Magical mystery of synchronicity where history and nature join together to entice the mind and the senses!

Oldest national park in the United States located in the city of Maine. National park consists of 49,052 acres and includes mountains, ocean shorelines, woodlands, lakes, and islands. Park is home to different species of wildlife which includes raccoons, foxes, black bears, squirrels etc. You define what your day will be, get out and explore by foot, by car, by bike, take the roads less traveled, watch the sunrise from the mountaintop, see the star’s glitter at night and dine along the shore. Enjoy small inns to quiet campsites to fine hotels. One cannot claim to have truly experienced Maine without sampling specialties as lobster, clams, blueberry pancakes, and pie. While the park is open for the entire year but most park facilities close between late October and mid- May. (Tip: Fall is considered to be the best season to visit Maine but anytime after mid- May to October should be the good time to visit). (Tip: Many areas of Acadia have poor or no signal, if you are using your phone for navigation, make sure that you download an offline map of the area)

What we experience is our own concept of things so it’s important that in addition to just visiting the place, experience different things. This trip of mine has been a combination of few first-time experiences including camping in RV and Kaying. The trip on a memorial day weekend in 2018. Our (I am my other friend) journey started on Thursday evening from Washington Dc and drove to Jersey city. Two more friends joined from there and we started our journey Friday morning and in order to not stretch ourselves driving for a long time, we stayed in Boston and also visited few “To-Go” places like Boston downtown. Quincy market, Boson tea part.

One of the oldest city of United States – Boston: Massachusetts capital and largest city. (Tip: There is not much to do in Boston. If you just want to take a break from driving, you can stay in Boston but if you still want to enjoy the nature when you are taking a break look for other places on the way to Maine like Portland)

After spending the night in Boston, we started our journey to Acadia National park morning of Saturday. With a couple of stops for coffee and lunch was our major stop to pick up the RV (The most exciting part of the trip was to camp in RV). I booked the RV from https://rvshare.com/rvs/details/1029817. It was “2018 Thor Freedom Elite” and the owner (Joseph) of the RV was renting it for the first time. RV was in a really great shape and was stuffed with all the basic needs. Since we were driving the RV first time, he spent quite some time in explaining about the RV. Our campground was 1-hour driving distance from when we picked RV. There are many campgrounds around Acadia and ours was Mt Desert Narrows Camping Resort. (Tip to book RV: 1) Choose RV based on the number of people 2) Book based on the distance from your campground if you don’t want to drive for a long time. 3) Check the make of the RV (should not be too old, my personal preference) (Tip to book Campground: 1)Make sure you book the camping ground in advance. 2) For some campgrounds, minimum stay is for 2 days but for us, it was 3 days. 3) Should have 30 AMP power outlet. 4) Should have Wifi connectivity if that is important for you. 5) Should have shower and toilets)

Being a group of 6 people, I felt RV is cheaper than the hotel, so larger the group better is to book RV if you are ready for adventure. Staying in RV is an experience in itself and one should experience it. You can either have your own tent and just book the campground or rent an RV and park at your spot. The total cost for us (6 people) for 3 nights for both RV and campground was $1000 (Tip: Try to use the toilet and shower of the campground so that you don’t have to dump your gray and black water frequently from the RV)

Sneak peak of Mt Desert Narrows camping resort: Camping ground was really beautiful and we got the perfect spot with the ocean view. It was clean with good facilities. We enjoyed each and every moment spent from early morning tea till late night campfire.

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse: This was our first spot to visit after parking our RV in the campground. The lighthouse was built of brick in 1858 on a stone foundation. Parking is free and is open daily from 9:00 AM to sunset. We can never have enough of nature so grab a rock and enjoy the sunset. Power does not always matter, just see the persistence of water to cut through rocks.

Cadillac Mountains: This was our first spot on day two. At 1,530 feet, is the tallest mountain on Mount Desert Island and the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. Millions of years ago, the earth’s tectonic and volcanic forces pushed the land upward to form the mountains on the island. Then, during ice ages that followed sheared off the top leaving the rounded off appearance we see today.

This world is huge and needs to be explored and there is a reverent moment of silence once you are on top of the mountains. We did witness a wedding and you can also plan for destination wedding if you have the earnest desire to explore the unfathomed. Just writing about it brings back that experience in waves of gratification and awe.

Jordon Pond and Bar Harbor: Jordon pond is a lake formed from glaciers with a maximum water depth of 150 feet (46 m). The water is exceptionally clear with an average visibility depth of 46 feet (14 m). There are easy walk trails around the lake and you can enjoy the nature. Bar Harbor is a small town and has some great food places. It has some hidden harmony with blue water and serene green islands. The shore path runs along the shore with great views of the harbor and the islands. The path crosses a private property and you can enjoy your food and drinks. (Tip: Make sure you book the Kayaking tour in advance)

There is much more to see in Acadia National Park. Overall its a magical mystery of synchronicity and tonic of wildness. Thanks to my friends for making this trip memorable and looking forward to many more trips in future. Group of 6 people who knew very less or didn’t know each other but travel is something that united us.

DISCLAIMER: ALL PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG POST WERE TAKEN AND EDITED BY MY TRAVEL PARTNERS AND ME.