Date: 2018-08-29
To: Kentucky 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Wow! I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Next Step finished his thru hike of the AT and that I was able to hike the last two days with him. And most importantly, that we were able to summit Katahdin together! We will have these memories forever - and the 1,000 miles we experienced together can never be taken away. Of course there was so much to talk about on our way back to Kentucky. We had thought about driving up to Mount Washington since I had missed out on that part of the hike, but since I am hoping to go back and complete the rest of the AT over the next several years, we decided to just wait and hike it together when the time came. Instead, we headed towards Boston via Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. We had heard that both were ¢Must Do¢s¢ and I needed some ¢active recovery¢ from our 9 hour climb and descent of Katahdin. It is amazing how quickly you lose your ability to climb up and down mountains without experiencing any soreness! It literally took me a full week to be able to walk up and down stairs without flinching from the pain in my calves and quads!! I NEVER had that once the whole 1,000 miles of my AT hike! LolBefore heading to Acadia we went back to the Appalachian Cafe for breakfast so that Next Step could add his autograph to the 2018 Thru Hiker¢s Ceiling Tile. We saw the names of several other hikers that we had met along the way. Great way to start the morning. Then we made the drive over to ANP. After stopping in at the Visitor Center for a recommendation of places to see if you only have one day to spend in the park, we caught a park shuttle and stopped at several beautiful spots along the coastline. One being a ¢blow hole¢ on the beach where waves flow into a cavern at high tide and blow back out creating a sound of thunder and huge splashes up the walls of the outside of the cavern. Pretty cool! We didn¢t get to see it at high tide, but it was still making some pretty decent splashes and loud booms! When we had had enough walking in the park, we decided to drive on down to the coast to Bar Harbor for an early seafood supper. Another great decision of the day, especially the shrimp cocktail. Yum! I had tried to book a room at a B&B the week prior, but most of the ones in our price range were already fully booked, and Bar Harbor was very busy and absolutely filled with tourists. We thought we might just try to find something a little bit farther from town and again, that was a great decision. Next Step just lucked upon The Homeport Inn in Searsport. He had called to see if there were any vacancies. We decided we would just drive by and look at it before we committed. Had no idea that we were about to hit a gold mine! Anita, one of the co-owners, greeted us warmly and gave us a mini tour of the B&B. We mentioned that we had just summited Katahdin and that Next Step had just finished his thru hike. She was immediately asking lots of questions, so he gave her the link to our trail journal. She and her son hike and she really wanted to hear all about our adventure. Of course, we LOVE trail talk so we chatted with her well over 30 minutes before we got checked into our room. She truly made us feel right at home. The next morning we had an extraordinary breakfast which included a Belgian waffle (just one item among MANY that Next Step chose for breakfast!!) with homemade maple syrup that was made by the family of the other co-owner, Marcia. Next Step liked it so much that he bought a pint to bring home with us! Oh, I forgot to mention that when we came down for breakfast, there was a To Go box containing two homemade blueberry muffins. On the box, Anita had written ¢a tasty treat for Next Step and Which Way¢s travels.¢ She must have known that thru hikers need treats AT LEAST every two hours after they complete their hike. This would at least save us one stop!! Lol Anita and Marcia both came by to chat while we enjoyed our breakfast. Anita said she had stayed up reading through the first week of our trail journal. She was simply a joy to be around! We already have planned to stop back in and see her when I go back to complete my AT hike! I HIGHLY recommend The Homeport Inn if you¢re ever in the area. You won¢t be disappointed! Before we could leave, they asked to take our picture to put on their Facebook webpage. Of course!We got on the road around noon and stopped in Augusta for a movie (shocker!) and then made our way to Hanscom AFB to spend the night. Had to go get some Mexican before we could turn in for the night! It was a wonderful way to spend our post hike recovery! But the best part was being with my Next Step! It¢s going to be awhile before I let him out of my sight! No hurry trying to figure out our Next Step...HugsWhich Way