Anniversary Road Trip to Bar Harbor

Every year, my husband and I celebrate our anniversary with a new adventure, and this year we decided to road trip up to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We’ve lived in Maine for two years but hadn’t ventured to the northern part of the state. So, we packed up and hit the road to Down East, taking the scenic Route 1, also known as the Atlantic Highway, which stretches all the way down to Key West -> next adventure??? Haha.

We love turning the journey into part of the adventure and driving on a Thursday made travel easy with fewer people on the road. Our first stop was Old Orchard Beach to see the Pier, but it was closed for the season. Lucky for us, we found a great breakfast spot at Lazy Day’s Restaurant. 

Next, we stopped in Brunswick to stretch our legs on the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge. 

In Woolwich, we enjoyed an afternoon drink at the bar at Taste of Maine and got a fun picture with Larry the Lobster - a 12-foot inflatable lobster that sits atop the restaurant.

In Rockland, we walked the nearly one-mile Breakwater to the lighthouse, enjoying the ocean views along the way.

Friday: Acadia National Park Adventures

We woke up early on Friday and caught a beautiful sunrise right from our hotel balcony—a peaceful way to start the day before heading out to Acadia National Park. 

We spent the day hiking, starting with the Ocean Trail, and even though it was a foggy day, we still had amazing views of Sands Beach, Thunder Hole and Otter Point. 

Although the summit of Cadillac Mountain was so foggy we couldn’t really see the water, the hike was still refreshing and worth it. We even enjoyed a donut snack on the top.

We returned Saturday morning to see the foliage around Jordan Pond. It was in full fall bloom, adding to the beauty of the morning.

Exploring Bar Harbor: Seafood, Shopping & More

Friday after hiking, we had an incredible lunch at Galyn’s downtown (their crab cakes and seafood linguini are a must-try). 

We devoured the charcuterie board at Paddy's Irish Pub to get our dinner started. 

I had my very first lobster roll, paired with some delicious clam chowder to share at West Street Café - a fun and cozy spot with a great atmosphere.

Saturday morning, before heading home, we enjoyed breakfast at the iconic Great Maine Breakfast, where the gluten-free blueberry pancakes were out of this world! 

Afterward, we explored the town a bit more, shopping at A Little Mad, a quirky shop with unique gifts, and walking along the Shore Path. 

We also made it out to Bar Island, walking the Sandbar—a land bridge that only appears during low tide.

The Journey Home: Wrapping Up the Adventure

On the way back Saturday, we made a few more stops. We walked the Harbor Walk and Footbridge in Belfast, taking in the beautiful coastal views, and then stopped in Camden for some final shopping and a delicious lunch at Sea Dog Brewing Company.

The Dogs:

In case you were wondering, we leave the dogs at home with a dog walker. She checks in on them 4 times a day and they absolutely love her. We know because she send us pics from her visits. 

Another Adventure for the Books

We love traveling to new places and trying new things, and this trip to Bar Harbor ranks up there with some of our favorite adventures, like Maui and Mt. Washington. The blend of coastal beauty, outdoor activities, and amazing food made it a perfect anniversary celebration.

If you’re ever in Maine or planning a trip to Bar Harbor, definitely consider taking Route 1 for some great scenic stops along the way. 

What’s your favorite place to explore for a special occasion? Let me know in the comments!

Koko Crater Arch Hike + Eternity Beach

One of the things I love about living on Oahu is the hiking. We don't hike as often as I would like, but when we do it is never a disappointment.

The Koko Crater Arch trail is located in East Honolulu, near Hawaii Kai. We picked this one because it isn't far from our neighborhood and is rated as moderate in the All Trails app. Plus, I love hikes that have an interesting feature. In this case, the arch.

Even though we did this hike on a beautiful Saturday morning, we had no trouble finding a parking spot at the Halona Blowhole parking lot. All Trails did not have trailhead information, but I found a couple blog posts that did and it seemed pretty easy and straightforward. We just had to walk along a narrow busy road about 100 feet to mile marker 15, cross the road and start climbing. 

