Acadia adventure day number two, this is what a mommy adventure looks like.
Boppy, diaper bag, and baby.
Let's do this.
Today.
We have an action packed day ahead of us.
We're going to be hiking a disappearing trail to an island and Dash is going to be summiting
his very first mountain.
To get this crazy adventure started and take on this disappearing hike, we are headed back
to Bar Harbor, Maine.
We just parked in downtown Bar Harbor and this is something I've referenced on previous
videos as well.
We're using Park Mobile to pay for parking.
We've seen it widely used in cities all across the United States.
So if you're traveling abroad in the US here, make sure to download Park Mobile and you
will be putting it to use.
You'll also notice that today I remembered to add Dash's little head thing a madoochie
to my baby carrier, because I think his hair got a little blonder yesterday in the sun.
So what makes this trail really unique is it's only actually available a couple hours
a day and it has to be during low tide.
Usually this is covered by water.
Are you awake, Mister?
No.
Checking in on Dash.
Okay.
Maybe we'll stick his toes in on the way back.
If he wakes up.
While here, you will notice that there are some vehicles.
It is drivable.
Although you'll not find a lot of cars because the window to get out to the island is so
short.
Not only that, but there's no parking for vehicles on the island.
So that's kind of a thing too
That's true.
And if high tide rolls back in, your vehicle is going to be stuck.
So you essentially have an hour before peak low tide and an hour and a half after peak
low tide.
Now low tide changes from day to day by as much as 50 minutes.
So it's important to check the tide levels before you embark on your hike.
We're about half across the trail at this point.
And considering it's only about a half a mile out to the island, it's pretty quick little
walk.
We have officially made it to the island, which means we're entering Acadia National
Park again.
I think that's one of the most interesting things about this national park, it's so spotty
as to where the land starts and ends.
It's really cool.
Waking up.
And again, maybe not.
His eyes are open just a little.
If you miss your exit, you have two options.
One is that you can pay a water taxi, $150 to get you back to land.
And the second option is to wait nine hours for low tide again.
This little window is closing at 2:00.
So if you add nine hours, you'd be sitting here until 11:00 PM before you could make
it back to land safely.
So just make sure you don't miss your three hour window.
The trail up Bar Harbor is about a mile straight up.
At the top here we'll have a gorgeous view of the summit and be able to see Bar Harbor
and the park where we were hanging out at yesterday.
I would note if you aren't used to hiking, I might not take a newborn on this, but Daniel
and I've done a lot.
So I'm pretty comfortable.
We're just taking it slow.
[inaudible 00:03:56].
He's like, "Mommy, that's sunshine.
I don't want it on my face."
Okay.
You're good buddy.
It is really pretty though.
Oh, that feels good.
That [inaudible 00:04:20] doesn't it?
Here we go, this is Dash's first mini little summit and we're going to do a much bigger
summit a little bit later today.
Right Dash?
When we take on Cadillac Mountain.
Are you excited about that?
Cadillac Mountain.
Yeah.
What do you think about that?
Was this like a good practice run.
Oh, there you go.
See.
Time to head back down before the tide comes back in.
Since we're obviously going to be fine on beating the tide in, I think it's time to
let Dash stick his toes in the water.
Oh, the wind feels so good.
Ready?
Are you ready little man?
First time.
Ready?
Oh goodness.
Oh no.
That was like too much.
Too cold?
One day you will learn to love the ocean.
That day is just not today.
Good news.
It looks like there is no water taxi in our future today, but it is time for a truck stop.
If you do come and visit Bar Harbor, Maine and stay one of the campgrounds or in a bed
and breakfast, which there look like there are a lot of really cute ones out here.
You're probably pretty close to a bus stop because they have a bus that runs all the
way around the island.
But that being said, with a newborn, bringing the truck with us is so much more convenient.
It means we don't have to pack everything and carry it on us.
Like it would, if we were going to go on the bus.
So truck stop means we can switch from carrier to stroller, means I can have a private place
to feed Dash.
It just worked out really, really nice.
