Remarkable Road Trip to Maine. Testing the Itinerary.

Night 1 in the van wasn’t bad, but there was a learning curve to managing all of our belongings at bedtime.

Although the van has a small area to hang clothes and 3 small drawers, we ended up with multiple bags on the couch (2 work backpacks, 1 large duffle of his clothes, and 2 medium bags of my clothes and supplies).

It became a game of rearranging bags in the van to lie out the bed and put the foam topper and sheets on. 

Our night-time routine: put window covers on, turn front seats around (allows more room and seating), move all bags off of the couch, slide the couch out into a bed, unroll the foam topper (b/c the cushions are NOT comfy), put on sheets/blanket/pillows. And each morning was the reverse.

It can be tricky in a small space, but it didn’t take long to figure out the routine and placements that fit us best.

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Road Trip to Maine: Day 1

We are early risers, so day 1 started at 5:30 a.m. to complete our road trip to Maine. After heating up a quick breakfast, we hit the road. 10.5 hours is a lot to cover in a day and we like to play along the way.

We made a few stops in Illinois (based on scanning our route on Google for attractions). None of the stops were far off of our path.

We visited Cumberland County Covered Bridge in Greenup, IL (my choice) just 5 minutes off our path. And then stopped in Casey, Illinois, a small town with many “world’s largest” attractions (co-pilot’s choice).

The last “extra” stop of the day was for lunch inside the Buckeye Express Diner an old caboose that looked abandoned from afar but served the most amazing burgers. 

Despite stopping every 2-3 hours (for an attraction, for a meal, or just to let the dog out to potty) we managed to stick close to the scheduled timing and arrived at Niagara Falls for a nighttime viewing of the lit-up falls.

After hiking around the falls for various views of the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls, we heated up dinner in the parking lot, ate, and then circled back to a close by New York rest stop to sleep for the night. 

Road Trip to Maine: Day 2

Rising early, we cooked our breakfast on the Coleman grill and air fryer, then immediately headed for Niagara Falls again for a quick daytime look. Our next stop would be 12 hours away, in Acadia National Park. 

We kept stops as short as possible but still made time to get out and stretch our legs, and check out small local stops. 

We stopped by a small, beautiful river to walk a little bit and let the dog out. And then again at an overlook in Vermont while enjoying some maple-flavored ice cream at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook. 

After driving through New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, we realized we would be arriving in Acadia after dark (and missing scenic views).  We decided mid-day that it would be better to book a campsite on the coast for the night.

And so we strayed from our itinerary. Our first call was to Hampton Beach State Park. The lady who took the call seemed to be hating life and wasn’t pleasant to interact with.

Ultimately, we decided to drive a little further up the coast to York, Maine. We were able to quickly and easily get a spot booked with the amazingly kind people at Libby’s Oceanside Camp.  

We checked in at close to 7 pm and then walked along the shore to a restaurant for a seaside dinner. After a pricey ($31 for appetizer-sized lobster mac and cheese….WHAT?), but amazing seafood dinner at Lobster Cove Restaurant, we walked back to the van for drinks and a warm shower at the camp. 

We ended the day just 4 hours away from Sand Beach in Acadia (the starting point for Ocean Trail Hike).  

Road Trip to Maine: Day 3

THE day! We woke up excited and ready to see more of Maine, especially Acadia National Park. A 4-hour drive seemed easy enough compared to the amount of time we had spent driving in previous days.

As we closed in on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go up in the Penobscot Observatory (the world’s largest public bridge overlook) and Fort Knox.

We spent close to 2 hours between these stops, but it was well worth it!

After a little sightseeing on the scenic route of travel, we arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine early in the afternoon on Day 3.

Updated Itinerary

Taking another look at the road trip to Maine Itinerary, we didn’t stray too far from the plan. Days 0 and 1 were spot on. By day 2, we were wearing down and needing more breaks and play.

We didn’t take into account that we would be seeing Maine and Acadia National Park for the first time in the dark if we put arrival at late Friday.

So a few adjustments were made to the itinerary. All items stayed on the itinerary but push back just a little starting on day 3.

Check out Part 3 of this series to see if our time and activities in Maine went as planned. And then Part 4 for the road trip home (did we make it back in time??)

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