Maine Vacation Day 3 (Part 2)

We had reservations on The Surprise for a three o’clock sail. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat (that we can recall), so we were looking forward to the experience. To our surprise (pun intended) our schooner was celebrating its 94th birthday this year. The boat is a 57 foot long schooner, family owned and operated, and listed on the national register of historic places. The captains are an old husband and wife couple and both looked like they had been sailing the salty seas for a long time.

After leaving the dock, Captain Jack looked around one of the main sails at me and sort did the “oh yeah” chuckle. I knew what the chuckle was for, and as expected, a few minutes later he grabbed me to help him raise the main sail. With the exception of the two girls from the Navy ship anchored off shore, we were the youngest people on board. That suggests that they mainly serve older individuals, since he had me and the next youngest looking man on board help him raise the sails. Captain Jack pulled his end of the main sail up with his rope and all I had to do was match his pace with my end. I had to pull on the rope faster than him to keep the sail parallel to the water.

The sail was nice but probably not something that I would get into if I lived near the ocean. On the way out of Camden we were on the low side of The Surprise, meaning that the sailboat on our side was tipped over so that we got a good view of just how close we were to the water. We were able to see some good sights and some other sailboats that were out that afternoon. The weather was great for sailing, sunny and windy, but towards the end we were getting cold and ready to get back on dry land. Since we were sitting towards the front we got a little wet from a few waves splashing against the hull. I was looking forward to the advertised freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, but they never came. We did get to see Curtis Island Lighthouse and a close up view of the U.S.S. Normandy, so I can’t complain too much.

We ended the night with a nice dinner at the harbor and then headed back to our inn. We had a relatively early start the next morning to catch our plane in Manchester. Other then then delicious scones and coffee we picked up the next morning, this was the end of our vacation. I’m pretty sure we both had a great time exploring the area. We’re already talking about coming back, but next time we’ll make sure we come in the fall when the leaves are changing color. As the locals call it, that’s time of year when all the “leaf peepers” arrive.

Maine Vacation Day 3 (Part 1)

After doing a lot of driving the previous two days, we were looking forward to spending some time exploring the area around Camden. After breakfast we went for a short drive to Megunticook Lake located only a few miles outside of town. It was nice to see that the area also offers lake houses, camping, swimming, and boating as well the ocean. In the fall the area around the lake would be another great place to spend some time.

Camden Hills State Park is also only a few miles outside of Camden, but in a different direction. There were some camping spots, but mostly people use the park for day hiking and biking trips. We checked out the park because a mile and half is all it takes to drive to the top of Mount Battie. At the top there is an amazing 180 degree view of the coast and the harbor and town of Camden. We stayed at the top for a while because the view was so good.

We contemplated picking up lunch in town and coming back to the overlook to eat, but as we were leaving we stumbled upon the other half of the park on the other side of the highway. This section of the park is near the water and has many picnic areas. We found a path near the water and after picking up lunch from the local grocery store in Camden, returned to eat while overlooking the ocean. We both agreed that the view from Camden Hills is surprisingly better then at Acadia National Park.

The corner grocery store, French and Brawn (since 1868), was a nice find for future visits. The store isn’t very large when you first walk in, but in the back they have tons of pre-made salads, sandwiches, and a full deli, bakery, and coffee. We’ll definitely buy breakfast and lunch from there if we ever come back. Also surprising was that the prices for food didn’t seem very high compared to home. My big salad was only five dollars and my fresh baguette, only a dollar and a quarter.

After lunch we went back to our room for a few minutes to rest before our two-hour sail around Penobscot Bay...

Maine Vacation Day 2

Today our plan was to sleep in a little bit and have breakfast at the inn before spending the day driving up the coast and around Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. There were a few towns along the way, but for the most part everyone seemed to be heading to the same place we were. We only got a few miles into our drive before we hit some light rain. It lightly rained on and off for most of the day, but it was a nice change from the "desert" sun and heat of the summer at home.

We arrived in Bar Harbor around lunchtime, so we decide to stop and eat across the street from the harbor at an Irish pub and restaurant. After walking around the town for a few minutes we hopped in the car and drove around Acadia National Park. The park was very pretty, and I can only imagine what it must be like in the fall when everything is in color. There were so many large oak, maple, and other trees. 

The islands around the area reminded me of the San Juans in Washington state, but the rocky coastline and mountains reminded me of home. I was surprised to find out that most of the rock on the island is pink granite, the same stuff so common around the Pikes Peak region.

We rested in our room tonight so that we'd be ready for another day around town tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we have a sailboat trip around the bay and should see some more great sights.   

Maine Vacation Day 1

On Friday we dropped the kids off at my parent’s place and headed up to DIA to catch our flight to New Hampshire. The kids seemed very excited about having a slumber party with the grandparents and we were excited for our own vacation. This was the first time in over five years (since we were pregnant with Julia) that we've been without kids for more than a day or two.

Everything went pretty well on the way to the airport and during the flight. We flew into Manchester, NH, because that is as far northeast as Southwest Airlines flies, and because we wanted to see the area on our way up to Camden, ME. We crashed at the Super 8 at the airport at about 1:30 in the morning east coast time, and both fortunately and unfortunately woke up about five and half hours later.

We were on the road earlier than expected, so we were able to take a slight detour and see Kennebunkport and the Bush compound outside of town. We could see people riding bikes and Segway’s along the property. It was really nice to see the coast, the ocean, and feel the soft ocean air. The day was somewhat warm, but the perfect humidity and slight breeze made it comfortable. It was hard not to think about the world leaders that have visited or stayed there in the past.



I had always known that the area was heavily forested from pictures and other things, but I guess I never realized just how thick and how large it really is. Basically, from the time we left Manchester until we arrived in Camden, about three hours in total, we were surrounded by tall trees and couldn’t see much at all past the leafed walls. Some of the leaves were beginning to show some color but most were still green. I can’t imagine what this place looks like in the fall when everything is in full color. We’ll have to come back at that time of year in the future.

Before arriving in Camden, we stopped in Portland to see the city and have a picnic lunch at Fort Williams State Park, site of the Portland Head Light (house) and an old Army Fort used during World War I and II. We found a nice picnic bench overlooking the ocean and the lighthouse and enjoyed a relaxing lunch in the park. We didn’t get to see much of Portland because we were ready to head up and check into our bed and breakfast.

After checking into our room in Camden, we walked around the harbor and town. It’s a quaint little town, but it was a busy place this afternoon. After dark things got pretty quiet, but before then we enjoyed some “wicked fresh lawbstah” for dinner. Stacey had never eaten lobster, and I may have only had it once or twice in my lifetime. We had to ask the waitress for some pointers on how to best eat it. Another couple that were dining but from somewhere nearby (based on their accent) thought we might provide some in-dinner entertainment, but they were probably disappointed. I told them that we don’t have very good “lawbstah” in Colorado.

We returned to our bed and breakfast a little early so that we could rest up for breakfast and Acadia National Park the following day.