Crazy 8 – Day 6: Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park

 One of the nicest things about this morning was that we didn't have to pack our bags and load the cars! After several days of moving from place to place, it felt pretty wonderful to get up, have our coffee and breakfast, and get ready at a much more leisurely pace.

But first, a little follow-up from Day 5! Remember The Woodshed and all those cars and people we saw with umbrellas yesterday? We had actually thought about eating there, but with the rain and the crowd, we kept moving. Well, AFTER I posted yesterday’s blog, I found out what was going on! 😂 The Maine Cabin Masters were holding their final Lobster Bake of the 2026 season there that afternoon, with Chase, Ashley, Ryan, Jedi and Dixie meeting fans. So now we know what all that commotion was about! Would knowing have made us stand in those lines in the rain? Probably not! 😂☔🦞 But at least we would have known what we were driving away from!

Onto Day 6's Blog - We left the house around 9:30 and headed into Bar Harbor for our first full day in Maine.

We parked near Grant Park and started our morning with some beautiful views of Frenchman Bay. Of course, that meant stopping for pictures — lots of pictures!

Another beautiful view along the Shore Path taken by David— even the boats had a pretty nice backdrop! 

We spotted Wayne’s yacht out on Frenchman Bay, but unfortunately he had rented it out for the day, so we had to continue our sightseeing on foot. 😂⛵

We even spotted a little preview of fall along the Shore Path — just a few leaves beginning to show their beautiful Maine colors. 🍁

I did a little research on Frenchman Bay and learned that it is part of the Gulf of Maine and lies between Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula. The bay is dotted with islands, including the Porcupine Islands that can be seen from Bar Harbor. Frenchman Bay also has a long maritime history, and its name is a reminder of the French presence in this part of Maine centuries ago.

After enjoying the views, we started walking up through town toward the shops, and naturally I grabbed a a picture of the flowers along the way.

I believe our first shopping stop was the Christmas Vacation Shop. And yes...purchases may have been made. 😂🎄

While we were there, Freida asked the gentleman helping us where he recommended we go for lunch. He suggested Meet Me at Geddy's, so we tucked that information away for later.

Next stop was Cool as a Moose, where we did a little more looking around — and perhaps a little more shopping. 😉 

Some pictures of our fun shopping!

The guys found themselves a new Maine buddy at Cool as a Moose! 🫎😂

Mark found a Golden in the window!! 

Mark found his shirt! 😂 “Easily Distracted by Dogs” — although we all know it’s REALLY Golden Retrievers that get his attention! 🐾❤️

This is evidence for the above photo! Peep the dog.

Michael took off towards the firehouse to grab a picture.

We found these signs in one of the shops and had to laugh! 😂 “Lobstah,” “Bah Haba,” “dinnah,” “buttah” and “wicked good!” And these aren't just made-up tourist sayings — they're based on a genuine Maine accent. After spending some time here, we've definitely heard a little of it for ourselves! 😂🦞

Susan made a new friend outside Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium — Baxter the lobster! 🦞🍦 Baxter even had his own little introduction hanging around his neck, but naturally we photographed Susan and Baxter and NOT the sign telling us his story! 😂 And apparently Ben & Bill’s even sells lobster ice cream — we weren’t quite that adventurous!

Apparently shopping in Bar Harbor requires a rest stop too! 😂 A few of the Crazy 8 taking a little break — shopping bags and all. 🛍️

By then, sightseeing and shopping had worked up an appetite, so we decided it was time to take that lunch recommendation and headed to Meet Me at Geddy's.

Making our way through beautiful Bar Harbor to Geddy’s for lunch!

Geddy's Menu

And because we are in Maine, you will be absolutely shocked to learn that more lobster rolls were involved! 😂🦞

Wayne, Freida, Judi, Michael and Susan all ordered the Mini Lobster Bake — fresh-picked native lobster meat on a New England-style roll, served with a cup of their famous clam chowder and a blueberry cream cheese tart.

Mark went with fish and chips, David ordered a wood-fired pizza, and Grace had the MDI American Burger.

