Looking for best experiences and favorite coastal places to stay for a week to 10 days in June. Sister and I--in our mid 50's--have interests in photography, hiking, crafting, shopping, much love street art fairs, eating in out of the way and quirky places, and doing anything off the beaten path as well as all things touristy. Particularly seeking a sort of central location to plant ourselves for the duration of our stay, from which we'll venture off on a few day trips. A cottage, B & B, nice hotel - where have you stayed that you've never forgotten or will never return??
June 2011 Maine vacation
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Acadia NP meets many of your requirements and depending on where you are coming from, you could do a few days along the way to meet the rest.
I second Acadia NP as well. Beautiful scenery, easy to moderate hikes, bike trails, great photography, and shopping in Bar Harbor. Also drive over to Schoodic Peninsula, less populated with spectacular scenery.
Another suggestion would be Portland, a very pretty small city on the coast: wonderful art museum, waterfront, nice shopping & great restaurants. You can also take day trips to lighthouses, Casco Bay area, Freeport, or go south to Kennebunport, etc.
If you don't want a city, then consider mid-coast Maine, such as the Camden area.
Double-check that your must-sees will be open when you plan to visit, especially if you are going in early June. Some things do not open for the summer season until late in June or even July 1!
Kennebunkport and Ogunquit are great areas to visit and they are not too far from Portland if you want to take a day trip shopping. K/O have great water views as well as wonderful restaurants.
I also suggest Camden or some place mid-coast as opposed to the Bar Harbor area. With 10 days, you will want to explore the rest of the coast and after a few days in Acadia Nat'l Park area and much of it will be too far to drive from the Bar Harbor area.
From mid-caost you can easily do day trips as far north as Acadia and as far south as Portland. List at all the places you are considering visiting and Google Map the drive times from different home bases to get a sense of what will work best for you.
We stayed here for our 8 day trip (and loved it!), but there are countless other options in the area:
http://www.vrbo.com/54305
I agree that the Midcoast region would be ideal for your purposes. We rented a house in Rockland, Maine and found that it was a great base for exploring the region. Rockland itself is a nice town to explore (good restaurants, cute shops, lobster boat tours) and from there we were able to visit lots of other towns. It was also an easy two hour drive to Acadia. The house gave us the chance to come home after a busy day of exploring, relax by the quarry, and cook dinner.
http://summermaine.com/quarryhouse/
We've rented a cottage in Ogunquit for a week in the end of June. Very excited.
You will be happy with Ogunquit. From there you can visit Kennebunkport, Portland, Freeport, & Casco Bay.