With the craziness of the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to get away from NYC and while we originally planned to only be away for a week, it’s now turned to two and I’m totally okay with that. We have been social distancing as advised and basing ourselves in houses in rural areas which provides a sense of peacefulness in knowing that your neighbors won’t cough on your doorknob and the grocery stores here still have food and cleaning supplies unlike my Soho abode where the local CVS shelves have been ravaged for weeks and finding toilet paper & paper towels are like finding a unicorn. While I know I can’t hide forever in the country and need to head back to my apartment at some point, I’m savoring these moments in the countryside where you can at least drive around in the car, enjoy some beautiful views, and experience nature safely with plenty of wide, open spaces and no people out.

We spent our first week hiding in Martha’s Vineyard and for this week, we are in rural Maine which I highly recommend for stowing away in as well as we have only seen a handful of people since we arrived on Saturday and I’m beyond pleased with that.

For a little adventure yesterday, we headed over to Acadia National Park and hiked The Beehive Cliffs & Bowl Trail. This was one of my first proper hikes since my ACL surgery so I was a bit apprehensive as I knew it’s a 3-hour challenging and steep one involving climbing up rungs but after being cooped up for much of 2019 due to my surgery and 2020 due to the coronavirus, I was excited to do a bit of exploring!

We parked our car in a parking lot next to Sand Beach but only took quick peek from above before getting started on the proper trail as this was surely one that we wanted to make it back down the mountain while there was still light.

Fittingly named The Beehive Trail, this hike involves scaling up the mountain in a zigzag which while at times was difficult, it was a really fun jaunt involving stepping on large & small slabs of rocks, climbing up iron rungs, using some of the iron rungs as guardrails or ledges, and in general stopping to enjoy the many beautiful views. Not for the faint of heart when it comes to heights but incredibly enjoyable for the breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean when you reach the peak! Once at the top, we rested for a snack break and soaked up the hard-earned views from above.

After our rest, we hiked down the back of the mountain to do the Loop Trail to catch the beginnings of the magic sunset hour which I highly recommend! The stillness of the lake and surroundings was captivating as the only thing you could hear was a babbling brook and a raven we saw perched up high.

From here, we continued onwards on the wooden planks through the forest and wound back to Sand Beach perfectly timed for the beautiful, pastel sunset hour. Beach sunsets, always my fave.