In October of 2006 I was feeling great and ready to push myself in my next marathon. I was working as a freelancer, had just gotten married earlier in June and although my days were often packed with not only work but also the commute required to get to work… I still was able to get some good miles in! My Dad and Mom were always ready to be my travel companions when I’d plan a destination marathon race! So they came along as well as my sister Kristen and her shitzu Wookie (the East 5th St. mayor in NYC)!
I didn’t realize how looonnnggg the drive would be from NJ to Bar Harbor. Mapping it, the distance was about 500 miles, which is very similar to the miles I would drive from NJ to Ohio to see family. I could do that in my sleep! I picked up my sister in the city, then we continued over to JFK airport to get my mom and dad. On we went, along I-95, north towards Hartford, Boston then into Maine driving well passed Portland. Even though we weren’t driving during peak rush hour around NYC, eventually we hit it near Hartford and Boston. It was a parking lot in many places! My dad, who was battling Parkinson’s and couldn’t sit for long periods, desperately needed to get out and walk often. We finally made it, checked into the Acadia Inn. And slept! It took us all day on into the night to get there.
The Acadia Inn was decent enough but there are also a lot of great hotels and inns to stay, a few right along the water. Some look spectacular! The next day we toured the town of Bar Harbor, then went into Acadia National Park taking a drive up Cadillac Mountain. We hiked a bit around up top then came back down to the water and hiked along the shore. Acadia National Park is beautiful! This race was in early October so Autumn in Maine was amazing! I’m beyond frustrated I didn’t take more photos and didn’t have a better camera!
We walked around the town of Bar Harbor which is cute and quaint. You can get an array of Bar Harbor T-Shirts, silly hats and anything that has anything to do with Maine Lobster! I also learned the wild Maine blueberry is quite impressive and celebrated. It’s not planted, thus the term “wild”. And it’s incredibly healthy, packed with more antioxidants than typical blueberries. More great info can be found at wildblueberries.com
The blueberry season is in July, so it’s a reason to make a trip back! In October we found blueberry jam, preserves, juice, soda, pancakes, cake, muffins, and numerous dishes from fish to meat accompanied with blueberries! Bar Harbor is also a cruise ship port so many ships dock here, tourists get out, go shopping and get back on the boat. We lost my dad here in town, looking all over for him… we finally found him in the fudge shoppe, well after he had peanut butter and milk chocolate fudge finished and enjoyed!
Mom bought a bunch of nice Bar Harbor jackets for my sisters for Christmas, just like the one I’m wearing below. We had a great lunch at a nice restaurant in town and at the time we didn’t realize, (and would not realize until Christmas) that we left them at the restaurant, never to be seen again. To whomever found a bag of new Bar Harbor apparel as well as a few Christmas ornaments, you’re welcome.
It was the day prior to my marathon so of course we went to the race check-in, and because I am a meteorologist, I had to pose as if I was presenting the Marathon Weather!
Dinner before race day was at The Bar Harbor Inn Reading Room! Beautiful location and the food was delish!! I had lobster ravioli as my pre-race carb dinner. I had to have some lobster, I was in Maine! Don’t recall having any blueberries though.
The race was great! My SECOND all time favorite marathon with my second best time at 3:49 (maybe I’d run faster if I did have some powerful wild blueberries)! It’s a point-to-point race, no out-and-back or no loops. And it winds along Mt. Desert Island beginning in Bar Harbor, running along the coast of Somes Sound and around Acadia National Park. NOT into the park, which I do not support any such idea of a marathon being IN a National Park. Marathons are messy! It was a really a beautiful race! I highly recommend it! Especially it being in October in Maine! Stunning Fall foliage!
That evening we took a romantic sunset sail on the Margaret Todd.
After we had our sunset sail, the next morning my dad, a life-long early-bird, woke us around 4 a.m. and suggested we drive up Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise. Atop Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise between October to April.
That was a popular idea. I brightened up the photo above so you could see in the distance scattered on top the mountain all the other people who were there as well!
It was a bit cloudy, but still a nice experience! And a great finish to our trip!
