Well OK, glad you had a family gathering. No doubt a report forthcoming as usual.

Bill in Boston

Weather
We were incredibly lucky with the weather. We had perfect weather for 8 out of the 9 days - completely clear blue sky with not a cloud in the sky. The one "other" day was foggy in the morning, then rained in the evening. Temperatures were 70s initially, towards the end it was in the 60s with lows in the 40s at night (cold enough to have a fire in the house). On our departure day, we definitely noticed that the leaves have started to turn color.

Getting Around
We mostly drove around the island, but we also took advantage of the free Island Explorer Bus on several occasions. http://exploreacadia.com/

The peak season schedule ENDS at the end of August. IMO, it works well for tourists who stay in Bar Harbor and don't want to drive. However, the bus isn't that practical for us as we stayed in the western part of the island. During off-peak season, the route to SW Harbor only runs 4x/day.

Food
Since we stayed at a rental home, we only ate out a few times. However, every meal we ate out was excellent.

Jordan Pond House
http://thejordanpondhouse.com/

No trip to MDI is complete without stopping at Jordan Pond House for popvers and tea. Even though we were there after peak season, it's still advisable to call in the AM to secure a reservation, esp if you want to do afternoon tea on the lawn.

My popover & cappuccino:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6626.jpg

Quietside Cafe in Southwest Harbor
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quietside-Cafe/153397438010223?sk=info

We ate lunch here. It was a warm sunny day so we sat outside on picnic benches. I had a fried fish sandwich ($8.95) which was very good. DH had a crab roll ($9.95) while sis-in-law had lobster roll ($12.95). The rolls were generous with meat. Quietside Cafe makes their own blueberry pie, so of course we had to get some. I couldn't believe how much blueberries they put in the pie!
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6578.jpg

Gilley's Head of the Harbor in SW Harbor
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gilleys-Head-of-the-Harbor/60264369952

This turns out to be a great find. We knew we wanted to have boiled lobster dinner one evening, but we didn't want to eat at the touristy restaurants in Bar Harbor. We thought about Abel's Lobster Pound but it's already closed for the season!

Gilley's is fairly no-frills and caters mostly to locals. It sits on a lovely spot that offers views of the harbor. We arrived just in time for that "magical" light at dusk (view from our table):
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6659.jpg

Lobsters are market price and they offer both hard shell & soft shell. 4 of us got the small hard shell ($11/lb) plus sides. The lobster meat is not only fresh but also has a slight sweet taste. However, the side dishes are really lackluster. They didn't have blueberry pie that night so we stopped at Quietside Cafe on our way home to get more blueberry pie to go.

Morning Glory Bakery in Bar Harbor
http://www.morningglorybakery.com/

We purchased sandwiches here for lunch. The bakery supports local farms and uses wonderfully delicious local ingredients. I highly recommend this place in Bar Harbor!

We had ice-cream twice in Bar Harbor. One is MDI Ice-cream and the other is Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium.
http://www.mdiic.com/index.html
http://www.benandbills.com/index2.html

Food Shopping
We did most of our food shopping at the Hannaford supermarket in Bar Harbor. It is by far the largest grocery store on the island. In SW Harbor there is a SW Food mart which is fairly okay. The food market in NE Harbor is small and very expensive.

We also shopped at the Bar Harbor Farmers Market (opens Sunday 9a-12n). It was small and pretty disappointing, but we did get some excellent silver queen corn.

Not far from our rental house is Beech Hill Organic Farm. http://www.coa.edu/beech-hill-farm-microsite.htm The farm stand opens 9-4 and has wonderful & delicious produce. It also sells meat, eggs, cheeses, and blueberry products from other vendors. I stocked up on a couple packages of dried wild Maine blueberries
http://www.mainemunchies.com/maine-blueberry-products.html

There is nothing like your reports, yk!!!! Thank you.

Hiking
We went hiking on 5 out of the 9 days and did 7 different hikes. They ranged from easy to moderately-strenous. The longest hike we did was about 2.5 hours.

