Maine, Part Three – Bangor and Acadia National Park

Jul 30, 2023

We fulfilled a dream and visited ~~Derry~~ Bangor, Maine. Bangor is the inspiration for many of the books by our favorite author, Stephen King. So we visited several locations that were either in his films or inspiration for his books (see Pet Sematary and It). We also visited the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation location, which until recently was the home of the Kings. And we visited the Bangor Library, which still exists because of donations from the Kings, who give generously throughout Maine. The captions explain each one.

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The Paul Bunyan statue that inspired the CGI Paul Bunyan statue in the 2017 movie IT.

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The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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Sharon and Chip in front of the gate to the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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Chuck, Sharon and Chip in front of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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Sharon and Chip in front of Stephen King’s house, now home of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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A wooden sculpture in front of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, that was commissioned by the Kings.

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Fence gate in front of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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Dragon overlooking gate in front of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

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The Thomas Hill Standpipe

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Chuck in front of the Thomas Hill Standpipe

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Plaque at Thomas Hill Standpipe

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Sharon being silly

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The Thomas Hill Standpipe

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The sign on the Thomas Hill Standpipe

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The Thomas Hill Standpipe water tower served as the inspiration for the haunted and dangerous water tower in “It”

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The bench at the base of the Thomas Hill Standpipe where Stephen King supposedly wrote most of IT.

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The grate that inspired the grate scene in IT

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Bangor Library 2

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Bangor Library 1

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Bangor Water works where Graveyard Shift was set

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Just a cool bench downtown Derry, er, I mean Bangor

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Entrance sign to Pet Sematary cemetery

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Entrance to Pet Sematary cemetery

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Pet Sematary Stephen King Scene from up high as in the movie

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Pet Sematary Stephen King Scene

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Gravestone was the inspiration for the name Georgie, from IT.

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Gravestone was the inspiration for the name Georgie, from IT.

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Gravestone was inspiration for the name Carrie.

The day after our Stephen King tour, we visited Acadia National Park. We prepared a good bit and had a great time.

The first thing we did was drive up a mountain named Cadillac Summit. To keep visitor numbers low at the summit, they require reservations for a limited number of vehicles at the top. I made reservations, and paid $6, here. Of course, being a national park, we also needed a park pass. Fortunately, Sharon has a lifetime park pass for all US national parks. Without that, it would be $35 for a day pass.

The summit was one of the most beautiful drives and views we’ve ever seen (and we’ve lived in Hawaii). Here’s a video of two panoramic views from up top, followed by lots of photos from the drive up, at the top, and the drive down.

After the summit, we drove into Bar Harbor (pronounced Bah Hahbah) for lunch. Bar Harbor is extremely popular, so was very crowded. I mean the kind of crowded where it was no fun walking around. We found a lunch spot on the water, which turned out to be an overpriced, low quality tourist trap (named Fish House Grill, so you can avoid it). We can’t always find the best spots!

After lunch, we drove what is known as the Park Loop Road (highlighted yellow in the above map). It is basically a drive around the island with unbelievable views. It’s hard to describe, so we have photos.