Day 5 - Acadia National Park/Jordan Pond

 Well, we didn't realize when leaving Otter Cove that we should have probably stayed at Otter Cove to eat our lunch.

 

We were anxious to check out Jordan Pond.

Jordan Pond has very nice hiking and bike trails and beautiful waterscapes, but it also has the Jordan Pond House on property which contains a restaurant and gift shop (I did not take the below photo)...

 It was much more crowded there than we would have liked. There was a parking lot, but it was pretty filled and people we getting irritated and grumpy over parking spaces. We had no intention of eating in the restaurant, we just wanted to find a place outside to sit for lunch. We started to realize we had probably made a mistake.

We did find a parking spot (not easily - but I won't get into that). We then found a trail and started walking along it...

  Yep - it was crowded. And it was actually starting to feel a bit warm (too warm). We found a spot near the lake with pretty views, but it wasn't really ideal. We still made it work.

We started eating our sandwiches and they were just meh. It's unfortunate because the breakfast bagels were so yummy that morning. The sandwiches were kind of tasteless...

After eating, we did take a few photos of our pretty view...

 

We went in the gift shop and walked around for a few minutes. It was insanely crowded in there. And then we saw the line to buy items was ridiculous. So, we knew it was time to leave and headed out of the park.

 

Overall, Acadia was a wonderful experience. We saw a lot, but wish we could have seen even more. It was a very busy time of year, so I'm happy we were able to see the things we did end up seeing.

We needed to get back to the hotel to freshen up for our next adventure. The lobster/seal watching boat excursion...

Day 5 - Acadia National Park/Otter Cove

 We drove a little further down the road and came across another beautiful site. 

This is Otter Cove (and Otter Cove Bridge in the distance)...

 

 

Up close view of the bridge...

Shells and rocks...
 

 

 

And here is the cove on the opposite side of the street...

We spent quite a while at this location too because it was so breathtaking.

But, we were getting hungry and decided to press on to one more location and eat lunch there. 

That is next...

Day 5 - Acadia National Park/Otter Point And Otter Cliff

Doug had purchased a park pass (which is valid for 7 days) and we were allowed to enter the park. We entered at the Sand Beach entrance, and from this point on for about half of Park Loop Road, it is all one way. Anything you pass or accidentally skip - you just can't get back to. So you need to drive slow and carefully to not miss anything. We had a bit of a wait to get through the gate that morning - the park was quite popular that day.

I did not take the following picture (Google image)...

We get through the gate and look at the map...

The first popular spot we came to was Sand Beach (sand beaches are rare in Maine). And it was completely packed. Not a parking place to be found there. We decide that it's not super important to hit that first spot, we've seen plenty of sand beaches and drive toward the next spot.

 That would be Thunder Hole. Ok good.

 Drive up to it. Packed again. No parking spaces to be found. We had to move on - again. It was ok - it was basically a blow hole and we've seen a number of blow holes before too.

 But, slight panic was beginning to set in. Were we going to be able to see anything at this park?

We realized now that going earlier would have been better, but as you know, we opted to stay and look at a foggy mountain earlier. We just didn't know. Sigh.

So what was next? Otter Point was next. Praying we would find parking. We did!

I think everyone was hitting and exploring the first two touristy spots and that gave us a chance to see and enjoy this third spot without too many people around.

We parked and walked to see this (beautiful view of Otter Cliff)...

And we saw this...

It was still a bit overcast, but it was beautiful...

 

We sat and enjoyed the water for a while.

 

When I checked the weather, the temps were beautiful - even without the sun...

 

 Bri gets cold easily though, and she felt that it was chilly without the sun. She had to borrow Doug's button down shirt for a little while as we were walking around there (she left her jacket in the car). 

We decided to walk around a little more, and as we did that, the sun started to come out! That would warm things even more. Yay!

After spending quite a bit of time at Otter Point, it was time to move on. It was so pretty there ~ it was difficult to leave.

Walking back to the car...

 

I can't tell you how happy I was to see the sun. It warmed things up and it highlights so many beautiful things. The sun would stay around for the rest of the afternoon!

Day 5 - Acadia National Park/Beaver Dam Pond & Schooner Peninsula Overlook

Before we "officially" entered Acadia National Park (through the Sand Beach entrance) we came across two really neat stopping points.

 Driving along Park Loop Road...

The first stopping point was Beaver Dam Pond. I have honestly never seen so many lily pads in one place in my life...

It was truly beautiful there...

 

Yes, we spotted a beaver dam in the distance...

And I did see a beaver swimming near the dam.

Then we came across a very pretty overlook (which overlooks the Schooner peninsula)...

It was still slightly foggy, but not even close to what we experienced on Cadillac. And it was still overcast, but we were just happy we could see something!

Next up, officially entering the park...