You'd think that on such a small island/NP, all the hikes are probably similar. On the contrary! Almost every hike we did was unique and different from one another. Some offer great expansive views from top of the mountain; some are along cliff edges; some are through woods and valleys; while some hug the mountainsides.

West side of MDI
One hike is on the FLYING MTN trail. From the top, we had a nice view of Somes Sound and the ocean to the South of MDI. The trail then descends to Valley Cove of Somes Sound. (~ 1hr)

View from top of Flying Mtn http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6566.jpg

Down at Valley Cove
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6571.jpg

We did 2 separate hikes around BEECH MTN.
One is an easy 1-hr loop of the BEECH CLIFF LOOP which provides a lovely view of Echo lake below http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6605.jpg

The other hike is a long, 2+ hr hike of Beech MTN & South ridge/Valley Trail/Canada Cliffs. The south ridge segment is lovely as it winds around gigantic boulders that are covered in hundreds of different varieties of moss & lichen. I've never seen so much moss and lichen in my life! It is as though the whole mountain side is covered with a lush green carpet. We did this hike on the misty day so we didn't get any good views!

East side of MDI
One afternoon we did thd 3.8-mile ASTICOU trail that starts in the Asticou Terraces in NE Harbor, and ends in Jordan Pond. It is a lovely walk through the woods (~90 mins).
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6616.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6613.jpg

Along the trail we saw an amazing number of mushrooms - in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6610.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6608.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6617.jpg

One of the most popular "hikes" we did is the 2-mile OCEAN TRAIL that runs between Otter Point and Sand Beach. The half-way point is Thunder Hole.
View from the trail:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6554.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6559.jpg

Sand Beach
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6562.jpg

Another popular hike from Sand Beach is the GREAT HEAD TRAIL, which loops around the rocky cliffs next to Sand Beach (~90 mins). We had spectacular views of the ocean waves breaking on the pinkish granite. Towards the end of the loop is a spot which offers 270 degrees of ocean - a tea house used to operate on that site during the Victorian era.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6649.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6656.jpg

The final hike we did was the CADILLAC CLIFF/GORHAM MTN trail (2 hrs). The Cadillac Cliff part is the most strenous, requiring us to climb up and over large boulders. Many of the rock slabs hover precariously above us.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6630.jpg

Once we got to the top of Gorham Mtn, it offers a spectacular view of Schoodic Peninsula in the distance.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6635.jpg

Biking
I wanted to bike on the historic Carriage roads, so DH & I plus sis-in-law did this one day.

We rented bicycles from Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor ($18/4hrs). http://www.barharborbike.com/

The bike shop is 1.5 miles from the start of the Carriage Roads. One can choose to take the free Island Explorer Bicycle Express bus to get to there http://exploreacadia.com/bikeexpress.htm

We decided to just bike there instead (gentle uphill for the entire 1.5 miles).

The Carriage roads are fun to ride. Scenery is great and the hills aren't too bad. We first rode south along the western edge of Eagle Lake and then around the southern end until we got to Bubble Pond where we stopped for lunch (~90 mins).
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6587.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6594.jpg

After lunch, we retraced our route up Bubble Pond and rode north along the eastern edge of Eagle Lake. We then rode the northern loop around Witch Hole Pond before returning to Bar Harbor (~90 mins).
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6599.jpg

Canoeing
On another day, DH & I rented a canoe from National Park Canoe & Kayak Rental, located on the northern tip of Great Long Pond. http://www.nationalparkcanoerental.com/ It's a bit pricey ($31 for half-day) but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Great Long Pond is very quiet and we only saw 2 or 3 other kayakers. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6583.jpg

Miscellany

Sargent Drive
A must-see on MDI as the view is simply post-card perfect.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6477.jpg

Thuya Garden
http://gardenpreserve.org/asticou-azalea-thuya/thuya-garden.html
Thuya Garden is absolutely a gem. Lots and lots of flowers still in bloom at this time of year, and we saw a number of hummingbirds gorging on nectar before their long flight to Southern US/Mexico for the winter.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6515.jpg

St Saviour's Church in Bar Harbor
http://ellsworthme.org/ssaviour/windows.html
Thanks to JJ495, I made an effort to stop in St Saviour's Church in Bar Harbor to check out its stained glass windows. 10 of the windows were made by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Maine%202011/IMG_6604.jpg

-----------------------
That's about it! I really had a wonderful time on MDI and we could have easily spent another week there to explore more of the island & park. We didn't make it to Schoodic Peninsula this time, and there are other boat cruises one can take to the smaller islands of the Park (eg, Great Cranberry island, Islesford, and even Isle au Haut).

