Acadia 2021 – Day 5 and Homeward Bound

I did not forget about day 5. On day 5, we made it to the Jordan Pond House for lunch, then revisited Sand Beach and the Ocean Path on a day when we could actually see the beach and the ocean. I’ve already talked about Jordan Pond and the Ocean Path, so I don’t have much else to add but some new pictures not filled with fog and a lunch report.

Oh hello, Bubbles

Jordan Pond House

The Jordan Pond House was open, but appeared to be operating at reduced capacity and possibly also with a pared down menu. We had about an hour wait, which we spent around Jordan Pond enjoying being able to see the pond (and even the Bubbles across the pond, imagine that). When we were summoned for our late lunch, there were a few parties seated indoors, but as usual we chose to sit outside on the lawn. The Jordan Pond House is known for popovers, so we ordered popovers with jam and butter, then I had shepherd’s pie. [Made with lamb. Technically if it contains ground beef instead of lamb it’s supposed to be called cottage pie, but especially in the US and on school lunch menus it’s often still called shepherd’s pie even if it’s made with ground beef.] Lunch was good, with a good view, and following the meal we headed back to Sand Beach to enjoy the coast for an hour or so.

Sand Beach from the Ocean Path

It was a pretty relaxed day, then the following day, our last in Acadia, I dragged everyone on one last hike involving multiple bodies of water, multiple prominences, and multiple peanut butter and jam sandwiches, as chronicled in my previous post. The last day of our trip, we packed, cleaned our lodgings, and I drank most of the remaining milk straight from the carton because no one else would.

On the way back home, we made a stop in Portland (ME, not OR) to explore the downtown/harbor area a bit and then see the Portland Head Light, another lighthouse popular with photographers (for good reason; it’s a very photogenic lighthouse).

The Portland Head Light, completed in 1791, is Maine’s oldest lighthouse, and is likely the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Lighthouse.” It’s located in Fort Williams Park, which is itself a very nice park. Besides the lighthouse, there are walking trails along the ocean, the remains of Fort Williams, grassy fields for kite flying, picnic areas, and various other recreational facilities. It was a good stop on the way home to break up the drive (which wasn’t that long – we drove from New England to Florida all the way down I-95 when I was in high school).

Portland Head Light

By the end of the trip, we ended up covering somewhere north of 30 miles on foot over six days, with a decent amount of elevation change. I’m still a little surprised I was allowed to plan all our hiking, and everyone seemed to put up with it, but I guess the real test is if I’m allowed to plan all our hiking on the next trip. During the trip, I also made up to twenty-four peanut butter and jam sandwiches, took 752 photos (currently culled to 555), and finished reading my second Jane Austen novel (Pride and Prejudice, after previously having listened to Persuasion). Overall, I’m glad I managed to make it home and (finally) do some “real” hiking for the first time in awhile.