I’ve been in love with the idea of Maine for a long time. The images I dreamed up in my head as a child from books, movies, and especially the ever-classic Murder She Wrote had me fascinated with a quaint life on the coast from an early age. Still a New England virgin at 35, I couldn’t pass up the chance to tag along with Jake ‘on business’ (more golfing) in Boston, and plan a short weekend just up the coast in Maine.
I only spent a grand total of 18 hours in Boston, but what I saw, I liked. We ate dozens of mussels at Al Dente in the North End, had a shot at Bell in Hand (which despite being the oldest tavern in America, attracted the youngest of-drinking-age, and we scurried out in a hurry), and ogled at the cakes at Modern Pastry. The North End was charming and lively, and really, just perfect.
After sleeping on our first lumpy, tiny bed of the trip (this is what happens when you cheap out in an expensive city), we woke early and caffeinated ourselves at Tatte in Beacon Hill. I had every intention of snapping a few shots of this beautiful little bakery (note, there are multiple locations) and our chocolate croissants, but the place was jam-packed and I didn’t want to be ‘that girl’ taking pics of her food. So we scarfed down our meal and set out to explore Beacon Hill with the short amount of time we had left.
Beacon Hill is gorgeous and full of history. It actually reminds me a little of the Gold Coast or Lincoln Park in Chicago, and similarly, is on the waterfront. But alas, it was time to hit the road and see what Maine had to offer. We didn’t have much of a plan for this trip other than to drive from town to town along the water. We drove through a little bit of Kittery, just across the border from New Hampshire and only an hour outside of Boston. Even so early into the drive, I was in awe of how picturesque everything was – every barn, every fruit stand, every colonial-style home, I thought, was worthy of a photo. (Too bad Jake didn’t feel the need to stop the car for any of it.) We didn’t pass any strip malls, or Targets, or even any large grocery stores. I got the sense that people there live a much different kind of life, but don’t realize how special it may seem to outsiders. The little old man who ran the produce stand we stopped at seemed stumped as to why I would want to take a photo of his little roadside business, and that only added to the authenticity of it all.
From there, we drove just 20 minutes north along the 1 to Fox’s Lobster House. Situated on the water and charming in its own little nautical way, this was our favorite stop of the day.
On less chilly days (or if you’re not from Arizona), you can sit outside and get a view of both the ocean and Nubble Lighthouse, which is just a stroll away. (No pics because it was under construction.) As you leave Fox’s, there are some gorgeous homes along the water and a pretty little main street that you can’t miss.
You could take your time driving through a few other towns (note, Ogunquit being one of them), but at this point we were getting anxious to get to our B&B in Kennebunkport. When we booked the last available room at Captain Jefferd’s, we knew it was going to be ‘cozy,’ but we didn’t expect a Hobbit House…
I loved it nonetheless. The only thing I could have done without was yet another mini bed. (Yes, I can’t seem to let this go, but any couple that sleeps on a king can appreciate this, and those on a queen need to rethink things.) We’d pay for our lack of sleep for days after (we’re getting old), but the inn itself and our champagne toasts in the garden made up for it.
The town of Kennebunkport is really not that big and it only took us one evening on Spring Street and one short yet excruciating bike ride down Ocean Drive to feel like we got a lay of the land.
On our second day, we breezed through Portland, which is the largest town in Maine. I had seen a few pics of Portland online when I was researching where to stay, and even though there were more hotels, more restaurants, and likely more to do than in some of the smaller outlying towns, I wasn’t compelled to stay there.
As we drove through it, I thought it to be a cross between Milwaukee and the other Portland (Oregon) on the water, and lovely as that sounds, I didn’t come to Maine to drink craft cocktails and stare at a bunch of hipsters. 🙂 So we checked that off our list and continued north to Wiscasset. There seemed to be one main attraction in town: Red’s Eats. This small little lobster shack attracted a big crowd. Not really having anywhere special to be, and (falsely) assuming the wait wouldn’t be more than 30 minutes, we got line. When in Rome, right? TWO HOURS later…
By the time we were 20 minutes in, we realized it was going to be a much longer wait than expected, but we were pot committed. And we couldn’t wimp out in front of the new friends we made in line. (Including a 7-year old Golden named Emily.) I rarely make food the focus of our trips and I definitely would not have gotten in that line had I known what we were in for, but it was worth it. There rolls themselves were buried under huge servings of lobster, which was incredibly fresh and NOT smothered in mayo (which I took to be a good sign). The rolls did come with butter to dip them in (yum) and Red’s serves a number of sides. Next time I’d swap the onion rings for a whoopie pie or the homemade blueberry pie with ice cream from the shop next door.
After a brief visit at Portland Head (the lighthouse pictured at the very top of my post), we made our final stop of the trip: Ogunquit. We had driven through this colorful town on the way to Kennebunkport, and I had to see more.
If I had one ‘do over’ for this trip, I would have stayed in Ogunquit. The town has such a fun atmosphere – lots of outdoor wine patios, busy restaurants, and one very lively piano bar. And did I mention its known as ‘New England’s gay getaway?’ (Can’t miss all the flags. And the random pineapple.) Plus some of the inns were right on the water and that big open beach above.
One more thing: If we had more time, I also would have tried to make it up to Rockland and Camden, and even as far as Bar Harbor.
We took in one more gorgeous sunrise (not a single edit to the pic below) and called our first East Coast road trip done. Short, sweet, and very satisfying 🙂
