Planning a New England trip

[mae]

A friend and I will be setting off for a six-day trip through New England in late July. We're leaving from New Jersey, and heading to Hartford, then Cambridge and Boston, then all the way up to Maine's Acadia National Park, then back down to Manchester and Providence, and back (so we won't drive out to Vermont, unfortunaley). We have the entire trip pretty much scheduled and mapped out on Google Maps, with some obvious points of interest along the way. Could you guys recommend some must-see places? We'll be passing Bangor on the way to Acadia, so we'll definitely drive by Stephen King's house... :)

[turtlex]

pablo - With regards to Maine :

Acadia National Park is wonderful. I've been there several times.

I would suggest a cruise on the Margaret Todd, in Bar Harbor.
Here's the link : http://www.downeastwindjammer.com/margaret-todd-windjammer-cruises/

If you can, take a trip where a NPS Park Ranger is going to be on-board.

Make sure you check out all of Mount Desert Island, and both parts of Acadia. It's so beautiful.

If you're going to Bangor - stop by Betts Books. Way cool Sai King stuff.
Link : http://www.bettsbooks.com/

If you're driving - I would suggest a stop at The Maine Diner on RT 1 in Wells, ME. They have the most delicious lobster roll. Yummy!
Link : http://www.mainediner.com

My two most recent trips - we stayed at the Edgewater Motel, just outside Bar Harbor. It's not fancy, but it's clean and its right on the water.
Link : http://www.edgewaterbarharbor.com/

[mae]

Thank you, some good stuff. Since you've been to Acadia, what's the best way to see it all, where to start, etc.? We'll be staying there two days. From the pictures it looks so stunning.

[turtlex]

There's a great auto-road tour and that's the best way to see the park. There are plenty of pull-offs and places to stop and hike and take pictures. Grab a map at the visitors center, and just drive the loop. Make sure you head over to the Schoodic side, too, its so striking.

No trip to Acadia is complete without a drive up to Cadillac Mountain and since you can basically drive to the summit, it's lots of fun ( but can be crowded ).

Take the time and have lunch at the Jordan Pond House - the popovers are to die for !!!! And if it's a nice day - eat outside... they allow dogs, too, so if you're bringing a furry friend, he/she will be welcome there. I've never had lunch reservations and never had an issue getting seated, but dinner reservations are usually required. If you go for an early lunch, you should be fine. Again, did I mention the popovers?!?!?! HAVE SOME !!!! :drool: Honestly, you'll not regret it. The seafood chowder is pretty good, too.

Driving the Acadia loop brings you to all the great sites - including Thunder Hole.

Your best bet - if you want some cool interaction - is to grab the Acadia NPS newletter and see if you can find the time for some of the Ranger led talks and tours. http://www.nps.gov/acad/

In Bar Harbor, the Abbe Museum is small, but nice. Keep your ticket if you go, as there's an annex to the museum down by the Wild Gardens of Acadia exhibit inside the park. If you're a garden/flower person - that's a great place to go.

[mae]

Thanks so much. Very valuable information. We'll probably be staying at a campground there. Do you know if campfires are allowed?

[turtlex]

Whoa! I'm glad you mentioned that about the camping - There are only two campgrounds in the park, and they're not that huge ( by NPS standards anyways ), and fill up quickly.

Check with the NPS and see if they're taking reservations... that is your safest and best bet. The park campgrounds are full all summer long, and deep into the fall ( with all the foliage folks ).

We're thinking of camping there our next visit - probably next year sometimes, so did a drive-thru of both campgrounds, and we really liked the one Seawall campground best. It seemed somewhat quieter and in a beatiful section of the park.

You can usually have a campfire, there are pits at most sites - but you cannot bring in firewood. You have to get it there.

Here's the linkage : http://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

[mae]

Awesome stuff, thank you once again. I did look around the Acadia official site but missed these links. Looks like Seawall doesn't take reservations (first-come and all that), but the other one does, Blackwood. We'll have to figure this out.

[turtlex]

Have a great time. I'm happy to be able to help out.

[Nerak]

Stop and see me on the way up!! Exit 1 off of I95 in NH!!!!

[cozener]

How come no one ever plans a Kentucky trip? Oh wait...nevermind.

[turtlex]

:lol:

You know, I've been through Kentucky, on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, and we thought it was one of the most beautiful states we travelled through. So lush and green!

[mae]

Actually this same friend and I are indeed planning a trip to Kentucky. We're both big bourbon fans, so one of these days we have to do a Southern trip. What else should it include?

[cozener]

Depends...are you easily impressed?

[mae]

Depends...are you easily impressed?

What do you have in mind? :excited:

[mae]

Well we're back from New England. It was an amazing trip. We drove nearly 1500 miles. Acadia was breathtaking. And we stopped by King's house in Bangor on the way, too. That was very cool, because I've seen it numerous times on photos online, so it was interesting to finally see it for real. Somebody was even home, as the gate was open and there was a car in the driveway. But we didn't come up and say hello :)

[turtlex]

Details, man, details!!

Where did you end up staying? What in the park did you like the best? Any pics!?

[mae]

No pics, alas, because we had a video camera with us. Tons of video though. We saw so much my head is still spinning, several days later. Feels like I've been away for a whole month. Acadia was beautiful, I really loved driving up Cadillac Mountain to the summit. It's higher than the WTC towers used to be! And the entire island and the whole park is simply astounding. So picturesque. We drove the Park Loop Road too, of course. We camped at the Seawall campground. It was very peaceful and relaxing. It was great to just get away from civilization, work, stress, etc. :rock:

This was my first time in the state of Maine, and it's been a constant dream to visit it ever since I started reading King 14 years ago. Just never had a chance till now for one reason or another. We also visited Portland (the city where King was born), Augusta, and of course Bangor. I loved it. It's such a quiet and pretty state, with very kind and courteous people. If someone's never been to Maine, I urge you to visit it as soon as possible, and not just because of the King connection. It's a cool place.

The only down side is that we wanted to see a movie at the Criterion Theater in Bar Harbor, an art-deco cinema which looks awesome on the photos I've seen of its auditorium (a sort of place people in the 1920s and '30s would watch movies), but they were only playing the new Harry Potter film, and I still haven't read the book yet...