Enjoying Acadia National Park, pop-overs and more glorious sunshine

I've gotta tell you, Maine is turning on the most amazing weather. Today has been another perfect day full of sunshine and bright blue skies. And we have been out all day enjoying it!



We are now on Mt Desert Island (pronounced 'dessert', as in sweets, by most people here) and home to Acadia National Park. It's Mid Coast Maine at it's finest. Lots of little inlets and seaside villages, boats in deep blue waters, craggy coast lines with the woods right down to the coastline and stark white homes peeping through at the waters edge... and of course lots and lots of tourists.

We arrived in darkness late last night and wandered into the centre of the town of Bar Harbor for breakfast this morning... sitting in the sun overlooking the village square. There were quite a few people around, and it seems everyone is enjoying such a beautiful place to be out and about.

There are free mini shuttle buses around much of the island, encouraging visitors to leave their cars at their hotels or off the island all together, and they service many of the local sights and walking trails. Cyclists seem to love the place too and despite the numbers of people, the pace is still very mellow.

We ventured along the coast jumping on and off the buses where we pleased, walked along beachside trails dipping our feet in the ocean (yikes that was cold) and being introduced to the delights of pop-overs at the cafe on the edge of Jordan Pond.

For those of you that have not had the pleasure, a pop-over is not unlike a yorkshire pudding. Quite large and puffy and slightly crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside.

It seems they have them with anything from lobster stew or clam chowder to a sweet option with butter and jam. Both Mum and I opted for the sweet and balanced it with a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, which came with a small jug of sugar water on the side (which it needed!)





Afterwards we walked around Jordan Pond, a total of just over 3 miles, which was really lovely (and hopefully walked off much of the pop-overs!), and then around the village of Northeast Harbor before heading back to Bar Harbor.

We are hoping to stay until Monday when the weather is forecast to change, and then start heading south to Boston.