Bar Harbor Day #1

Last week we took a short trip to Bar Harbor, which is located "down east", to me its "up the coast"...but anyhow...off we went on a gorgeous spring day. The first stop was at Moodys Diner . After having a delicious and homemade breakfast (and one of homemade doughnuts) we were off on the next part of our trip. These cabins have always caught my eye as they are so pretty in their pastel colors.

Bar Harbor is one of the most beautiful places in Maine. Its about a three hour drive from here and a beautiful one. We go through gorgeous Camden and through pretty little coastal villages. When we arrive in Bar Harbor we always head to Acadia National Park and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. "I'm on top of the world" goes through my mind when I am there. This is where the first rays on the sun hit the eastern seaboard. I've never been able to get up THAT early to experience it but I have it on my to-do list!

I found a lichen heart on one of the paths on the summit.

And here was a beautiful little violet growing through a crack in the pathway that circles the summit.

We watched a storm moving in and around us. This is overlooking Frenchman's Bay. When I saw lightning flash across the sky we knew we had better get to the car, not the best place to be in a lightning storm!

We took a stroll through downtown Bar Harbor. The season hasn't started yet and we had the luxury of not having to wait in line to get into a restaurant. We chose Geddy's. What a fun place to eat!

Beer served in a brown paper bag.....

My taco salad was served in a hubcab!

We got to color on the placemats, something I've always wanted to do.

Even Mark got in on the fun. Notice the artwork behind Mark! I will do another post later on about the rest of our trip.

Lady Slippers

We hiked a trail this afternoon and Mark spotted the second group of ladyslippers to be found this season.

This was the prettiest pink shade.

These appear to be yellow in color.

The above photo was taken yesterday, May 5th at Acadia National Park where we spent the day. These yellow ladyslippers are the first sighting of the spring, the earliest I think I have ever seen them.

This photo was also taken in Acadia at the Wildflower Garden. I will post more about our visit to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park later. I just wanted to share the lovely ladyslippers with you all! Now it's official-SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

Nice weekend!

The weekend was packed full of adventures. Friday night we went to the Portland Sea Dogs baseball game. The day had been warm and it was a great night for a ballgame.

Saturday morning we headed to Southport Island where we hiked for the first time Hendrick's Head Trail. It was another gorgeous day with plenty of sun!

Of course I found a heart on the trail!

Later in the afternoon we took a picnic lunch to Ocean Point. We were intrigued by the lobster boat towing several docks, one with a small skiff on it. It was so peaceful sitting on the rocks with an occasional seagull cry.

I found a big heart on the shore...

Sunday was Mark's first day of vacation so off we headed to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This was our first trip of the season, the last time I was there I was snowshoeing with a friend. Doesn't seem that long ago actually. The temperature was close to 70 and the gardens were coming to bloom throughout. The tulips were so pretty and the varieties were amazing. I had never seen most of these tulips before. We wandered the entire garden and hiked along a shorefront trail, a climb up and up near a small waterfall and back through the forest.

These are simply stunning.

Who cannot help but smile with such beauty in front of them? I now wished I had written down the names of the different tulips.

We will have to go back for another visit when more blooms appear later this spring.