Looking at these photos makes me wish we were back on that hunk of rock, jutting out into the Atlantic. Of course, part of that is related to the fact that we’re still trying to remodel and unpack and we live in Central Texas and it’s August. I’m not going to talk about that anymore though. Nope. Let’s talk about Maine.

Before traveling to this absolutely stunning state my knowledge was pretty much summed up by one line from “Summer Magic.” Do you remember that old Hayley Mills movie? Her cousin comes to stay and she says something like, “if you must live in Maine, why not some-place-I-can’t-remember or Bar Harbor?” (Exact quotes are not my forte). Anyway, the name Bar Harbor stayed with me and now I’ve been there and eaten there and loved every minute. We actually spent the night in Bangor, not Bar Harbor because a friend had recommended a Bangor bakery ran by monks (yep, actual monks) and we never pass up the opportunity to eat baked goods lovingly created by friars and also, to actually sleep in Bar Harbor was $300 a night. Where was our RV, you ask? We left it outside Plymouth, Mass., and just drove the truck up for our days in Maine. We found that despite the fact our F-250 has an extra long bed, it’s still easier to drive through mountains and over narrow bridges than our 39-foot Fifth Wheel. Go figure.

Now that we’re all up to speed, let’s talk about Acadia National Park.

You know that ice breaker game where you have to choose between the beach or the mountains? Well, Acadia is the end of that twisted, sadistic challenge. We got sand between our toes and breathed heavenly pine all in one day and it was good. We also learned about beavers and held the teeniest, sweetest little turtle ever. We felt the power of Thunder Hole and stood on Otter Point and wished the whole time that we could stay longer.

Around every turn, we saw something that made us gasp (in a good way). The girls ran ahead and doubled back to tell us, “this is really cool! Hurry up!” Danny and Paige climbed rocks over a narrow ledge where water falls into the ocean and the two of us who don’t like to court death, roamed the beach and climbed a small, non-scary hill.