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The Best Coastal Maine Road Trip

April 29, 2026

The Best Coastal Maine Road Trip

The Best Coastal Maine Road Trip
The Complete Guide to Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park

April 14, 2026

The Complete Guide to Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park

Schoodic Peninsula sunset in Acadia National Park Maine - wide panoramic view of orange and lavender sky over the Atlantic Ocean from pink granite ledges, with windswept spruce trees and the silhouette of Mount Desert Island on the horizon, capturing the stunning coastal scenery of the Schoodic District and why the Schoodic Peninsula is one of the most beautiful and least crowded areas of Acadia National Park
The Foodie’s Guide to Bar Harbor, Maine

April 1, 2026

The Foodie’s Guide to Bar Harbor, Maine

Iced coffee from Coffee Hound at The Stadium enjoyed at Agamont Park in Bar Harbor, Maine — a Stadium Bar Harbor branded iced coffee cup held up with Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, and anchored boats on a clear sunny day, highlighting Coffee Hound as one of the best coffee shops in Bar Harbor and Agamont Park as a scenic waterfront spot for eating and relaxing near Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine
Phoenix To Grand Canyon: The Ultimate Winter Road Trip Guide

March 10, 2026

Phoenix To Grand Canyon: The Ultimate Winter Road Trip Guide

Phoenix to Grand Canyon Winter Road Trip featured image - taking in the views at Bell Rock Vortex in Sedona, one of the stunning stops along the scenic route through Arizona's most beautiful landscapes
15 Best Dog Friendly Hikes at Acadia National Park

March 6, 2026

15 Best Dog Friendly Hikes at Acadia National Park

Three dogs hiking the Little Long Pond trail in Acadia National Park, Maine — a brown mixed breed and two huskies on leash on a sun-dappled wooded path along the turquoise shores of Little Long Pond, highlighting Little Long Pond as a peaceful and dog-friendly walk in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island near Seal Harbor, Maine, perfect for hiking with dogs in Acadia
The 18 Best Things to Do in Bar Harbor, Maine

February 24, 2026

The 18 Best Things to Do in Bar Harbor, Maine

18 Best Things to Do in Bar Harbor, Maine - sunset over a tranquil harbor near Acadia National Park captures the magic of Maine's coast, from lobster boats at anchor to pink granite shores and golden skies
The Best Things To Do In Camden, Maine

December 26, 2025

The Best Things To Do In Camden, Maine

Wildlife Watching in Cades Cove: Your Complete Animal Guide

August 8, 2025

Wildlife Watching in Cades Cove: Your Complete Animal Guide

Paws on the Trail: The Best Dog-Friendly Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains

May 19, 2025

Paws on the Trail: The Best Dog-Friendly Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains

The 15 Best Hikes In Utah

May 29, 2024

The 15 Best Hikes In Utah

One Day in Zion National Park: My Hour-by-Hour Zion Itinerary

March 26, 2024

One Day in Zion National Park: My Hour-by-Hour Zion Itinerary

Zion National Park Guide: Honest Tips + Is It Worth It?

February 27, 2024

Zion National Park Guide: Honest Tips + Is It Worth It?

Zion National Park
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I have a soft spot for places when they’re not put I have a soft spot for places when they’re not putting on a show. I don’t want to get the shot you’ve seen 20 million times! 

This is Oxbow Bend (photo 2 &4), Grand Teton’s most photographed view. It’s gorgeous! You’ve probably seen it with golden aspens and a perfect reflection at sunrise.

We went the 2nd week of October at sunset. The leaves were almost gone, a storm was rolling in, the light was purple, and there were only a handful of other car in the pullout (which, if you’ve been there, you know is insane). 

Was it the most iconic shot? Nope. Do I love it even more? Absolutely.

A little farther down the road, a mule deer buck stepped out of the trees like he’d also been waiting for everyone to leave. We also saw elk and a grizzly cub (highlight for me, but no photos, I was just in the moment for that one). 

I think that’s why I love the off-season. The parks look different, the plans get a little looser, and sometimes you get a whole place to yourself.

Around here, we’re less chasing the perfect shot and more let’s see what happens if we stay a little longer.

If that sounds like your kind of travel, you’re in the right place. 💚
The best view of Acadia isn’t on Cadillac. It’s 3 The best view of Acadia isn’t on Cadillac. It’s 3 miles offshore, and I’ll stand by that! 

