Best Vacation Memories Of A Bygone Era

It’s hard to choose only one vacation to discuss as the most memorable, but to pick only one, I’d go with a family vacation from many years ago. When school was out for the summer during 1981, we spent a few days in Maine, visiting some of the major tourist areas there like Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park 🏞️. The road trip getting there was also an adventure for me since I didn’t get bored easily like my two younger brothers. We drove from our home in the Adirondack region of upstate New York and crossed through Vermont and New Hampshire to reach the Atlantic coast of Maine.

While traveling east from New York through Vermont and New Hampshire we stayed off main highways and drove on state routes and local roads. There’s always much more to see that way in the New England states as interstates tend 🛣️ to bypass too many places. We passed through many small towns and villages that were postcard and calendar pretty. Most of them had neat white churches with spires, and country stores. Many were surrounded by orchards and peaceful dairy farms where cows grazed passively in the luxuriant greenery. Many of them also had quaint antique shops that were fun to browse through. These places are proud of their historical past containing prominent town squares with monuments and statues of heroes who died in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. There were also a number of pleasant state parks and rest areas, to stop and picnic 🧺 which enhanced the trip further.

It was also fun exploring through Maine and staying at these 1940s style housekeeping cottages (the name escapes me!) that overlooked the ocean 🌊 on the outskirts of our destination at Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert 🏜️ Island. The temperature was just perfect, balmy and exhilarating. Later, we drove into town stopping to have lobster 🦞 dinner at a seaside restaurant with a charming, latticed back patio. Having lobster for the first time is something I’ll never forget. What a treat! Thinking 🤔 about all of this now, I cannot remember why we never returned there. Then again, perhaps some of the best things in life are done only once. Who knows for sure?

One of the best memories of Bar Harbor was the 1890s-style Barbershop Quartet which played old tunes in the gazebo at the town square. The place was packed, but what a gorgeous, sunny day it was with the aromas of roasted peanuts, popcorn 🍿, and cotton candy 🍭 wafting through the air. It made me feel good to be alive, to enjoy such a wonderful place. We all were happy to be there taking in all the sights and sounds of a bustling tourist town. The next day my parents took us to Acadia National on Mt. Desert 🏜️ Island 🏝️ just off the coast.

Touring a portion of the park was the highlight of our vacation as we parked our cars and hiked up the second half of Cadillac Mtn. with a tour group, enjoying nature along the way with chirping birds, chipmunks 🐿️ and squirrels scurrying around the trees 🌳. To say the view over the rest of Acadia National Park and the ocean 🌊 was awe-inspiring — would be quite the understatement! Another fun part of the trip was going to the beach 🏖️ to build sand castles 🏰 with my brothers, and go hunt for sea shells 🐚. The salt air was incredibly refreshing, but the ocean was still chilly 🥶 even though it was summer. With two full days of all that brisk air and water 💧 we sure slept really well at night!

It was disappointing to finally drive home as the return trip always seems to take much longer than getting there. However, as we all know, though, all good things must come to an end. Although we went on our vacations in following years, this is the one l’ll always remember as the best one.