We spent a week in Maine for our honeymoon.
Because Bar Harbor is such a tourist town, during the off season nothing is open. A year-round resident told us that 3/4th of the town leaves in the winter. Many of the places were open when we went, but many weren't opening until mid to late May. We found that Bar Harbor was mostly open, but most of the places in the other towns didn't open until mid-to-late May.
Transportation
Originally, we were to fly on Sunday to Bangor, but Delta canceled a lot of flights out of Augusta that afternoon for unspecified mechanical reasons. Delta did attempt to find us another way to Bangor, including using other carriers, but were unsuccessful. We flew Monday, arriving in Bangor at 2:45PM, about 20 minutes late after a ground delay in Laguardia.
We rented a car with Hertz, just under $300 for 5 days. Gas hovered just under $4/gallon.
Lodging
We found the house we stayed at online. It is a 2 bedroom (also has a loft with 2 beds), 1 bath, house with a wonderful living room with a wood burning stove and a great glass front onto Western Bay. The home owners are Bill and Ruth Fernald, their website is www.maineseasidecottages.com, and the property is their Quarterdeck.
Food
Cleonice
Mediterranean food in Ellsworth. I had the Chicken Arthur Avenue, my wife ate off the tapa menu. We shared her food which included hummus and baba ganoush, zuccini linguini, spinach salad, and empanadas. Dessert included coffee, vanilla ice cream, and caramel apple pie. Highly recommend the tapa menu. It is small appetizer portions of various dishes and is a great way to sample a lot of items. Pricey, but well worth it.
Geddy's Pub
Pub in Bar Harbor. So good we went twice. Both times we opened up with the Sea Balls, quite delicious. I had the pizza burger while my wife had the MDI burger, a plain hamburger. I pizza burger reminded me of Angelo's in Corpus, though Angelo's was better. The cook commented that the pizza burger was his favorite while he was making it. Washed it down with a a Bar Harbor Real Ale and Cadillac Stout, local brews by the Atlantic brewing company. Also tried the lobster roll.
Lompoc Cafe
We stopped in for dessert. Cups of coffee and a lemon tart and whoopie pie hit the spot.
Gaylyn's
Our favorite fancy restaurant. We decided to make it our lobster meal. Opened with lobster rolls, quite delicious. Wife had the lobster tail and I had the lobster enchilada. An interesting but good twist on the classic lobster. Highly recommend this restaurant.
Reading Room
Located in the Bar Harbor Inn. Formal dining yet the dress code is casual. Opened with complimentary orderves of picked beets with goat cheese. I had the raveolees while my wife had chicken marsala. Food was good, though we felt the food at Gaylyns was better.
Finelli Pizza
In Ellsworth. We had pizza by the slice. Good thin crust pizza. PBR on tap.
There were several other restaurants that were recommended to us but either didn't have time to try or weren't opened. The people were very proud they have three Thai restaurants in the area. I didn't understand the infatuation. The other recommended restaurants include:
Trenton-Ellsworth area:
Bangkok
Jordan’s Snack Bar
Trenton Bridge
Mother’s Kitchen
Union River Lobster Pot
Southwest Harbor area:
Sips
Red Sky
Little Notch Café
Top of the Hill
Brendon & Laura’s
Thurston Lobster
Mainely Delights
Bar Harbor area:
McKay’s Public House
Burning Tree
Siam Orchid
Acadia NP:
Jordan Pond House
Things to do
Acadia National Park
Thee loop road is a must do. It shows you a good portion of the park and is a pretty drive.
Cadillac Mountain, while a nice view and the highest point on the seaboard, wasn't that exciting. You drive all the way to the top of it which takes away from the mountain.
We did climb Gorham Mountain. We took off from the trailhead parking lot and went to the peak. Coming we down took the trail to Sand Beach and followed the Ocean Trail. We could have spent all day along the Ocean Trail exploring each of the vantage points.
Thunder Hole
You are supposed to go to the Jordan Pond and eat pop-overs and drink tea, but the restaurant wasn't open yet.
Kayaking
We looked into kayaking but were too early in the season.
Bass Harbor Light
Still a working light, but a great place for photos.
