Bar Harbor, Maine is a historic coastal town on Mount Desert Island that evolved from an Indigenous Wabanaki homeland into a Gilded Age summer playground. It is also the primary gateway to Acadia National Park and will be our home for three nights.

Our first stop was for a popover, a hugely popular treat here since 1895. Their hollow, airy, custard-like structure makes them ideal vessels for melting butter, regional blueberry jam, ice cream, or chowder. Derived from British Yorkshire pudding recipes brought over by early settlers, popovers became deeply embedded in coastal Maine's culinary identity. They did not disappoint.

Steve's goal in Maine is to find the perfect Lobster Roll. While this one was good, he has not succeeded with his mission.

My haddock au gratin, on the otherhand, has me wanting it again and again. Yum.

Bar Harbor provides a lot of fun photo opportunities. Even on a rainy day, the town is colorful.

We leave here Friday. We are just moments ahead of "Closed for the Season". We start heading south soon.

It was established by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 with 6,000 acres. It now covers more than 49,000 acres thanks to the remarkable dedication and philanthropy of wealthy private citizens such as Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. It is the only national park fully funded by private citizens. How cool is that?

It seems that many of those 3 million tourists chose today to visit the Park. Parking was unattainable in the hot spots. The Loop Road (a 27-mile ride along Oceanside cliffs and through mountain forests) was one with bridges which were far lower than our camper height of 12'9" so we had to pivot from our original Acadia plans.

How beautiful is the Brown Mountain Gatehouse? Built in 1932 by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to control access to Acadia's motor-free carriage roads, it was designed by prominent New York architect Grosvenor Atterbury. It is styled in a picturesque, provincial French Romanesque/Le Puis district fashion to reflect the island's early colonial ties to France. Built with rich brick/masonry textures, a semi-octagonal foundation, gate towers, and a quadrilateral grounds scheme with a unifying fence, it is out-of-place but gorgeous. It is man-made beauty nestled in nature. Wow.

“In wisdom gathered over time

I have found that every experience

is a form of exploration.”

― Ansel Adams