Coast to Coast: From the PNW to the Atlantic Ocean!

We are even more in love with New Hampshire after our drive today. Falling leaves, vibrant colours, cozy towns, pumpkins and scary scarecrows everywhere—made it feel like the movie Sleepy Hollow at Halloween. We love where we live and are so lucky to live on the best street with such amazing people. Still, there is something magical about all these fall colours and it is fun to dream. I realize I’m saying this in a euphoric “fall bubble” with no experience of east coast winters.

Two very angry honey badgers joined us for the drive today. I’m not sure what was in the air, but Ariel and Wyatt fought the entire way to Bar Harbor. So much for losing ourselves in the pleasant scenery, lol. Sadly for Ariel and Wyatt, the fighting ruined their dreams of having ice cream at our next destination. We’re hoping for a better day tomorrow when we drive through Acadia NP.  

As of today we’ve completed the journey from one coast to the other. The kids saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, and it might be my first time seeing the open waters of the Atlantic too. We arrived at Bar Harbor KOA with plenty of time to explore. The kids loved playing on the shore and exploring the low tide zone. One of our summer traditions is camping at Deception Pass on the WA coast and exploring at low tide. In University, I took a course focused on the tidal zones. It was the hardest course I have ever taken (yes harder than calculus), but being able to talk to Ariel and Wyatt about the organisms they are seeing now made all that hard work worth it.   

One of Ron’s “must-dos” for this trip was to eat a lobster roll in the state of Maine. So, armed with some internet research, we were off to Bar Harbor in search of the best lobster roll. We decided on the Thirsty Whale, and it was the right call. The beautiful seaside town of Bar Harbor was busy today. With all the tourists here for the fall colours, driving through with our big diesel truck was a challenge. If you are exploring this part of Maine I recommend arriving during the week and not the weekend. That being said, all of the loops through town to find parking were worth it. Ron’s lobster roll and New England Clam Chowder were the best he ever had. He was all smiles.

We explored the cute shops, walked down to the harbor, and then headed back to camp for a relaxing evening.  The kids were excited to play on the beach again and they made some more friends.  Maggie and Remi spent their time fixated on a chipmunk, which has made his home close to our camp. Ron and I looked at our map of Acadia National Park to figure out where to explore tomorrow.  Our camp neighbours, Pat and Lauren, told us where to find an authentic Philly Cheesesteak if we drive through Philadelphia. We will see if we can make it happen. Our next drive is a long one, so we’re cautious about making detours that add length to our day. We both agree if we were to do this again, we’ll keep our drives under 4 hours. Yes dad you were right, lol.  

We had some nice fireside chats with dear friends (M2 and D2, John and Naomi, and Amanda and Dickson) who we have not been able to see for a while. That ended our day on a high note. Then, we tucked ourselves into bed and listened to the waves rolling along the shore. 

Good night again from Maine!