So we walked, first past the beach we would go to later, and then the Japanese Fishing Shrine. I admit that I'm a terrible judge of distance, but it felt like more than 100 feet and we didn't see a mile marker. 

After crossing the road and walking back and forth, we found the broken mile marker. Thanks Hawaii DOT. We also found two entrances...one was on the All Trails map and the other looked easier. We went with easy.

We had to climb up some rocks to get to the trail, but then it was pretty easy walking across the lava rock. It was very windy, but we didn't mind and the views were spectacular. Soon enough we saw the trail we were supposed to be on when some hikers started making their way down. We weren't too far off, but we had a steep climb and some brush to get through until we were able to merge.

Looking up to the arch and beyond to the ridge

Once we were on the main trail, we took our time, carefully making our way up the steeper and steeper trail until we were eventually standing below the arch. As mrC said, we're not billy goats, so we opted to climb off to the left and go under rather than over the arch.

Loose gravel combined with the steepness and the wind made this the hardest part of the hike, but it was worth it. It was awesome to sit under the arch and take in the ocean views. 

More adventurous hikers continued past the arch and up to the ridge, but we had a beach to get to (and we are happy to stick with moderate climbs). To get back down to the trail, we had to scoot on our bums or fear slipping on the gravel, but then we just took our time going down the lava rock trail.

We stayed on the proper trail on the way down. The alternate entrance we took at the start was pretty easy for climbing up, but super steep to go down. When we got to the end of the trail, we had to climb down a much bigger section of rocks. Only one slip on the gravel (me!) and now I can say I've had lava burn.

mrC got us safely back to the car, where we grabbed our beach bag and hiked down to Halona Cove Beach, aka Eternity Beach. If you’ve seen the movie From Here to Eternity, this is where they filmed the beach kissing scene.

People more courageous than us were jumping off the rocks into the water, but we were quite happy to sit on our towel and watch. We respect the water and have no intention of needing a rescue (and for the record, this beach has no lifeguards and is technically off limits).

The cool thing about this beach, is that you can't see it from the road when you're driving past. I guess that's why it is also called Secret Beach!

We counted this hike as our leg day, although I think we could've done our regular workout, too. We didn't beat ourselves up over it though.

Let me know if you have any questions!

When the Winds Chased Us Up to the Lanikai Pillboxes

Fridays are our day for active recovery - low impact activities. We love to take the SUP boards out. We paddle and float, paddle and float. It's relaxing, but also great movement for the day.

Lately, the winter weather in Hawaii has been making it difficult to get out on the boards. We have had wind advisories and high surf advisories a lot more than last year. So, it wasn't super surprising when we loaded up our boards last Friday only to discover the water was way too choppy.

Instead of paddling out to the Mokuluas, we did a quick change of clothes and went for a hike up to the Lanikai Pillboxes.

The first time we did this hike was right after moving to Oahu in May of 2019. It's right in our neighborhood, so we pledged to do it ALL THE TIME. That hasn't happened.

But thanks to the windy day, we got back up to enjoy the views of the Mokes from above. 

This hike is short and sweet...or maybe quick and dirty is a better description. From car door to the top and back down is only 1.40 miles over an elevation gain of 418 feet.

Most of the hike is a gradual (less than) moderate climb, but there are some portions (like the beginning) that are leg burners and get your heart pumping. The best part of the big climbs are the views you get while you're taking a break to catch your breath.

We passed the first pillbox and made our way to the second one at the top. Once there, we found a spot to sit, enjoy the view and the blueberry protein bars we brought with us to break our fast! I love them, but I think they taste even better with that view.

So the day the winds chased us up to the Lanikai Pillboxes turned out to be an awesome back-up plan for paddle boarding.

When has your plans fallen through only to end up leading to something even better?