Just Ducky Loc: Ohio/Florida

Thanks for sharing the link. Those great photos brought back happy memories.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

No problem, forgot I had so many there, rather good location to use as a base of exploring.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

I appreciate the information. We're also planning on one or two trips to Maine and environs, possibly in June and fall 2018. The current plan is to fly in and out of Boston and meander up the coast to the Canadian border, then head west, possibly to Quebec City, then loop back to Boston via the Kancamagus Highway.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Went up to the top of Caddilac Mountain and my wife and I my wife each had a small piece of quiche, at the Parks Department restaurant. The quiche came with a small roll, a little salad and a glass of lemonade. $47. And this was about 20 years ago. My wife and I had fish and chips at a small stand in town with redwood tables in the parking lot. Served on a styrofoam plates with plastic utensils. Fish and chips seemed like they were microwaved. $55. Drove about 15 miles out of town to try to get a decent reasonabley priced meal. There was a huge place advertising Lobster Thermador for $19.99. About 200 cars in the parking lot so we went in. The place was packed. When my lobster thermador arrived, there was one piece of lobster swimming in the sauce, the piece was the size of a small shrimp, sort of like a lobster fetus. Walking around town, a half dozen guys hanging out at a gas station gave us cat calls and made fun of us . I guess we looked like tourists. Went for a 20 minute ride whale watching. No whales but there was a small island covered with seals about 1000 yards from where the boat stopped. The crew walked up the aisles offering to rent us binoculars for $5 each so we could see the seals. There were no fast food places anywhere in about a 40 mile radius of Bar Harbor. You had to eat at the local places only. When we checked out of our $190 a night room in an antique hotel, the lady at the counter wouldn't look at us or speak above a whisper. She kept her eyes glued to the counter. (She did the same when we checked in). I think when she saw we were from New York City she thought we were emissaries from Satan. When we drove out about 40 miles out of town we saw a Burger King. We wanted to kiss the ground. It was the first decent meal we had that week. I guess coming from New York City, we were used to reasonably price neighborhood restaurants with fantastic food and friendly people. At least in North Conway NH, the people were friendly, and the prices reasonable. Great scenery and Mount Washington. And there was a grocery store in town where we could buy cold cuts and make sandwiches in our room for lunch. Even the group of about 50 Hells Angels that surrounded our car for about 10 minutes when we drove through the woods into town were friendly.

Fuff48

Hey, I'm not a fan of Bar Harbor. As a matter of fact, I avoid MDI except for the Acadia Star Party in September. It's a tourist trap much like Camden and several other towns along the coast. However, if the weather is right, clear skies, the top of Cadillac Mountain is spectacular for amateur astronomers and the star party features fifty to seventy telescopes. Yes, a lot of people attend but there is plenty of room up there. As far as restaurants go, I'm allergic to lobster so no recommendations there but outside of the actual tourist trap area you can find some decent restaurants at reasonable prices. Weather permitting, I'll be on the mountain again this year.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I imagine like most places, if you have the right info and go where the locals go, it makes all the difference in the world. I'm sure there's plenty of tourist traps and rough neighborhoods in NYC as well, but the locals know where to go and where not to. Best vacation my wife and I ever had in the US was to take the Amtrak from NYC to Chicago and then on to Reno, Nevada back in 2000. We had a cabin the whole way. It is considered land cruising. People sit together with strangers in the dining car and the meals are included (though you buy your own liquor). It's fun to meet and talk with strangers on the train. The train rocked us to sleep every night. The sights from a train are really unique because the rails travel through people's back yards and rugged places not visible up close from highways or planes. The sights from Colorado to Nevada literally knocked our eyes out. And Tahoe was the most beautiful place I've seen in the US. If we do go on vacation the next few years, that will be a repeat trip I'd like to take.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Just wanted to thank everyone again - got the Miniuk-Sperry book today and think it is perfect for helping identify where i want to go. also got the carriage roads book from Diana Abrell. both books are helpful - just wish they were a little bigger ! 5"x6.5" is not easy to read !

MtnMan Loc: ID

We'll bring all our food there in our RV and save any eating out till we are a ways from the tourist traps. I've had some marvelous lobster and clam chowders in Portland.

