The Adventures of Matt and Stacey: Maine

Maine marks a kind of apex to the trip; here we reached our farthest point east and paused for a week before turning back west again, toward our new home. We planned a longer stay in Acadia, knowing that we'd need as many days as possible to enjoy the sparkling lakes and gorgeous coastlines. It was a place to rest and relax, to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary (albeit slightly early), and to reflect a little before launching ourselves westward in the last leg of our journey.

We spent our first night in Maine with Matt's sister and brother-in-law, Alissa and Steve, who just happened to be on vacation in Maine, too. Steve's family has a house right along the coastline in New Harbor, and we arrived in time for a late-afternoon walk along the coast before dinner.

An afternoon walk along rocky Maine coastline

Lupines in the yard

Local flair

Reflections in the water

The next day, we headed for Acadia. Both Matt and I had been to the park before, so we knew that this week was going to be a good one. Acadia covers much of Mt. Desert Island, and the park is known for its rugged coastline, extensive network of carriage roads, and over 100 miles of hiking trails. The diversity of life and scenery here is almost unparalleled. We hopped over tide pools by the coast, dipped our toes in pristine freshwater lakes, explored bogs and forests, and climbed granite cliffs to survey it all. When the east side of the park got too crowded, we headed over to the west side (the "quiet side") for some solitude. Matt also ate his fill of fresh lobsters from some of the island's many lobster pounds, and we made a ridiculous number of trips to the very best ice cream store on the planet. Sadly, we were too early for blueberry season, but we did find some homemade blueberry jams at a roadside stand. Here are some highlights from the week: