A Perfect Long Weekend in Maine
This summer, for our three-year first-date-a-versary, we decided to take a road trip to coastal Maine. We’d visited Maine a couple of years back (and both been separately other times), and we wanted to get back to some of our favorite spots plus some new ones!
After leaving from my family reunion in upstate NY, we traveled to Ogunquit. It’s one of my favorite places in the US! We had a great time and scored some fun waves surfing the river mouth.
We stayed at a cute, dog-friendly hotel and went to see live music at the Leavitt Theatre.
And when there weren’t any waves, we took an afternoon to hike at Mount Agamenticus and immerse in nature.
Our next stop was Portland, for my first time. We were only there for one night to visit with some of Bryan’s friends, but it seems like a really cool city. Of course we had to get clam chowder…
And try potato donuts from Holy Donuts. I liked them, but it was a stiff competition with Congon’s in Well, ME.
In the morning we took a walk and saw this pinecone made of shovels. And got second breakfast from Tandem Bakery (not pictured.)
Our next stop, thanks to Bryan’s friends, was Popham Beach. We’d planned to camp, but they invited us to stay at their family house. It was incredible!
First the weather was foggy and grey. We wanted to check the surf but couldn’t see two feet in front of our faces. We did sea and hear some seals swimming around by the beach.
It eventually cleared up to this amazing view:
And we walked along the beach. The waves weren’t quite surfable on the days we were there, but we had a lovely relaxing time anyway.
On the way out, I’d read about the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and wanted to stop but wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m so glad we made the little detour! We spent the day troll hunting for Thomas Dhambo’s trolls— these magical creations made from recycled materials—all throughout the gardens.
Then I needed an ice cream stop to refuel for the rest of the drive:
And we ended up in Acadia that night to set up our campsite (at Bass Harbor Campground):
And catch the sunset at Bass Harbor:
The next day, we went for a hike up Cadillac Mountain on the North Ridge Trail. It was a long trek over rock face in the sun but with beautiful views almost the whole time. I think Bailey did a better job than me since there was one part where we had to lift her up a ladder!
My last night dinner was worth the wait! I finally caved to a lobster roll at Side Street Cafe.
And neither of us are allergic to blueberry pie…
The next morning we took our time and got brunch at Clark Point Cafe plus takeaway popovers from a really neat non-profit kitchen that offers “pay-what-you-can” popovers, porridge, and coffee breakfast to the whole community (Common Good Kitchen). Then we set out for the drive back to New Jersey. It was a long one on a Sunday in the summer but totally worth it for our time in Maine!