[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 5/22/2011 8:29a).]
Because Bar Harbor is such a tourist town, during the off season nothing is open. A year-round resident told us that 3/4th of the town leaves in the winter. Many of the places were open when we went, but many weren't opening until mid to late May. We found that Bar Harbor was mostly open, but most of the places in the other towns didn't open until mid-to-late May.
Transportation
Originally, we were to fly on Sunday to Bangor, but Delta canceled a lot of flights out of Augusta that afternoon for unspecified mechanical reasons. Delta did attempt to find us another way to Bangor, including using other carriers, but were unsuccessful. We flew Monday, arriving in Bangor at 2:45PM, about 20 minutes late after a ground delay in Laguardia.
We rented a car with Hertz, just under $300 for 5 days. Gas hovered just under $4/gallon.
Lodging
We found the house we stayed at online. It is a 2 bedroom (also has a loft with 2 beds), 1 bath, house with a wonderful living room with a wood burning stove and a great glass front onto Western Bay. The home owners are Bill and Ruth Fernald, their website is www.maineseasidecottages.com, and the property is their Quarterdeck.
Food
Cleonice
Mediterranean food in Ellsworth. I had the Chicken Arthur Avenue, my wife ate off the tapa menu. We shared her food which included hummus and baba ganoush, zuccini linguini, spinach salad, and empanadas. Dessert included coffee, vanilla ice cream, and caramel apple pie. Highly recommend the tapa menu. It is small appetizer portions of various dishes and is a great way to sample a lot of items. Pricey, but well worth it.
Geddy's Pub
Pub in Bar Harbor. So good we went twice. Both times we opened up with the Sea Balls, quite delicious. I had the pizza burger while my wife had the MDI burger, a plain hamburger. I pizza burger reminded me of Angelo's in Corpus, though Angelo's was better. The cook commented that the pizza burger was his favorite while he was making it. Washed it down with a a Bar Harbor Real Ale and Cadillac Stout, local brews by the Atlantic brewing company. Also tried the lobster roll.
Lompoc Cafe
We stopped in for dessert. Cups of coffee and a lemon tart and whoopie pie hit the spot.
Gaylyn's
Our favorite fancy restaurant. We decided to make it our lobster meal. Opened with lobster rolls, quite delicious. Wife had the lobster tail and I had the lobster enchilada. An interesting but good twist on the classic lobster. Highly recommend this restaurant.
Reading Room
Located in the Bar Harbor Inn. Formal dining yet the dress code is casual. Opened with complimentary orderves of picked beets with goat cheese. I had the raveolees while my wife had chicken marsala. Food was good, though we felt the food at Gaylyns was better.
Finelli Pizza
In Ellsworth. We had pizza by the slice. Good thin crust pizza. PBR on tap.
There were several other restaurants that were recommended to us but either didn't have time to try or weren't opened. The people were very proud they have three Thai restaurants in the area. I didn't understand the infatuation. The other recommended restaurants include:
Trenton-Ellsworth area:
Bangkok
Jordan’s Snack Bar
Trenton Bridge
Mother’s Kitchen
Union River Lobster Pot
Southwest Harbor area:
Sips
Red Sky
Little Notch Café
Top of the Hill
Brendon & Laura’s
Thurston Lobster
Mainely Delights
Bar Harbor area:
McKay’s Public House
Burning Tree
Siam Orchid
Acadia NP:
Jordan Pond House
Things to do
Acadia National Park
Thee loop road is a must do. It shows you a good portion of the park and is a pretty drive.
Cadillac Mountain, while a nice view and the highest point on the seaboard, wasn't that exciting. You drive all the way to the top of it which takes away from the mountain.
We did climb Gorham Mountain. We took off from the trailhead parking lot and went to the peak. Coming we down took the trail to Sand Beach and followed the Ocean Trail. We could have spent all day along the Ocean Trail exploring each of the vantage points.
Thunder Hole
You are supposed to go to the Jordan Pond and eat pop-overs and drink tea, but the restaurant wasn't open yet.
Kayaking
We looked into kayaking but were too early in the season.
Bass Harbor Light
Still a working light, but a great place for photos.
[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 5/22/2011 8:29a).]