The Maine Coast Trip

Tim, Amy, and Quincy came up from the deep south for a visit. They were originally going to stay a few days and then rent a car and travel up the coast of Maine. They wanted to see the "quintessential Maine coast" - rocky harbors and fishing villages and guys saying "ayah". Well, since we had not seen that either, I suggested that we might want to all go up in the MoHo. At the time it seemed like a good idea and they agreed. As I got to thinking however, I started worrying about accommodations. That camper can get very crowded with more than four people in it and I was worried about the dog, rain, Kyle and Carly being bored, and all that. I also worried that we might be infringing on their family vacation but they said not so I didn't worry about it. In the end though, we decided that we would leave K & C & Skipper at home while Deb and I and the Rossers went up the coast.

Deb and I had previously only gotten up as far as Portland which is not quite into the desired landscape so I asked around at work for ideas on where I should go. Of course, I didn't really follow up on it so Deb and I ended up browsing the web and guessing. I'd read a little about Bar Harbor and Arcadia National Park so we made that our destination. We decided to take a couple of days to get up there so that it wouldn't be a tough drive on the Q-dog (Quincy's pet name so-to-speak). Picking campsites from a web page is always a crapshoot but we did our best.

We chose to start at Old Orchard Beach which is just below Portland. We'd camped there before - it is "famous" for an ocean front amusement park - more like a permanent church carnival-type of thing - and it's an easy 2-3 hour drive from home. The next place was Megunticook campground in Rockland which was halfway to the last place in Bar Harbor (BH). We figured we would stay three nights in BH.

The day before we were going to leave, I was sitting at my desk at work looking at the route when a buddy came in. I explained where we were going and we started talking. Then someone else, who I barely know, walked by, overheard us talking about Maine and jumped in with all kinds of suggestions on where to go and what to see on the way up. Serendipity.. Anyway, Tim, Amy, and Q arrived and we poked around for a few days before leaving. Quincy, by the way, was an absolute joy - from when she arrived and throughout the whole trip. It was very fun getting to know her and making her laugh and imprinting on her some special Hudgins things.
The trip to Old Orchard Beach (OOB) was uneventful (if you ignore the problems with the motorhome that I won't get into here). The Rossers were particularly impressed with the New Hampshire State Store just over the border that has it's own highway exit.


OOB itself was kind of shabby. The campground was fine but we walked to the pier/amusement area and found it crowded and kind of dirty - the typical permanent-temporary rides/fried dough/games-you-can't-win kind of place. Quincy enjoyed it though I think. It's funny how your perception of a place can be colored by watching a yung-un experience it. Had it just been Deb and me, we would have hated it. But it was fun with Quincy along.

The next day we continued up the coast and got into the "real Maine". My walk-by buddy had suggested we stop in Boothbay Harbor so that was our first stop. Oh, we passed by Red's Eats on the way - another place that somebody had mentioned. It was a small red "diner" with people in a line wrapped around the building. We didn't stop because Q was asleep and we wanted to make time (ominous forshadowing We got to Boothbay got our first taste of a Maine harbor town. It was a bit bigger and more commercialized than I was expecting but it was very nice and we enjoyed walking around and having lunch. Once again the Q was Qute as ever.
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After lunch, while browsing in a store, I asked the guy behind the counter where I could go to see the quintessential Maine seacoast. He thought a bit and then suggested Pemiquid Point lighthouse. It sounded good and was on the way so we decided that would be our next destination. Well, "on the way" is a relative term in Maine. The coast is made up of many inlets and peninsulas and to get to the end of the next peninsula over, you have to drive back up the one you are on and down the next one. Oh well, we came to find out it was worth it. Pemiquid Point was fabulous





After scrambling over the rocks and enjoying the views and breezes, we piled back in the RV and headed back up the coast toward Rockland, our next campsite. After about 15 minutes on the road though, we heard those words we will never forget - "Bunny?" Now, we had heard the call for Bunny before and the quick application of said Bunny had always calmed the Q and allowed the world to continue to turn. This time however, there was a second call, and a third, and the slowly building realization that Bunny was not in the RV. Yes, we had somehow managed to leave Bunny at Pemiquid Point. On the rocks. With the tide coming in.

We found a place to turn around and headed back to the point. We jumped out and began combing the area for signs of the wayward rabbit. Just as I was about to give up hope, I saw Deb walking back to the camper waving Bunny in triumph. She had found it on top of the fence around the lighthouse, placed there by someone who will now spend all of eternity watched over by a higher power. Amy, who had stayed with Quincy in the RV, was actually crying when Deb arrived with the prize. So, crisis averted, vacation saved, we headed back up the road to Megunticook campground in Rockland.



Megunticook was a small little place that was nice and uncrowded. As I was registering, the lady at the desk said to be sure and check out the "patio" after we were set up. Um, OK, I'll do that... So, after setting up, I wandered in search of the patio. I followed a trail through the woods and emerged onto a beautiful bluff overlooking the ocean and rocky coastline. It really was cool with some chairs for sitting and taking in the view and just generally slowing down (and consuming some of the liquid that was picked up at the State Store in NH).

The next day, we took a quick trip back down the coast a bit to visit a little fishing village and to see the lighthouse at Owl's Head. Both were absolutely gorgeous.


We then headed back up the coast and made it to Mount Desert Isle - home of Bar Harbor and Arcadia National Park. Bar Harbor and Arcadia were also fantastic and we spent the next two days there. One of the great things about the place is that you can get everywhere via a free LPG-powered shuttle bus system. We were able to leave the RV parked and not have to wedge it into places it didn't want to go. The first day we went shopping in BH, and then to a beach and hike along the coast. The next day, Tim and I went kayaking among the Porcupine islands in the harbor and the girls took a trolley tour to the top of Cadillac mountain. For dinner we had lobster at an authentic Lobster Pound where you order your lobster by the pound. They grab them, throw them in a rope net bag and boil them in seawater outside over wood fires. I'm not a big lobster fan but it was fun nonetheless.
It really was a beautiful place.

The last day we headed home. We had planned to head inland and jump on the superslab for the quickest way home but we decided to go back down the coast to see some of the places (read antique and quilt stores) that we didn't stop at on the way up. Well, we didn't stop at them on the way down either, much to Deb's consternation but we did manage to stop at Red's Eats that we had seen the crowds at earlier. So we got in line and waited, and waited, and waited some more. When we finally ordered, I suggested that Deb go find us a table. As I came around to the back patio, I see Deb fuming like I'd never seen before. Seems some woman had pushed past her to claim the only open table in the place. I rarely see Deb get quite that pissed at someone. So, we ate our mediocre lunch at Red's and continued on our way.

Our last stop was in Freeport to checkout the L.L. Bean factory store. Freeport was wacky. It's like the whole town was one big outlet mall. There were outlet stores of all kinds and then, the mega-L.L. Bean store(s). They had a building for bikes and boats (kayaks and canoes), a building for camping gear, a building for regular clothing, and an outlet store as well. The whole place is open 24 hours a day. Weird.

We finally got home that night. This really was a great trip - we had fun with the Rossers and really enjoyed the scenery and locations as well.