and there was a private bath and nooks for sitting. The art on the ceilings and on shelves, the painted wood furniture, and the tasteful rugs in the renovated space were gorgeous.
We arrived early enough that we saw many of the highlights along the 27-mile Park Loop Road in Acadia. The entrances to the park were unmanned and police helped control the high traffic during the government shutdown. Think about it — a long weekend and millions of people living in New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, just down the road. We drove the one-way 127-mile Park Loop Road in a line of cars until we snapped a spot on the road near Ocean Path Trail. Through the trees along the trail above the water, we could see the sandy beach and rocky shoreline. We eventually descended to Sand Beach and up the trail and over to Thunder Hole. We felt high on the sights and sounds of the great outdoors that is one of our national parks, and it was amazing. As were the cold lobster rolls at the Upper Duck which catches and steams lobster from the bay behind the restaurant. The waitstaff was friendly and informative. We resolved to return.
The next morning, we made a beeline for Jordan’s Pond, a pristine lake surrounded by mountains. The restaurant at Jordan Pond is the only one in Acadia and is known for tea and popovers. The area is known for its carriage roads used for bicycling and walking, but we chose to circle the lake on Jordan Pond Trail, which the NPS described on their website as an “easy” three-mile hike. But . . . it was the most difficult hiking any of us had ever done. The first part was a boardwalk of 2x4s, then there was a pile of larger rocks and boulders that we carefully navigated for about 15 minutes which led to a dirt path, then more boulders (us sometimes crawling like crabs), until finally we hit an easy broad trail. The mountains above the fall foliage and shimmering lake made for good pictures, and we stopped frequently to capture the scenery. After that almost three-hour hike, we went into Bar Harbor Beer Works and had a hearty lunch of beer and burgers while feeling good about completing the hike because it tested our balance, endurance, and rock-climbing skills. Our little apartment felt like home when we arrived at the end of the day.
On Tuesday, we hiked Jessup’s Trail and Hemlock Path Loop at the Sieur De Monts stop. There were no NPS services and the visitor’s center was closed, but everyone was enjoying the woods and the quiet. It was a good way to start the day. On recommendation, we drove over to the Schoodic Peninsula and enjoyed the national scenic byway along the water. Schoodic Point is the only part of Acadia National Park not on Mount Desert Island. It’s rugged and wild as it juts out into the Gulf of Maine. The Gulf of Maine is shared by Canada — New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy are just across the way. We were practically in Canada! That evening, we had drinks at the outside bar of Eat-a-Pita Cafe 2 (down the street from where we were staying) and returned to the Upper Deck for lobster dinners, “our” local restaurant.
Paul and I began our last day at Acadia by driving 10 minutes to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse to see the sunrise. It was a quiet and hassle-free gathering. People just sat on the rocks below the lighthouse and watched the slow rise over the water and the shores. The capstone of our trip was Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak in the eastern United States. The NPS still required car reservations during the shutdown — we had time and space to relax and take it all in. Islands and water, a cruise ship, an artist painting the scene, lots of cameras out. Afterwards, we explored the galleries and shops in Bar Harbor and ate wood-fired pizza at Flame. Good conversations with locals, many of whom would be leaving the area during winter. That night, we ate dinner at Eat-a-Pita Cafe 2, a charming cafe with only a dozen tables and big-flavor, bountiful foods. I enjoyed a blueberry martini, fresh focaccia bread, a large green salad with tons of veggies and garbanzos, and fresh local mussels. The clam chowder, spaghetti and meatballs, and lobster ravioli were also appreciated by my fellow diners. It was tempting to order the blueberry crisp for dessert. The waitstaff were all from Eastern Europe.
We chose to stop in Albany because it is at the exact halfway point between Bar Harbor and Cleveland. The historic district was on one side of the Hyatt Place Hotel, while the Hudson River was on the other. We saw the unique dome of the New York State Capitol as we walked past vintage brick warehouses and refurbished Victorian buildings and homes to Hollow Bar & Kitchen in one of those big renovated buildings. What a gem that place was! We ordered maple syrup brussels sprouts as an appetizer and satisfying brisket sandwiches with sweet potato fries in a town where most eateries are pubs and taverns.
We experienced good seafood, sunny skies, big open natural spaces, the seaside, a casual community feeling, comfortable accommodations, historical sites, wine farms, wild natural beauty, and time with family. Did it transform me? It was a restorative time away from home, gave me cherished memories, and broadened my worldview. The answer is that it did.