We took the Lighthouse, Wildlife & Acadia National Park Cruise with @barharborwhales last October with visitors in town, and the fog rolled in twenty minutes out. I was thrilled. Coastal Maine doesn’t owe you a clear day. It owes you a mood.

The plan was Egg Rock, Winter Harbor, Baker Island, and Bear Island. The fog had other ideas, so the captain swung us around the quiet side of the island and we got Bass Harbor Head from the water, which almost nobody sees from that angle. I wouldn’t trade it for a clear day! 

Practical bits: about two and a half to three hours, it runs through the fall, and the route changes with the weather, so go in with no expectations and a real jacket. It’s ten degrees colder on the water than on the dock, every time.

🌊🍁 Save this for October 🍁🌊 I hope you get some fog too! 😉
Salem questions, round two. I love being your unof Salem questions, round two. I love being your unofficial tour guide for your October witch era. 🧙‍♀️

Which train should you take? Is 9 a.m. too early? (For Salem in October? Absolutely not.) Where did the witch trials actually happen? Can you go inside the Hocus Pocus house? (Nope. People live there. Please don’t be weird.)

We’re also talking coming in from Danvers, the ferry, what your 10-year-old will love, and whether November is too late for a Salem trip.

I lived in Massachusetts for 7 years and made the October pilgrimage more times than I can count. These are the answers I’d give a friend before sending them off to get aggressively distracted by every witchy gift shop in town. 

And if you want the whole game plan, I’ve got you:

🧹 The Ultimate Salem Guide ($): Week-by-week crowd calendar, parking lots by address, a kids’ itinerary, and what’s changed for 2026.

🎃 The Salem Cheat Sheet ($): The need-to-know details without the 47 open browser tabs.

Comment WITCH and I’ll send you the links. Consider it your official invitation to your 90s-kid, Hocus Pocus-loving witch era. 🖤
POV: You’re standing in the front yard of the man POV: You’re standing in the front yard of the man who gave Acadia to the world, and almost nobody knows it 😍

No circling the Park Loop Road looking for parking. Just old stone steps, the Atlantic, and a piece of Acadia history hiding in plain sight.

At the end you’ll find old stone foundations and steps going down to the rocks. That’s Old Farm, George Dorr’s house. Dorr spent his life and most of his money piecing together the land that became Acadia, then handed it to the country. He died in 1944, and the park took the house down a few years later. The story goes he swam off these rocks every morning well into old age.

So you’re standing in the front yard of the person who’s the reason any of this is public land. There’s no sign making a big deal of it. I think that’s the point.

Dogs on leash are fine. Park in the small lot on Route 3 just outside of Bar Harbor.

Then head back into town for dinner. Table Salt on Main Street if you want to sit down somewhere nice, or the Black Friar if you want a pub, a fire, and a bowl of stew. Both are a few minutes from the trailhead, which is the whole argument for doing Compass Harbor late in the day.

✨🍁✨ Save this one for the day you want Acadia without the Park Loop Road.

Heading to Acadia in the next few weeks? Comment Fall and I’ll send you links to my guide and blog post 🍁✨
If Horseman’s Hollow is on your Sleepy Hollow itin If Horseman’s Hollow is on your Sleepy Hollow itinerary, sit down, we need to talk 🎃👻✨

Sleepy Hollow rebuilt its entire Halloween lineup this year, and most of what’s on the internet about it hasn’t caught up. 

Horseman’s Hollow is gone. Kykuit’s paused. Irving’s ‘Legend’ moved outdoors to Sunnyside. Halloween is a Saturday and so is the parade a week earlier.

I lived in New England for 7 years and drove down almost every October. This is the version I’d hand a friend, checked for 2026: the honest week-by-week crowd calendar, every ticket and the order it sells out, the train and the parking lots, parade night and Halloween night hour by hour, one perfect weekday, and the seven real Legend addresses.

The Sleepy Hollow in October Cheat Sheet ($) is six pages you keep on your phone. The Ultimate Sleepy Hollow Guide ($) is the whole year including itineraries, where to actually sleep (RV included), the dog version, the estates, the real history.

Comment HORSEMAN and I’ll send you both links, plus my blog post One Day In Sleepy Hollow!
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