Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Two Days in Mid-Coast Maine

Way too short, needless to say, but I think we got a lot in and saw some amazing locations, met very friendly people and ate some scrumptious food!

We were visiting family in Lynn, MA and drove north on Columbus Day morning. First stop, Freeport for shopping at LL Bean and a few select outlets. Hubby grumbled a bit, but ending up spending as much as me! Our lobster roll lunch at Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Co. was delicious, especially since it was their last day open for the season. Very picturesque harbor.

We arrived a little before dark in Rockland at Ledges by the Bay. It’s not super luxurious, but clean and spacious enough, with an excellent location overlooking a beautiful cove. On a Monday and a holiday night, though, open restaurants weren’t plentiful. We called a couple then found Archer’s. It was crowded and understaffed, but friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed our seafood dinners.

We slept well in our perfectly quiet room on a chilly night and woke early to get to Acadia and back that day. We drove into Rockland and kind of stumbled on The Brass Compass, actually the sister restaurant to Archer’s, the same chef and owner who has been on some Food Network programs. This might have been the best breakfast ever for me! We split a crab omelet, simply egg folded over mounds of succulent meat, with hollandaise. Wow, pure perfection! We also splurged on a cinnamon bread French toast as well as some sausage patties. All fresh baked goods, local foods, cute diner décor… outstanding!

The drive to Acadia might have been a little longer than I thought (about two hours), but it’s certainly scenic and the fall color was just a little shy of peak. It was raining a bit when we started, but eventually, as we neared the park, it became sunnier and pleasantly warm.
The park is gorgeous. I need an ocean fix regularly, and this is classic rocky coast, surf crashing and sometimes, blue skies and seas goodness! We walked along Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole, very easy with amazing photo ops. We also drove to Jordan Pond, had our requisite tea and popovers around 4:00, as well as drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain for some superb photos as the sun was peeking through the clouds, but the cold winds didn’t make us want to stay long.

The ride home was lengthened by a traffic jam for some unknown reason, and we were afraid we’d run out of dining options, so we stopped in Camden. We didn’t know where to go and found our way to Cuzzy’s. We decided we’d get our dinner to go so we could relax in our room. Our server was very friendly and offered to have the cook make us shrimp scampi even though it wasn’t usually on the menu. We also enjoyed an amazing lobster stew which essentially was large chunks of lobster meat in a creamy broth as opposed to a thick base like chowder. That was great!

Our last morning dawned grey and threatening and turned to driving rain as we made our way south back to Massachusetts. I had thoughts of perhaps detouring along the coast to Prouts Neck where the new Winslow Homer homestead was located, but the weather didn’t look like it would change any time soon. A last minute decision to check out Portland turned into a great lunch and some shopping around the Old Port. We poked around the wharf area until we found J’s Oysters, a classic, small and darky bar/restaurant where we enjoyed one more seafood feast with a fried haddock sandwich and a seafood casserole that was delectable! Some of the shops were very cool and unique, including Porte Manteau where they make very stylish purses and bags on the premises and a pottery outlet where I found some great pieces.

The Maine coast is well worth a visit especially this time of year. I would definitely recommend staying closer to Acadia if that is your destination, but I don’t have any complaints about our trip overall. You can take in a lot of the highlights in a short time, but we want to stay longer next time for sure!