The NPS has a detailed website for Acadia, and there's plenty of info on its "Beaver Log" publication which you can download in advance, or pick up at the Park Service office. http://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/events.htm There is also a listing of monthly ranger-guided tours, which we didn't get to do either.

Thanks for another great report! Loved all the photos. You sure got wonderful weather.

Thanks for the great report! The photos are great and I want a bite of that blueberry pie.

Thanks, yk, for the great trip report. We're headed to Bar Harbor next week. Your experiences and suggestions are helpful leads. We're hoping for some good weather to enjoy the fall days. Thanks again!

Thank you for all your comments!

tomarkot, hope you get nice Fall weather in Bar Harbor. The foliage should be very nice by then.

Beautiful pics yk. Those are some mushrooms! It sounds like a really wonderful time away.

Thanks for your great trip report. Maine is our next summer vacation destination and I'm already reading up on it. Looks like it will be fantastic.

So how were the ice cream shops? Did you prefer MDI or Ben and Bill's? Just curious so I know which one to try...oh, who am I kidding? I know we'll try both also!

Toucan, thanks! I really wish I had taken some mycology course so I knew which ones would be safe to pick! We could have had mushrooms for dinner every night if we were willing to risk liver failure or hallucinations from picking the wrong mushrooms.

travelerfromtx, you're right - you'll just have to try all the ice-cream places in Bar Harbor! I thought MDI's ice cream is creamier & richer, but that could be due to the flavors we chose. We've had Ben & Bill's ice-cream earlier this summer in Falmouth, MA, and we enjoyed their ice-cream very much then.

Great report. Nesxt time you visit try to get to theSchoodic Pennisula - its worth the trip. Love MDI - on eo f my favorite places in the world.

I always feel like such an underachiever whenever I read your trip reports, yk!

I still have the LA one on my travel bookmark page to be able to easily refer to it during our upcoming 3 months there.

Thanks again guys for reading this and your comments. bennnie, if it were up to me planning the trip, I definitely would have made an effort to head over to Schoodic Peninsula [I have type A personality when it comes to travel-planning]. But alas, traveling w/ my in-laws means sitting at breakfast table each morning and discuss what to do for the day...

yk, thanks for the wonderful report (as usual). Beautiful pics too.

Is Reel Pizza still open in Bar Harbor? We spent a wonderful rainy night there, chowing down on Pizza, sitting on a comfy couch and watching Ratatouie!

CindyP.

Great report, and great pics, yk.

I was in Bar Harbor the week before you and didn't get much sunshine. They must have been saving it for you.

I saw and did a lot of the same things as you, and have been trying to get a report together. One of these days.

Glad you had a great time.

Great report, as always, yk.
I am like your in laws when it comes to planning, so that gave me a chuckle.

jubilada, it took me a while to get used to their traveling style. I didn't care too much as long as I got to go biking & canoeing.

panecott, I hope you'll post your TR. I was looking for it when I came back from my trip. How did the hotel in Lexington MA work out?

Thanks to fellow Fodorites for the helpful info received for our recent trip to the Northeast. yk, we found your detailed report of Acadia area very informative and helpful. We have never done any trip reports, even though we do quite a bit of traveling. Guess we just thought that our experiences weren't that unique. But lately we have enjoyed reading the reports of others. It's kind of fun just re-living experiences in places where we have been, and learning about new ones, such as we did with yours. So, again, thanks, yk. Perhaps we will do a report on our trip.

tomarkot, thanks for your kind words. I hope to see your trip report some time!