The last day of post planning is May 27. The following day Alan and I are headed to Rockland, Maine for a retirement celebration vacation. One of my former co-workers/friends - Diane Gustafson - and her husband Bob - lived in Camden, Maine for years and loved it. I asked her for any advice. She graciously opened her home to me and shared coffee, cookies, and information on the area. While in Maine, we didn't have enough time to get to everything, but we put a good dent in the list. Thank you, Diane and Bob!
We would love to go back and visit Maine again. Here's what we did . . .
Leave Thursday, May 28 - We get to the airport and I see a familiar face - Jessica Foltz, a fellow co-worker. We are on the same flight! We are on row 18 and they are in the same seats behind us on Row 20. Happy, amazing coincidence.
We arrive in Portland and proceed to the Hampton Inn. We walked across the street to the mall and then ate dinner. No lobster tonight. We will start that tomorrow. We returned to the motel and made use of their heated pool and hot tub. The pool was very warm. I loved it.
Friday, May 29 - We went back to the airport to get our rental car and explore Portland. We drove to Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth to see the Portland Head Light. The Portland Head Light is beautiful. We got a lobster roll from the food truck in the park. It was delicious.
After we finished our visit at the park, we headed for our next stop - Freeport, home of the L.L. Bean outlet. Alan bought a sweat shirt and shoes. Freeport in typical New England "quaint". We enjoyed our time in the shops.
Our next stop was Moody's diner in Waldoboro. We got the clam strip roll and peanut butter pie. Yum.
Finally we arrive at our home for the week - Trade Winds.
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Portland Head Light
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| First lobster roll |
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| Our room is the one with the open curtains and no blue chairs on the deck. |
Saturday - Today was gorgeous and we packed a lot in. We got in the car and headed toward Camden. On the way we saw a sign for Breakwater Light . . . so we went! It is next to Samoset Resort which is very pretty. We walked 7/8 of a mile out to Breakwater Light. We could see lobstermen checking their traps.
After our Breakwater Light adventure, we ate lunch at the Rockland Cafe. We needed to fortify ourselves for our 2 hour sail on the Morning in Maine. The captain said it was a perfect day for sailing. We moved at 7.9 knots. It rated a 12 on a scale of 10 for sailing.
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| Breakwater Light as we sailed by. |
Since it was a gorgeous day, we decided to continue sightseeing. We drove to Camden and found Vesper Hill Children's Chapel. We didn't get out because someone was getting married there. We journeyed on and found the cows at Aldermere Farms. The farm wasn't open, but we petted a cow anyway. Then we went to Mount Battle at Camden Hills State Park. Another wedding was taking place. We had panoramic views of the bay. Wow. We finished our day by eating at Thorndike Creamery and going to the Strand Theater. The Sweetback Sisters, a bluegrass group, were performing at Strand.
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| Wedding at the state park. |
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| Alan was taking a picture of the bride and groom below him. |
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| This is the view from our room. |
Sunday - Our first adventure for the day was to go to Owls Head Light before the rain started. We saw people jogging, riding bikes, and mowing grass in 60 degree rainy weather - obviously residents that are used to the weather. When we arrived, one gentleman was already at the light taking pictures. He happened to be the man in charge of this light. He unlocked the door and let us in and he took our picture.
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| Port Clyde near Owls Head Light |
The rain started after we left the light so we drove to Camden for some shopping. We ate at the Camden Deli. I had a lobster roll and a harbor view. Sweet.
Our next stop was the Cellardoor Winery for wine tasting/food pairings. We each bought a bottle of wine. The rest of the day was relaxing. Alan went for a swim, I read, and then we walked to the Hill Company Seafood for dinner - lobster pie and lobster mac and cheese.
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| Mac and cheese with lobster. |
Monday - Today is rainy and cold (40s). We drove to Marshall Point Lighthouse in the St. George area. There was no one around. Afterward, we went to the Brass Compass for lunch. Bobby Flay lost a challenge here. I ordered the item on the challenge - a lobster BLT. It was delicious.
After lunch, we walked to the Puffin Museum and the Maine Lighthouse Museum. Since it was a cold, dreary day, we just drove to small neighboring towns - Hope and Appleton - in the afternoon.We went to Hannaford's grocery store that evening. Alan went for a walk; I read; we ate in.
Tuesday - On Tuesday, we went to Pemaquid Light. The lightkeepers house was open and we walked through it too.
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| Alan taking a picture of me in the lighthouse. |
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| I'm taking a picture of Alan in the parking lot. |
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Pemaquid Light and lightkeeper's house
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We went by Moody's Diner again so we had to stop. This time I had the blueberry pie and Alan got a whoopee pie.
We tried to see an alpaca farm, but the gentleman had relocated his alpacas a few weeks prior because they are selling the farm. We did buy some alpaca socks for Alan though as long as we were there. We didn't have any definite plans for the afternoon so we decided to go ahead and drive to Acadia and spend the night so we would have the whole day in the park tomorrow. It's still rainy and in the 40s.
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Crossing the bridge to Mount Desert
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Wednesday - It was COLD on the mountain this morning. Forty three degrees and windy at the top of Cadillac Mountain. My hands were so cold that I couldn't work my iphone. We took in the views and continued on our merry way.
We drove on the loop road pausing at Bubble Pond.
Our next stop was a hike. After a short way, I turned back and left Alan to venture to Bubble Rock on his own. He enjoyed his hike and I enjoyed my rest.
Our next stop was Jordan Pond. We visited the gift shop and made purchases. While waiting for the restaurant to open, Alan walked around the pond while I took the carriage trails. We met back at the restaurant for the traditional popovers and strawberry jam. They were tasty.
We then looped back around to Sand Beach and Otter Cliffs. The coastline is beautiful.
Bass Harbor Light is on Mount Desert so before leaving the area, we drove over to see it.
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| On our way back to Rockland, we stopped for a lobster. I love lobster. |
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| They steam the lobsters in the pots behind me. |
We drove on the loop road pausing at Bubble Pond. 
Our next stop was a hike. After a short way, I turned back and left Alan to venture to Bubble Rock on his own. He enjoyed his hike and I enjoyed my rest.
We then looped back around to Sand Beach and Otter Cliffs. The coastline is beautiful. 