And because I had to remind myself what MDI stood for, it is Mount Desert Island, the island where Bar Harbor and much of Acadia National Park are located.

After lunch, we decided to walk back toward the car along the waterfront. It was an absolutely beautiful day for it — blue skies, sunshine, beautiful water and those wonderful Maine coastal views.

Wayne & Freida — sunshine, blue skies and beautiful Bar Harbor. What a gorgeous Maine day! ❤️

Back at the car Mark and I had worked on getting our vehicle reservations for Cadillac Summit Road, so once we got those secured we left Bar Harbor and headed into Acadia National Park and up Cadillac Mountain.

At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard of the United States. As we made our way up, the views just kept getting better, but once we reached the summit — WOW!

Mountains, islands, Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic stretched out below us, and we certainly had the perfect weather for seeing it all.

We spent some time at the summit taking pictures, enjoying the scenery and reading the National Park Service signs that helped us understand exactly what we were seeing.

One of the signs, “Cadillac Highlights,” explained that Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard and the only mountain in Acadia with a motor vehicle road to the top.

Another, appropriately titled “Islands Galore!”, helped identify some of the many islands spread out below us.

Michael at the top of Cadillac Mountain — 1,530 feet above sea level, with Frenchman Bay and the islands of Maine behind him. ❤️ And naturally, the retired firefighter brought a little fire department history along for the view! 🚒

Another sign, “From Shores to Summits,” pointed out landmarks in the distance, including Schoodic Peninsula, the Porcupine Islands and Winter Harbor. It really helped put into perspective just how much we could see from 1,530 feet above sea level. Well let me be honest I saw a lot of people using the maps to locate the islands however I was just memorized by the views. 

It was one of those places where pictures are beautiful, but they really don't quite capture what it looks like when you're standing there.

After coming back down Cadillac Mountain, we weren't finished with Acadia National Park yet. We continued on to another area of the park, and as we entered this section, we had to show our park pass again before continuing along the Park Loop Road toward the coast.

Our next stop was Thunder Hole, one of Acadia's best-known spots along its rocky Atlantic shoreline.

Thunder Hole — not much thunder while we were there, but the scenery certainly didn't disappoint! 🌊😂

Thunder Hole gets its name from what can happen when waves rush into a narrow inlet in the rocks. Under the right conditions, the water and trapped air create a deep booming sound that resembles thunder.

We walked down to the scenic area, enjoyed the beautiful rocky coastline and took some pictures before making our way back to the cars.

By this point, apparently we had seen enough mountains and ocean for one afternoon because our next mission was considerably more important — finding ice cream! 😂🍦

We ended up at Udder Heaven Ice Cream Retreat, and with a name like that, how could we possibly drive by?

Once we pulled in, we discovered that choosing the place was the easy part. Choosing an ice cream flavor was another matter entirely! There we stood, all lined up in front of the menu studying our options like there might be a test afterward. 😂

After everyone finally made their selections and enjoyed our ice cream, it was time to start heading back toward the house. The rest of the group headed home, while Michael and I made one more little detour to pick up some KFC for his dinner.

What we hadn't counted on was apparently hitting Maine rush hour! 😂 We first found traffic trying to get off Mount Desert Island near the park, and then continued through Trenton and on to Ellsworth in search of KFC. I think we found their rush hour!!! What sounded like a quick little dinner run turned into a bit more of an excursion than we had planned!

But we eventually found our KFC, got Michael's dinner and made our way back through Trenton to the house.

Mission accomplished! 🍗😂

And with that, Day 6 was winding down.

We had packed a lot into one absolutely beautiful Maine day — Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor, a little shopping, lobster rolls and clam chowder, spectacular views from Cadillac Mountain, the rocky coast at Thunder Hole and, of course, ice cream at Udder Heaven.

And perhaps best of all, when we got back to the house, there were still no suitcases to pack for tomorrow morning! 😂

Day 6 is in the books...and tomorrow the Crazy 8 will be off to see what else we can find in Maine! ❤️