Trip Report

Thank you everyone,especially CB48, MainerOnTheGo, MaineGirlAtHeart, CozyHarbor and Cwvoigt. We had a wonderful time in Portland. My family drove up a day before me due to the snow and we returned home before the Sunday storm. We loved the Portland Museum of Art. We went to the special Family Rock concert but left the concert early since my kids were not interested in the concert. We all really enjoyed the PMA. My 14 year old loved the ';Backstage Pass';-the Rock%26amp;Roll Photo exhibit and my 7 year old enjoyed the hands on exhibits in the McLellan House. After our visit to the PMA we went next door to the Children%26#39;s Museum. Great for the 7 year old ';not so much'; for the 14 year old. We loved our walk at Two Lights State Park. It was very nice even in the snow.

We ate at Duckfat. I loved the fries and our 14 year old loved her grilled cheese with tomato panini. I was not thrilled with the homemade sodas but my daughter enjoyed those as well. We also ate at Flatbread. The pizzas were delicious and Flatbread is located in a great spot right on the harbor. I really enjoyed this location.

We spent a lot of time swimming in the indoor pool at our hotel and right before our departure of Portland, my 7 year old and I spent some time in Jokers. My 7 year old loved it!

Thanks again.

Trip Report

Thank you for the report. I%26#39;m happy that you and your family enjoyed it. We manage four or five visits a year to Portland.

If you go back to Duckfat, try the milk shakes.

Trip Report

Thanks for reporting back! I still haven%26#39;t caught that exhibit at the PMA - I%26#39;m glad it%26#39;s here for a few more weeks!

I%26#39;ve tried several different pizzas at Flatbread and loved them all.

You left at the right time. Today a lot of southern Maine was without power (me included...) and western and northern parts had 2 feet of snow or more!

Which hotel were you at and did you like it?

Cwvoigt,

The milkshakes looked yummy, I will try them next time. Which flavor is your favorite?

CB48,

We stayed at the Howard Johnson. When we have our kids, an indoor pool is a must in the winter along with a fridge and microwave. We like the Howard Johnson in Middlletown, right outside of Newport, RI so we decided to try Portland%26#39;s HoJo%26#39;s. For three nights, we paid less than $200.00 for our entire stay at the hotel including taxes. Since we had two cars, we also wanted to make sure parking was included.The hotel met our needs.We stay at budget hotels when I am with my family. We go more upscale when it is just my husband and I.

I usually like to use Hotwire and try to get a nicer place for a discount price but with this trip we did not want any surprise parking charges since we were driving in two different cars. We enjoyed our stay in Portland and will stop in Portland on our way to Acadia for our family summer vacations.

Any suggestions on where to stay in Bar Harbor area?

';The milkshakes looked yummy, I will try them next time. Which flavor is your favorite?';

Espresso.

As to lodging suggestions in Bar Harbor, any idea what you would like, i.e., B%26amp;B, hotel, motel?

Cwvoigt,

Maybe a motel, cabin or cottage? Not a B%26amp;B because it will be a family trip.

Others here (I hope) will be better able to help you with cabin/cottage information. The Bar Harbor forum in the past has had a lot of information on these. Also, http://www.acadiamagic.com has links to various motel, cottage, and cabin rentals.

As for motels, the one that seems to consistently get very good reviews is the Bar Harbor Motel. Although more on the edge of village---on Eden St. (Rte 3) past College of the Atlantic, it has a pool. During the season (late June through mid October) it is one of the stops of the Island Explorer shuttle bus system(free, although they request that you buy a park pass)that serves the national park, the village of Bar Harbor, and connects to other villages on the island. See:

http://www.exploreacadia.com

Thanks for posting your Trip Report. It%26#39;s always fun...and helpful...to get feedback from folks we%26#39;re tried to help.

Am sure some of the folks who are ';more local'; to the Bar Harbor area than I am can help you put together a great trip up there this summer.

And thanks for the great feedback on Flatbread %26amp; Co. It%26#39;s the kind of place most people either love or hate, so I%26#39;m always just a little concerned when I point people in that direction....we love it.

Sorry for the late response to your post....have been out in the driveway getting rid of the 16 inches of heavy wet snow that arrived Sunday night and Monday....

Glad this past trip was a good one -- am sure the Bar Harbor one will be equally successful.