A few of the "MAINE" things that we wanted to do....Day 2 in Acadia and Bar Harbor

Our first full day in Maine started of with a beautiful sunset out of our hotel room. The sun rises here at about 5:00 a.m. right now and it is our own little wake-up call.

We chose this Hampton Inn in Bar Harbor for many reasons. One is that we are Hilton people and love our Hampton Inns and Hilton properties. We love the free breakfast and WiFi and this specific Hampton Inn is only about 3 -5 years old and is beautiful!!  We found out that it is the only seasonal Hilton property in the United States. It is only open from about April - October.

another bonus...Hampton Inn's grab and go breakfast bags with water/fruit and snacks

If you know us, you know that when we travel with Carleigh and Katie...we have to find the unique coffee shops. We were incredibly successful in Bar Harbor. Thanks to TripAdvisor we found Coffee Hound and it is incredible. The girls give it 5 stars!

Downtown Bar Harbor was very quiet at 7:30 in the morning and we explored a bit before heading into Acadia to find the visitors center before heading an hour out of Acadia to our adventure for the day.

We found the park entrance and we were off...

Hulls Cove Visitor Center entrance

We got our bearings and made plans for tomorrow for our big day in Acadia. Then we were off to Millbridge, Maine to meet up with Captain Robertson of Robertson Boat Tours for a 3 hour Puffin and Sea Birds tour.

He had recommended a quick, early lunch t the Millbridge House.

We found the boat and boarded. He was on board with his 2 sons, his dog Doc and it was a beautiful and sunny early afternoon,

First stop was to see some harbor seals sunbathing on an "island" of rocks. They were fun to watch as they slid on and off the rocks.

We then headed to Petit Manan island. We didn't go on the island, just sailed around it. From the tour website, "For more than a century Petit Manan light has ensured the safe travel for passing vessels. The lighthouse now provides a safe sanctuary for hundreds of seabirds including our favorite Atlantic Puffin during the months of mid-May through mid-August." 

Puffins on the ledges

We left Petit Manan island and headed to see a few others.

As we were nearing the end, I kept getting Severe Thunderstorm Warning notifications on my phone for the area that we were in...Yep! In front of us was getting very dark. Our captain was obviously concerned and decided to cut our tour short by about 30 minutes and head back in.

It was VERY dark in front of us and bright blue sky behind us. The storm just sort of appeared. It wasn't forecast until much later in the afternoon. He did a great job of getting us to the dock about 5 minutes before the heavens opened and we had blinding rain, hail and big winds.

I was a bit concerned, and had total faith in him. Lots of lightning on the water as we were approaching and the wind was picking up. He mentioned that he was watching the trees sway as we pulled in to decide if we would be able to dock. I was hoping our 3 hour tour would not turn into Gilligan's Island.

He did a great job and we were all safe in our car before the big stuff started falling. Our hour drive back to the hotel was a little dicey and we had the rain/hail and wind for part of it.  We got back to the room and relaxed and rested before heading back out for our evening of fun. 

(We like to call this part of our vacation days Preschool Nap Time. This was the mid-day rest period that we started doing anytime we traveled with the girls when they were very little. The title of Preschool Nap Time has stuck and today with 17 and 19 year olds, we still have Preschool Nap Time when we travel. Don loves this time!! ) 

We all changed and got ready for dinner and headed down into Bar Harbor. We found a fun little Pub to eat at, The Dog and Pony Tavern. 

After dinner we wandered around Bar Harbor for a bit before heading to our improv show. In researching Bar Harbor, I knew this was our first trip with "adult children" and didn't want to just go back to the hotel room after dinner every night. So, I stumbled upon ImprovAcadia and it had great reviews!! The improv actors are straight from Second City in Chicago, which Don told me breeds many of the Saturday Night Live stars.  They relocate to Bar Harbor for the summer and perform 2 shows an evening at this venue.

No cameras allowed inside and it was an awesome show! So much fun and we all laughed a lot! It was a great night!

After the show, we headed back to the hotel to gear up for our first Acadia day tomorrow!

Stay tuned for the day that Don and Laura turn 20!  

Also, the Rahns explore Acadia...highlights include Bubble Rock, Jordan Pond, popovers and Cadillac Mountain!

The Rahns Embark on the "MAINE" Event of our Summer! Day 1

Summer is finally here for us and we are off on our big vacation for this summer. We are heading to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine for 5 days.

Follow along with us as we explore Maine and create new memories and have typical Rahn adventures!!

Arrival and Day 1...here we go!

We left Virginia bright and early only to be delayed by one hour before we even left Dulles. We had to wait for our flight crew and then we were off to Portland International Jetport. Yep, that's the name of the Portland Airport in Maine.

We landed and got our rental car and we were off for the 4 hour road trip to Bar Harbor up Route 1....

Our first stop was about an hour down the road in Wiscasset. Thanks to TripAdvisor and the many hours that I spent planning this trip, I found some fun places to stop and eat/visit as we drove to Bar Harbor.

We ate a a great outdoor roadside little "mall" (at least that's what they called it). Sprague's Lobster was our lunch spot.

Great views of the water here in Wiscasset!

Next stop about another hour down the road at Lincolnville Beach. We didn't swim, just stopped to appreciate the area, stretch our legs and get a drink.

On to Bucksport and this great bridge that we crossed. It was pretty impressive.

We also stopped in the little town of Bucksport for ice cream at Wahl's Dairy Port.

Another 45 minutes to ours hotel and we were at our home away from home for the next 4 nights.

The view from our room - the water in the distance and we were told beautiful sunrises.

We had a corner room, so we also had a mountain view out of the other window.

After settling in to our room we ventured into Bar Harbor to find dinner. We had reservations at a very fun restaurant near the water, Galyn's.

Katie had her first lobster!

We saw a beautiful sunset over the water in downtown Bar Harbor.

After the sun set, we drove into Acadia because we were going to do one of the ranger-led events that evening, We were doing "The Stars Over Sand Beach." This was a one hour ranger talk about the night sky in Acadia on Sand Beach (inside the park).

We arrived at Sand Beach before the sun went totally down, so we had some fun with pictures.

It started getting dark and the rangers came and started setting up! They had a speaker system and also a laser pointer that they used to point out parts of the night sky for us to look at...stars, constellations, planets, satellites...

Selfie on sand beach

After the Sand Beach adventure, we headed back to our hotel room. 3:45 a.m. was a long time ago! We have arrived in Maine and will conquer Acadia and Bar Harbor in pure Rahn style! Very little down time, and lots of adventures!

Stay tuned for Day 2 as we search for Puffins and avoid being stranded a la Gilligan's Island. We also take in an Improv Show! 

As you all know, it's Seldom A Dull Moment when the Rahns go on vacation!