Last weekend, we visited Bangor, Maine and Acadia National Park, since they are both within a few hours drive from camp. This post is a compilation of my journal of that trip, our itinerary, and some general thoughts–in no particular order.
Bangor, Maine
I wanted to visit Bangor because it is known for being the home town of American Horror Author Stephen King. While I personally am not a fan of his, I am well aware of him because my mother has been a constant reader of his for as long as I can remember. I think she owns most–if not all– of his 65 published books–and if there’s one she doesn’t have, it is on her list to procure. And, because he cranks out new books at such a prodigious rate, I usually know what to get for her birthday or Christmas each year.
My mom comes from a long line of horror buffs. Fun fact, her grandfather was Louis Laemmle, brother of Carl Laemmle, who was the founder of Universal Studios and played a significant role in the rise of horror films. Carl Laemmle produced all the classic monsters films, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Invisible Man, and The Creature From the Black Lagoon. Louis Laemmle managed the Universal Film Exchange, and traveled around the world promoting, marketing, and exhibiting those films, and also managed dozens of movie houses.
So, I guess you could say that horror is in my mom’s DNA. I, however, did not get that gene (I am afraid of everything.) Another fun fact, though, my daughter Alyssa is an assistant editor for the American post-apocalyptic horror drama television universe, “The Walking Dead.” (the Daryl Dixon spinoff) So, I guess the horror gene skipped a generation.
When I was growing up, those Stephen King books really gave me the heebie-jeebies. I remember seeing them all over the house and flipping them upside down so I wouldn’t have to look at the creepy cover art. And I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I won’t watch horror movies, either. After all those films that my ancestors made–I have never even seen them. I know I would have terrible nightmares!
I specifically remember one time in the late 80’s when my friend Shelley invited a group of us to her house for a slumber party to watch scary movies. I loved slumber parties, and didn’t want to miss out on being with my friends, so I went. When we all zipped ourselves into our sleeping bags on the basement floor and she pressed “play” on her VCR, I closed my eyes tightly and prayed to God that I would fall asleep and miss seeing anything frightening. Amazingly, I woke up the next morning and didn’t remember a thing! Whether that was divine intervention or a terrified loss of consciousness, I may never know.
I wanted to prepare for my trip to Bangor and to appreciate some of the sites I would see, but not enough to watch that scary dancing clown or or anything. So, the best I could come up with was to stream Stephen King’s documentary, “A Necessary Evil.” I found it to be very interesting, and I only closed my eyes a few times. I came away from it with a real appreciation of King and his literary genius, as well as his great philanthropic actions. And the documentary didn’t give me nightmares. Well, maybe I had one little nightmare. But, its okay, whatever, I’m fine. To Bangor or bust!
Acadia National Park
I don’t have as much to say about Acadia National Park, but as you may remember from my previous posts, Dan and I are on a quest to visit every National Park–so we were excited to check it out. In my research, I learned that Acadia is one of the Top 10 most visited National Parks, and one of the toughest to navigate. So, based on that, I wanted to take the opportunity to go during this “off peak” season and take advantage of the last day they’d be running the free shuttle busses. We were looking forward to an adventurous weekend! Read on to see how it went.
Friday Night
We left Pike camp around 5pm and got to Bangor in about 2 hours. We chose to have dinner at a bbq restaurant called, “Smoke and Steel.” My review is that it was, “ok.” And that’s only because in the past Dan and I have had some of the most amazing bbq in the world (shout out to Lonnie Q’s and Oklahoma Joe’s), and (in my best Simon Cowell voice), “This was not that good.” We decided to start by splitting a 2-meat platter ($25) and then see if we wanted more after that. We got ribs and chicken with fries and tots. I love tater tots, but these tots were so over-seasoned and salty that I couldn’t finish them. We were underwhelmed with the meat, as well, so we decided not to order any more.
Our van-campsite for the night was Walmart Supercenter in Brewer, Maine. As we pulled up, we saw several RVs and camper vans in a large, dedicated space just to the side of the main parking lot. We went into the store and bought a few snacks and supplies before we climbed into our home-on-wheels, covered the windows, crawled into our comfy bed, and slept for eight peaceful hours.
Saturday
We started our day at Planet Fitness, which was conveniently just a few minutes from Walmart. We spent a couple hours there working out and then showering and getting ready, and then we headed to the first place on our itinerary–the Bangor European Market (at Ingrid’s).
The market was smaller than we expected–but still cute and fun. There were homemade baked goods, as well as meats, cheeses, and chocolates. We arrived right before they closed, so they were sold out of a lot of things. And we got a lot more attention and interaction than we would have chosen, but we also got a few deals and discounts. One woman tried desperately to get us to buy her spicy meat pies, but anybody that knows Dan knows he does not do spicy. We ended up buying a variety of treats–which lasted for several days– and a french baguette–which did not. (SO, SO yummy!!!)
Stephen King Stuff
First of all, I am laughing at myself for taking one of the all-time-great literary geniuses and using the word “stuff” in the title. I’m sure he would be appalled. Anyway, it’s what we did–the rest of our Saturday was spent chasing Stephen King stuff. This one’s for you, mom. Wish you were here in Bangor–I think you would have appreciated it more than I did!