Even though parking can be a little bit of a bear.
Much better.
Now that the baby's fed, it's time to go grab lunch.
Are you happy, baby Dash?
Now that we grabbed lunch at a cute little local spot, it's time to work on that summit
number two, but it's feeling like rain.
Now we are on our way to Cadillac Mountain.
And if you think you're going to head to Cadillac Mountain without a reservation, think again,
my friends.
Because Cadillac Mountain, at least the road portion of it requires a reservation.
And there are two main blocks of reservations.
There's the sunrise block of reservations, which is the most coveted that requires you
to be up, read online as early as approximately 3:00 to 4:00 AM for an early rise, because
you've got to get to the gate and you've got to make your way to the top of the mountain
and then get situated before sunrise.
So 3:00 to 4:00 AM is not in the cards for us with a newborn, but then there's the day
pass or daytime passes, which come in different 30 minute increments.
So we've scheduled the 3:00 to 3:30 increments.
We've scheduled the 3:00 to 3:30 time slot.
And apparently there are sticklers about time slots.
You can stay up on the mountain as long as you'd like, but you have to be there at the
appropriate time.
So don't think you're going to show up an hour late and your pass is still going to
work.
So from what we've heard, at least it will not, and they will not let you proceed through
the gate.
So because of that, it is 3:04.
We've got about 20 minutes to get there.
17 minutes away, 9.5 miles from downtown Bar Harbor.
You can hike up the mountain too, and that doesn't require a reservation, but again,
not in the cards for us right now with a newborn.
We just passed through the main gate and they scanned our reservation and we got straight
through.
Another important note is that you also need your park pass as well.
And we have our annual national park pass.
So if you don't have one, pick one up.
It's starting to sprinkle, which is not a great sign.
We are about 3.2 miles from the gate to the summit.
So we'll see what happens when we get to the top.
It's starting to open up already, kind of see it in the background here.
So we'll see what the summit looks like.
Okay.
We just made it to Cadillac Mountain, which is the highest point in the north Atlantic
seaboard.
Coming in at 1,527 feet.
So we made it to the second summit for the day.
And mom is really pumped.
This one is going to be a lot less work.
It's beautiful.
Incredible.
This is the highest point in the north Atlantic seaboard coming in at 1,530 feet.
And this is the tallest of 26 mountains and the only one that you can drive a car to the
summit.
I know it's not common, but I've heard on rare occasions that a moose has been spotted
in the area.
And if we're lucky enough, maybe we'll see one.
So we're going to keep an eye out.
A moose on the mountain?
You never know.
We'll just see what happens.
Quick.
I heard that some tourists spotted a moose just over this ridge here.
Oh wait.
There it is.
Dash wants his moose back.
That is not a real moose.
Okay.
So maybe our chances of seeing a moose on the mountain are just, it's just not in the
cards for us today.
Look, I found a baby moose on the mountain.
Look at how cute this baby moose is.
Now that the baby moose is back off into the wilderness.
We're going to go check out those carriage roads.
You ready baby Dash?
We just made it to the Eagle Lake trailhead here for carriage road.
So it's about 5:45 in the afternoon.
And I think one of the things that I love about a walk like this down carriage road
is that if we lived in sticks and bricks, we would probably be doing a walk very similar
to this.
But because we live in the Airstream and are doing the RV life thing, this is where we
get to do it.
And it's really magical.
After summiting two mountains today, somebody is getting a little sleepy.
So I think it's time to head back to the Airstream.
After spending time in Acadia National Park and in Bar Harbor, honestly, we were hesitant
to leave Maine, but as available campgrounds with 50 amp hookups aren't super easy to find
in the Northeast, we've got to stick to our travel plans and head to the next state.
What we don't know yet is that this may be one of the most surprisingly delightful places
we've explored since we moved into the Airstream almost two years ago.
Curious as to where this special place is, subscribe to our channel and hit the bell.
That way you'll get a notification when it comes out next week.
But until then my friend, take it from the baby moose, wander local.
It's good for the soul.