A main thing I'm learning from this is I need to get on the stick and reserve our campsites for October now! Living out west we aren't used to that except for the National Parks in tourist season...which we now avoid due to the Asian Invasion.

We got the photography book today. It is very good. I'm now thinking we need more like three weeks than three days there. Since we're coming more than 2,000 miles we will stay as long as we can without risking bad weather travelling back. We plan to head south 1,000 miles or so before heading back west.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Are we talking about the same place, never saw a restaurant on top of Cadillac mountain, NP store yes,, no tables, 20 min whale watching? that barely gets out of the harbor, no fast food, so what, you don't go away to eat what you eat at home, I'll have fish every day in Maine, several restaurants where you can eat great meals at reasonable prices, and the people are always nice to us, of course we are from NYC and may have different outlook. We will be going back, Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

One of our trips we took a sunset carriage ride on the carriage roads from a stable in the park, if they are still running them it's worth it, sunset cruise on the Margaret Todd was great too, Bob.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

There is a camp ground a short distance out of town that overlooks the water, I think it's called "Narrows Too" never towed a camper up there but the setting look great, I remember signs in town about RV haveing to park in certain areas, a few blocks out, don't know if you can camp in town, I'd ask the Chamber of Commerce, did see people staying in their car in some of the NPS parking lots, again not sure if it's allowed or just tolerated.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

You are correct that three days is barely enough time to spend on Mount Desert Island. Especially when travelling so far to get there. You will undoubtedly have a great adventure taking your trip! I have traveled out west at different times of year to visit my mother and sister in Reno, NV and never had enough time to see all the places on my wish list! We would take different routes going there and coming back, so we could at least stop somewhere we wanted to. Like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park (each on different trips). One year we drove on as much of the old Route 66 as we could find.

We also encountered our share of bad weather while traveling. More than once we started out in the morning and either went back to the motel and stayed another day or decided to stop after driving a relatively short distance. In Wyoming it was snowing horizontally! In Flagstaff, AZ the snow was also coming down, but with the high altitude the sun helped clear the roads and we were able to get on the road around noon. Leaving Reno, we had to keep an eye on the weather reports and choose a day to leave based on them. Even in good weather there are hazards to watch out for. Such as the road from Kingman, AZ to Reno - very twisty, lots of crosses along the way. We would spend the night in Kingman so we would be driving in daylight.

I love driving adventures, even short ones that I call "day trips". Of course some of them last more than one day, especially if I want to be somewhere when the sun comes up! I live in SW Vermont (tri-state area) where VT, MA, and NY come together. So there are plenty of directions to go exploring!

My trip to Bar Harbor was in the fall of 2014, just a little over 2 years ago. I checked out hotels and found that they operate on a sliding rates scale depending on when you go there. Highest during the height of the season, going down in the fall. The one I stayed at was very close to downtown, with a rate close to $100 per night (around double that during the summer). There was a refrigerator and microwave in the room, it was large and comfortable.

There was a popular restaurant we went to in town for a late breakfast after picture-taking, a bit expensive but not exorbitant, and worth the money! Looking for dinner was a matter of walking around and looking, then giving one a try where the menu did not look too out-of-sight. I also bought supplies at a Hannaford's grocery store in town so I could eat some meals in the room, or pack a lunch.

Acadia National Park is quite large, and there are many areas worth taking the time to see at least once, sometimes more. Especially if you are looking for photographic opportunities. There are plenty of maps and information about the park, but one place to start is to drive on the "loop road". Get up early in the morning before sunrise, and give yourself enough time to reach a destination. I am going to try to go back this year, again in October for the fall colors and lower rates!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

With all the folks that seem to like BH and Acadia I wonder if we could get a Fall meet up going, our plans right now are kind of nebulous, so many other things going on, this trip we are talking abut staying right in town, I can get up and shoot while my wife sleeps, have a beer in the evening without having to drive back to the motel.

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

I might be up for something like that.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Just checked, rates go down week of 10/16, apx $150.00 before $130.00 after, that's Comfort Suites on the edge of town.