I don't want summer to end! Well, I guess it has officially speaking, but it hasn't stopped me from visiting some of my favorite places along the Maine coastline. Luckily for me, the weather has been ideal (with a couple of exceptions). We've had lots of clear blue sunny weekend days with temps in the mid-60's and low 70's and cool evenings!
For the most part, I've gone to the Mid-Coast area as it's not that far away from home, with one trip up to Bar Harbor as well. I've been to Pemaquid, Southport (& Boothbay), Monhegan Island which is about an hour off the coast, and last, Bar Harbor, which is quite a bit farther away!
Once we settled into the Hotel Pemaquid, we took off looking something to eat...we found it at Shaw's Fish and Lobster Wharf which is right on the harbor in New Harbor. The food was great!
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| New Harbor....where we'll take a ferry boat later this month (Hardy Boat Cruises) to Monhegan Island. |
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| and if you have a dog, he/she is welcome! |
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| beautiful sunset at Pemaquid Point |
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| The next morning we visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse....there's a per person charge to get in, but we were there before the gates officially opened! as we ate breakfast at the adjacent restaurant (which is in the gift shop?!)...it was also very good. |
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| After breakfast, we walked the Pemaquid Loop which was directly in front of the Hotel Pemaquid. |
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| pretty quiet road to walk on |
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| The water borders the road on one side. |
Back at the hotel...I normally don't take pics of bathrooms, but this one was unique...pull that rope thing to get it to flush....
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| pretty homey isn't it? |
Quaint place, we'd probably return....I especially liked the porch with the rocking chairs, and I'd definitely spend some time in the cozy living room area by the fireplace in the winter!
Once we checked out, we drove around the area, discovering this sweet little beach: and then stopping at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_Henry_(Pemaquid_Beach,_Maine)
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| this was the view of the fort from the beach...go ahead to the Fort, you can walk in and go up the steps to the rooftop |
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| picnic area at the Fort |
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| Make sure to check this place out for the best sandwiches/sticky buns, etc. in the area! |
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| Heading over to Round Pond, we found this sweet little place |
In Round Pond, you'll find the Granite Hall Store which has lots of stuff!
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| supposedly the smallest house in Maine??? I think I've seen much smaller.... |
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| Inside the store....your kids will love the old fashioned candy counter |
And this funky art gallery/store of sorts....lots of stuff from Indonesia as well as local artists...
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| The owner of the gallery told us how her husband built this windmill when he as 82 years old! all my himself...pretty amazing....he's in his 90's now, wonder what he's up to... |
So, yes, I'd definitely return to Round Pond...heading out we stopped in Bristol at the town swimming hole...
wish we had this where we lived!..
Damiscotta...
The following weekend, I headed up pretty much to the same area, not quite as far, this time to Southport, which is just a tad south of Boothbay...I'd never been surprisingly enough, dunno why, but glad I finally did as I now prefer it to the touristy Boothbay. And, the big thing is Shh!...we stayed at one of the best kept secrets in Maine...The Ship Ahoy Motel! True, the place was dated, but, but, but....we got a room with 2 queen size beds, and a private balcony overlooking the water! for $59 for the night...seriously, can you beat that?
After we drove to Boothbay and walked around town for a bit, checking out b&bs. and visiting a local art gallery etc.
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| Apparently this church was built w/o a single nail.... |
Back at the hotel....more pics..I will def. return to this place and do some bicycling in the area..
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| this is the view from my balcony! |
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| More views from the Ship Ahoy.... |
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| I got up early to watch the sun rising over Boothbay Harbor! |
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| I can definitely see myself having a cup of coffee or better yet, a glass of wine out here! I mean seriously, this is a $1M view from a $59/nt. hotel! |
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| This was in the building adjacent to the building in which our room was in....you can get breakfast items in here for $1 apiece!....and the view is equially as spectacular as from our room.... |
So, with the money I'd saved on our accommodations, I decided to venture on a kayaking tour with Tidal Transit....we left around 9 for 3 hour excursion to Burnt Island Lighthouse. As you can see, it was the perfect morning for it, clear blue skies, calm sea and pretty views!
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| Approaching the island.... |
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| Pretty spot for a picnic, isn't it? |
We stayed there for a bit just checking it out...I'd like to go back and have a picnic!
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| Heading back into Boothbay to Tidal Transit. |
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| this was pretty much the route that we took... |
Before we leaving town, we decided to explore more of Southport....I'd also asked our guide, who lives in Southport, where to eat and she suggested Oliver's (pics below & highly recommended!)
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| The view from inside Oliver's which is in Southport |
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| Inside Oliver's ... it's pretty cool, isn't it? Someone put some $ into this place! |
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| From the outside, this is what Oliver's looks like... |
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| Wow! you can launch your kayak from here! I wanna my own kayak!!!1 |
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| Upstairs....what a sweet place this is... |
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| And the food...! well, see for yourself....I got the 3 fish tacos with blackened fish...and Alex got the fried haddock platter....all so yummy, in fact, I returned two weeks later with my husband! |
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| Remember it.... |
Make sure to go off on as many of the little side streets as you can while in Southport...this is what you'll discover!
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| Alex's shot.... |
The next weekend, we were off to Monhegan Island for the night....we headed up to New Harbor again as this is the closest place from home where we can get the ferry (Hardy Boat Cruises) to the island. It takes about an hour to get there. Mind you, there are no cars on Monhegan (well, just a couple); most roads are gravel or narrow hiking trails. Monhegan is about 2-3 miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide. It's quite a special place!
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| It was a bit chilly on the way out....nothing like fresh Maine air! |
On the island....
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| brave souls down at the beach! |
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| lol |
As you can see, I can never take enough pictures on Monhegan...are you getting a sense of what the island is like?
heading out to the back side of the island.....
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| it was one of those days when the fog was rolling in and out.... |
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| Sweet! there a small brewery on the island!! |
Back down at the beach in the evening for a lobster dinner!
this past weekend I went up to Bar Harbor, (that's before the federal gov't shut down ;(...my sister and I biked for hours and hours on the carriage trails in Acadia National Park..
We really lucked out with the weather, it was absolutely perfect for biking and hiking!
The Bubbles
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| The Bubbles.... |
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| We biked up to the top of Day Mountain, which is more like a big hill.... |
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| and were rewarded with these awesome views! |
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| as well as this awesome whoppie pie!! |
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In the evening, we went into two (Bar Harbor) to get something to eat...
Our morning hike....961 feet....
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| We like to pose, what can I say? |
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| This is from the top of Mt. Saveur which was adjacent to Acadia Mountain, combing for a 4 mile loop... |
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| Somes Sound/Sargest Drive |
Once we were done hiking we walked the short trail where the car was parked (Adadia Mountain parking lot) to edge of Echo Lake...and enjoyed our beers!
