school me on Boston, Portland, ME, and Acadia NP

[STPHNSN23]

gf and i are planning a trip out east in early october. i'm thinking we will spend a couple days in boston and then rent a car to drive north up to portland and then on to see acadia. we'll be flying out on monday and probably fly home from boston saturdayish.

what do you guys have as far as tips, suggestions, etc? i've never been to boston. so i'd like to see the historic sites, but other than that, i don't have any idea. from the little i've read so far, it looks like staying in bar harbor up in ME would be best for spending a day at acadia.

i haven't looked into this at all, but is there any whale watching that far north in early october?

[jt09]

bar harbor is a good suggestion - cool town, w/ plenty of touristy stuff, but not over the top cheesey.

if you want to see the historical stuff in boston, do a duck boat tour: www.bostonducktours.com
might sound cheesy, but the drivers are fantastic - funny, incredibly well informed, and you get to see SO much in just a couple of hours.

you shouldn't need a car in boston at all. between the t and cabs/uber, there's simply no reason.

last time i was there, i hit up a game at fenway, mike's pastry, the new england aquarium, fanueil hall/quincy market (go for lunch/afternoon eats and to see the street performers and people watch), the museum of science (was w/ my daughter).

let me look around for some other boston recs and i'll get back to you. i usually have places to go/reason to be there other than just hanging out, so i'm not great at that side of things.

[ryan351w]

From my buddy who lives in Maine.

Odyssey Whale watch - Portland 207-775-0727

Bar Harbor whale watch - 207-288-2386

Arcadia has a self guided your around the park. Has plenty of stops and scenic places for lunch and photographs. Plan to spend a full day (or more!) there. Lots of hiking locations.
Downtown Bar harbor has wonderful eats. Dozens of restaurants and bars and shops to fulfill anyone's tastes.
Long Lake, Naples you can rent ski boats, or hire a boat to take you out for some boarding for a few hours. Make sure to stop into Ricks cafe on the Causeway when done for a tasty beverage and Lobster specialties.

Just up the road from Naples is Shawnee Peak Take the lift up! Or you can hike the trials as well with beautiful views of the mountains and lakes below. Cabin rental in the mountains. www.shawneepeak.com

LLBean is just cool to check out as well.

Boston-Black Rose Bar. Apparently a classic Irish pub.

X2 on the duck tour!

[STPHNSN23]

we just booked flights, hotels, and car tonight:
10/6 fly into BOS. noon arrival.
10/7 see BOS.
10/8 pick up car, drive to portland.
10/9 drive to southwest harbor.
10/10 see acadia, stay in southwest harbor.
10/11 fly out of PWM at 4:45.

we're so excited. it sucks that it's still 2 months away.

[STPHNSN23]

lfadam's pics from his roadtrip reminded me to post some of mine from our trip too. lots of pics to follow.

boston was great. the duck tour and walking the freedom trail were highlights. we did a fenway park tour too, and that was neat - even for a yankee sympathizer. we hit the jfk presidential library. giacomo's in the north end was worth the wait for dinner. i'm a dessert slut so eating the original boston cream pie at the parker house was a must do, and it didn't disappoint.

boston pics:
1. old north church - where they hung the lights for paul revere to see and start his ride from across the river

2. view from atop the green monster

3. atrium at jfk library

4. jfk's sloop

5. statehouse dome - "firefighters getting pu$$y for the first time in the history of fire... or pu$$y."

6. us with boston in background from across the harbor


from boston, we drove up to portland to stay overnight. we stopped at york beach to see the nubble lighthouse and have lunch. pics:
1. our view for lunch

2. york beach


3. nubble lighthouse


portland was neat, but i don't have any pics worth sharing. we had dinner at a pizza place called flatbread pizza that was good. we drank some local beers. thursday was my bday so we got up and got coffee and pastries for breakfast. i think i had my first piece of vegan tiramisu for breakfast. after breakfast we left for southwest harbor and acadia np.

pics from the drive:
1. penobscot bay and bridge



we stayed in southwest harbor, which is about 20 minutes from the main visitor's center for acadia np. we hit bar harbor for lunch one day, and it was wayy touristy. i'd recommend sw harbor over bar harbor if you're planning a trip. we stayed at a bnb for the first time, and it was a different experience from staying at a hotel. it was nice. just different. we spent friday driving around acadia. pics:










overall, it was a great trip. if you haven't seen the northeast coast, you should put it on your list. if anyone has questions about a trip up that way, i can try to give you some ideas.

[LFADAM]

Nice pics. If I end up moving to NYC I definitely want to do a trip to Maine, and Boston for St. Patty's day is a must.

[E.J.]

Nice, looks beautiful!

[Aubs]

Great pictures! I love Boston. Did you sit in any of the seats at Fenway? They're so little! Every time we've gone I always am reminded by my 6'4" boyfriend how little the seats are and how uncomfortable they are. Full of history though! Could never live there but I do love visiting it. (go pats!)

[STPHNSN23]

[eeven73]