Stephen King’s House
While no longer his primary residence, Stephen King still owns the home and it is not open for tours. There were several small groups of people standing outside taking photographs and stopping to pay homage to the, “King of Horror.” It would have been so cool to see him walk by–or catch a glimpse of him in the window–but it was enough for me just to see his house from the outside. (And besides, there could be ghosts in there)
The Derry Standpipe (Thomas Hill Standpipe)
If you are a Stephen King fan, you may recognize “The Derry Standpipe” from some of his novels. This is right down the street from his house in Bangor, and is actually called the Thomas Hill Standpipe. It is a marvelous feat of engineering and holds almost 2 million gallons of water for the surrounding area! But, Stephen King used to have nightmares about it and believed it was home to many evil spirits. I have to say, I didn’t feel a thing when I was there. But, maybe I would if I went back after dark?! Yeah, I think I’ll pass.
Dysart’s Truck Stop
Rumor has it that this Truck Stop inspired Stephen King’s novel called, “Trucks” (Later called, “Maximum Overdrive”). While I can’t tell you if that’s true–and I haven’t read the book–I can tell you they have some of the best blueberry pie I’ve ever tasted!!! And, as a side note, I learned that Maine is known for their amazing blueberries. So my advice to you is to go to Maine, get some blueberries, and try some Dysart’s blueberry pie!!!! You can thank me later.
Pet Sematary
Nope, I haven’t seen it. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that one, yet. I am curious why they spelled it that way, though? Anyway, I am sure my mom has seen it. We wanted to visit this location because parts of the movie were filmed here at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine.
I should also point out that there are a couple of gravestones at Mt. Hope Cemetery that sparked some literary inspiration for Stephen King. If you are a true fan, you might recognize these.
Evermore Tree Farm
No, it wasn’t a Stephen King site, but it was our van-campsite for the night. We slept at a Christmas tree farm in Orrington, Maine–a part of our Harvest Hosts membership. We left a $20 donation to adopt a tree.
There were a few things we liked and didn’t like about this spot. We were a little disappointed at first because we had envisioned being surrounded by tall Christmas trees, but they were actually all seedlings. And, our parking spot wasn’t exactly level, so I kept rolling into Dan in the night, and at several points I had him pinned tightly against the wall. Sorry, babe!
What I loved about the spot, though, was that it was East/West facing, so we watched the sun set out our front window and rise through our back window while we laid in bed snuggling (with Dan pinned against the wall. Ha Ha)
Sunday
We stayed in bed a little too long (you know, because of the sunrise and snuggles), so we got to Acadia later than we’d planned.
Acadia National Park
We arrived at the park around 10am. Everything I had previously read about Acadia being crowded was true. The parking lot was full, but we luckily snagged a spot in the oversized vehicle area. We put our annual National Parks pass in the window, and we were good to go exploring. As an aside, the annual National Parks pass cost us $70, and it costs $35 for a one day park pass to almost any park. So, our pass is paid for with two park visits, and, this was our second park!
The park is set up so that you can decide whether to hike the trails or drive and see the scenic overlooks–and we chose to drive since I am currently in a walking boot. There is a 27-mile Park Loop trail, which we at first intended to drive until we learned that there is a free shuttle that will take you to the major sites. And, we also learned that parking at the overlooks can be a challenge–especially with a large van like ours.
The busses run every 30 minutes, so if you get out at a site, you have to stay there and wait for the next bus to pick you up. We made a decision to stay on the bus and just get out at our top choice of destination–Jordan Pond. Unfortunately, we could not see much of anything from the bus windows–so next time we’ll probably just pick a place and the bus that goes directly there. I also wish there had been a guide on the bus with a microphone telling us a little about our surroundings. But, oh well. Just a note in case a park ranger happens to be reading my blog.
Jordan Pond is a beautiful lake in Acadia National Park, carved by an ancient glacier. I don’t think I have ever seen a body of water so crystal clear! The maximum depth is 150 ft, and you can still see the bottom! Because the lake supplies drinking water, there is no swimming or boating more than 10HP allowed.
The two mountains you see in this photo are called, “The Bubbles.”
In the future, we plan to visit Acadia when we come to camp, so there are a few things we want to remember.
- Arrive early to get good parking and avoid the crowds.
- Plan to explore one area per day for several hours. Sand Beach looked very interesting for our next visit.
- You need a reservation for Cadillac Mountain. Reservations go fast–so book it early.
- To get the best experience, be in hiking-condition, with two healthy feet! (Not in a walking boot.)
Bar Harbour
Bar Harbour was even more crowded than Acadia, if that’s possible. We circled around in the van for half an hour looking for parking, with no luck. Finally, we decided that I’d jump out of the van and go to a couple of shops and Dan would circle around and pick me back up. I went to the Rock and Art Shop–which has a cool curiosities display upstairs (spoiler alert, there is a mermaid!!). And, I went to Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium and bought some homemade blueberry ice cream for us to share. We drove out of town to a hotel parking lot and ate our ice cream in the van before making the 2.5 hour drive back to camp.
It was a great weekend in Bangor and Acadia National Park! We’ll probably make the same trip next summer–and we’ll use some of our notes from this time. If you’re planning a trip this way, feel free to try out some of our tips–and then share some of yours with us!
Next post–about “The Cog” and “The Kank”– coming soon!
XOXO,
Joanna
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