Acadia National Park
We were going to make it there just before sunset, aka just barely in time (an unfortunate trend that, no matter how hard we try to outrun, seems to catch up to us on every leg of this journey). As we approached the park, our timing was looking even better than I had hoped! Excitement filled the car. Maine had always been on my list, this was the furthest north I had ever been, and this was going to be my first national park. (I feel like if you live in Tennessee- Great Smoky Mountain National Park barely counts, though it is exceptionally beautiful.) Ray, on the other hand, could have cared less. "What's so special about Maine?" he asked. "I don't want to see another beach," he said.
Somewhere in the middle of his negativity, disaster struck. We lost service, and our GPS went out. Our atlas was of no help as we made wrong turn after wrong turn and the sun sank further and further in the sky. Excitement no longer filled the car, rather, frustration, anger, and disappointment. A kind soul along the way pointed our tired selves in the right direction, and we once again made it to our campsite with just a small bit of daylight left. We'd take it.
We parked Blue snug in the forest for the night and made haste along the campground's beach trail. We rushed through the other campsites, across the street, and through the forest to a slight incline of land with a visible clearing ahead. We marched up the incline, barely slowing down. In the clearing, my breath was actually taken away just as the haste, tension, and worry of the past hour abruptly came to an end. I couldn't suppose the mountainous coastline before me as absolutely real. This was no beach like I was used to. Giant rock upon giant rock stretched further than my eyes could see, and beautiful evergreen trees sat atop them. The ocean was at least forty feet beneath my feet, its waves crashing against the massive rocks below. We scaled the rocks as the sun set, and at one point, I actually teared up over the beauty and magnitude of this place. Say what you will, but it was truly the most beautiful stretch of land I have ever seen.
