Wonderland and Ship Harbor

 How did we not know about these two places in Southwest Harbor?!  We probably still wouldn't know about them except for the numerous posts on the I Love Bar Harbor Maine FB page.

It was still cloudy, cool 57* and windy when we got up.  

We left at 10:44, it had warmed up to 63* and the sun was trying to rid itself of high, thin clouds.  It's about a 30 minute drive to the Wonderland Trail, an easy 1 mile in and out walk to a rocky shore.  This is only minutes from Seawall where the waves were pretty impressive yesterday.  It's amazing how much calmer the water was today.

Pano...Wonderland Beach

My Man...Magellan

Another possible Christmas Card photo

It took us about 15 minutes to walk in and 20 minutes to walk out on the loop trail.  The temp in the car read 67*...lovely ;o)

We drove down the road just a few minutes to the Ship Harbor Trail, another easy 1.3 mile walk.  The trail forms a figure eight, one side going along the water and the other side through the woods.  One of the nice things about this trail is the restroom at the beginning!  

We absolutely fell in love with this place.  It rivals Two Lights State Park; it's beautiful but more quiet and serene and you're closer to the water.  We sat for 35 minutes just watching the tide come in and listening to the small waves against the rocks.  

Our first view of Ship Harbor

I found a couple of heart rocks but I only took photos then left them for someone else to find and enjoy.

Stairs from the "heart" beach

You don't often see water this color around Maine.  It was a beautiful turquoise.

The channel leading to the harbor

Looking into the harbor

Harbor entrance to the right, ocean to the left

Leaving the channel and heading into open waters

Reminds us of Two Lights

Beautiful day for sailing

Pano photo of Ship Harbor by Bill

It took us 30 minutes to walk all the way in, including time spent at the "heart" beach and maybe 25 minutes to walk out.  We could definitely see the fall colors in the woods.  The temp had reach 75*...woohoo!

We ate lunch at Charlotte's Legendary Lobster Pound, which we had driven past three days in a row and vowed to try.  I had a haddock sandwich and Bill had a clam roll and french fries.  Everything was delicious!  Although it was out first time there, it won't be our last.

There is no inside seating but there were plenty of tables available and the weather was perfect.  We took a look at the small cemetery located in the field next door before heading home.

It needs a little attention

We stumbled across a small coffee shop (Saint Dreux's Coffee) in Southwest Harbor and stopped for iced coffees.  It was the end of their day and we got the last of the iced coffees but they were actually quite good.  

Once we got back to the cottage, we took our coffees, our books and our Keepin' It Local cookies and sat in the sun, by the water.  I got tired of the wind and came in about 5:00, Bill stayed till the shade overtook his spot.  We drove to the Hadley Point beach for the sunset.  We always enjoy watching the sunset, even when it's less than spectacular, like tonight.

We had a super great day, found new favorites and didn't kill ourselves.  We found we can enjoy the area without needing to hike or bike every day.    That being said...tomorrow's our last day and we are going to burn some calories ;o)

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)