Which way?

Funny, I keep having arguments with myself about the best (shortest?) way to drive from home to Bar Harbor. And I keep trying the other way. Maybe next year I'll remember...

When I headed up to Maine for the start of my just finished trip, I jumped off of the highway to follow route 1 from Brunswick to Camden. That made sense, no question about the best route to follow in that direction.

But coming home? That's another story. My end point in Maine was Bar Harbor. I've driven from Bar Harbor to Bangor, picking up I-95 there for the journey home, and I've also followed the coast from Bar Harbor to Belfast before heading inland to pick up I-95 in Augusta. Which way is better? That depends...

On a good day (good as in good lighting conditions and probably dry roads), the drive up route 3 from Belfast to Augusta can be beautiful. And as for the distance, the road from Bar Harbor to Ellsworth to Belfast to Augusta is about 15 miles shorter than the road from Bar Harbor to Ellsworth to Bangor to Augusta. (Oh, you want to know why I said about? Because I got the distances from Google maps as opposed to driving or riding and checking the actual distance. You mileage may vary...)

Yesterday, I followed route 1 to Belfast and then turned inland. And once again I am convinced that it would have taken less time if I'd headed to Bangor and jumped on I-95 sooner.

I've had this discussion with myself many times before, probably every time I've gone to Bar Harbor. Let's see if next spring when I (probably) head out for an Acadia fix if I remember that driving through Bangor makes more time sense.