Mount Desert Island Rocks: Day 1

We got an early start out of Ellsworth this morning to get right on that island and start exploring the Acadia National Park. We did the little intro video at the welcome center, bought a good trail and road map, and then went right for the Park Loop Trail and before we knew it we were at the highest point of the island and looking down on Bar Harbor from the peak of Cadillac Mountain. This point is when Douwe decided that this vacation is fun after all as he was thrilled to find that the whole mountain (and pretty much this whole island) is made of rocks and boulders to climb and jump and hike upon. For about an hour he tested his limits of how steep a rock he could climb or how high he could jump down or what trail marker he could find next. He was so excited. The view was beautiful.

Since it was about 85 degrees by mid day, we decided to spend the afternoon on Sand Beach, a lot of other people were there too and a few brave swimmers. THe tide was going out so it was fun to try to build castles and dams to redirect all the rivulets flowing out of the higher sand and down to the sea. Douwe's squat sank lower and lower until he was fully sitting in wet sand puddles and by the end just pouring wet sand on his legs. We should have packed swimsuits but who knew?

Our check in time was 4 and we were eager to see our carriage house, so we drove over to Southwest Harbor to move our stuff in and see the place. Perfect set up for us on a very quiet road, we are so glad to be on this part of the island and this little carriage house is very new, very small and very beautiful. We love it!

Went into Southwest Harbor for dinner time and to get a few groceries. On a whim we tried to find XYZ to see if they were open and they were and they seated us even though we didn't have a reservation! THis was a find and thanks again to our trusty guide book as this restaurant was hidden in the woods down a lane outside of town.