Maine travel ideas
 

We intend to spend a week in Maine, driving up from Boston area. We'll spend some nights at our secret little place in Boothbay Harbor, then head up to Bangor for the American Folk Festival (again). Included in our plans: Wyeth exhibit at Farnsworth in Rockland and Hopper exhibit at Bowdoin College, Brunswick. We'll be taking day trips from Boothbay Harbor, maybe genealogical search in Bristol.

Any suggestions about special sites and eateries that anyone would recommend? Is Portland worth a stop...how about towns on up the coast? Ideas for historic houses or cruises? (Already taken in Ogunquit, Portsmouth, Acadia, Bar Harbor, L L Bean).

Thanks for tips as we explore Maine more thoroughly late August.

Bill in Boston

Hi Bill,

Portland is ABSOLUTELY worth a stop! Get there early and take the mail boat cruise. See my trip report from last year:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-june-2010.cfm

Did you see my recent TR on South Berwick Maine? It's just across the NH border. There are 2 properties that belong to Historic New England:
Sarah Orne Jewett House
http://www.historicnewengland.org/hi...e-jewett-house
and
Hamilton house
http://www.historicnewengland.org/hi...hamilton-house

[We only had time for Hamilton House on our recent trip.]

Further up in Maine, there are a couple of properties in Wiscasset. I've never been but we hope to visit that part of Maine next summer.
http://www.historicnewengland.org/hi...to-visit#Maine

Good! We were at the Gropius House not long ago and once earlier the Coffin House (Newbury). So we know about those historic building properties. Thanks for the tips.

So as to dining...?

Friar's Bake Shop in Bangor for lunch!

There's a nice short, easy hike to Owls Head Light near Rockland. Check events at Owls Head Transportation Museum. On weekends they sometimes have antique airplanes flying. Best lobster shack is nearby Waterman's Beach. Wear hat and sunglasses if you want a picnic table by the water.

Wine tasting at Cellar Door Winery. They have a shop now on Rt 1 just south of Camden but I like their original shop and vineyard in Lincolnville better if they still do tastings there.
Casual dining in Wiscasset, the Seabasket on Rt 1.
Casual dining at Just Barb's, Rt 1 in Stockton Springs (north of Camden, before you get to Ellsworth)
Chicken Barn Antiques and Used Books. Huge building - second floor is all old books. DH marveled at the construction and likes old authors like the Country Squire series.
I recently read that there are several farmers markets in Brunswick. We've been to the one of Fridays on the "mall" (we would call it the town common). Great baked goods if you need a snack and great veggies etc if you are doing some of your own cooking. You might see some ethnic food there, too.
Several years ago we visited the Cole Transportation Museum in Bangor. My FIL was still alive and made our visit more interesting since he used to work on/with some of the rigs. Look for the photo of the Lombard Log Hauler. We saw a restored one last year during a special event at Owls Head. We also took him to an event a Leonard's Mills Logging Museum. There was a wood chopping competition by college teams and the restored saw mill was running. The guys who worked on it were there. My FIL loved the exhibit of old chain saws ... some like he used to own.

In Portland, MDI ice cream has a shop on Exchange St in the Old Port area. Really strange flavors. I'm looking forward to going again. If it's slow, they'll let you taste some flavors.

Chowhound folks keep raving about the french fries at Duckfat in Portland but we haven't been. Loved the mailboat cruise in Portland. Check to see what's happening at the Maritime Museum in Bath. They usually have some boat trips to see lighthouses. We were lucky when we went, it was an all day cruise and time on a little island to eat your picnic lunch. I've seen half day trips listed but never the all day one again. Excellent narration and stories about each lighthouse.

Have heard the mail ferries out of Portland are interesting to take, though haven't done this.

But will second the french fries at Duckfat -- excellent stuff. Elsewhere in Portland, Becky's does first-rate diner eats, Flatbread Company does an eccentric but good version of pizza, and Fore Street is a worthwhile dinnertime destination.

Portland has a number of other attractions, including a worthwhile art museum and two worthy historic houses to tour (Victoria Mansion and Wadsworth-Longfellow House). The neighborhood around Eastern Promenade has pleasing views and some nice architecture, and the nearby Portland Observatory offers an especially good view and a little local history. The neighborhood around Western Promenade also has some nice architecture. The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum is worth a visit as well if you like seeing old rail cars and enjoy doing a short train ride along sections of the harbor.

Bill, we did all the things mentioned by bachslunch in Portland. Details in my trip report, link posted earlier.

Maine State Museum in Augusta is a great day trip from Boothbay, lobster stew at the nearby Augusta House of Pancakes or lunch at Slate's Restaurant in Hallowell.

yk wrote: "we did all the things mentioned by bachslunch in Portland. Details in my trip report"

Which I guess only goes to show that great minds think alike. :-)

Have been to the Maine State Museum in Augusta, which is an enjoyable enough example of its kind. Note that if you want to see the State Capitol Building there, you'll probably need to make a reservation ahead of time. Not sure if it's still that way, but it was when I went. As capitols go, it's okay if not as interesting as several others around the country. It's apparently possible to see the Governor's Mansion, but it has very limited tour hours (Tues to Thurs. 2 pm to 4 pm) -- which wasn't the day I went.

Thanks for ideas about places and of course food spots! yk, maybe we will stop off in Portland and I did look up your report, already printed the coupon for Longfellow-Wadsworth house. Museum, mailboat sound good.

OK, clarkgriswold, maybe we should also consider State Museum in Augusta. dfrostnh, I see your last trip was to Wichita? Surely not THIS summer (our son and family are suffering in the heat there).

Other ideas about along the coast?

Ozarksbill, my Wichita trip was mid-May. Got out just before flights got disrupted due to tornadoes. It wasn't too hot then.

Bangor to Portsmouth...return trip I-95 to Boston week from Monday. Specifically, what would you stop off to see or is there any special eatery we shouldn't miss?

Thanks...Bill

I don't know what time you have, but one of the greatest things I did was take a trip to Monhegan Island out of Port Clyde. I stayed overnight, but you can go for the day. Check it out - a truly special place where many of the areas most important artists spend and have spent time. Jamie Wyeth owns a home there and spends quite a bit of time there.

Hi Bill,

This isn't a "shouldn't miss" suggestion, but a pleasant, convenient suggestion if you want to have lunch enroute. At the York exit on the turnpike, head towards York and the ocean and you come right to the Stonewall Kitchen store, They have a luncheon bar where you have a nice lunch, inside or outside at tables.

You can also tour the store and sample many of their products. There is plenty of parking and easy on and off from the highway. I think they serve lunch until 3:00 p.m.

Have you been to Camden, Maine, home of the famous poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Camden is a smaller version of Boothbay Harbor and also very beautiful.

http://www.camdenmainevacation.com/

Old Orchard Beach has a great amusement park and the writer Stephen King wrote about it in one of his books. Great for adults and children.

http://www.oldorchardbeachmaine.com/Famlyfun.htm

Camden is fantastic! It is what I pictured Maine would look like. The Whitehall Inn in Camden was wonderful. You can check it out on Trip Advisor. Loved my visit to the Farnsworth. Jamie Wyeth was actually there when I was - made it a truly Maine experience...There is a wonderful lighthouse in Rockland you can easily walk out on...doesn't take long and lovely.