Any Ideas for Touring Maine?

[C210N]

The posts to stay coastbound and not venture inland - bah.

Gotta do some white water rafting. Contact one of the places on the Kennebec or Dead River.

Then, there is Baxter State Park. Climb Mount Katahdin... the mooose life is incredible.

[miss marmelstein]

I know the coastline from Portland through Prospect. Portland is a nice, small city with a wonderful farmer’s market. Go to D’Amato’s where they claim to have invented the Italian sandwich. Go to Moody’s in Waldoboro for a piece of pie. Go to Cushing to see Christina’s World - the farmhouse in front of which she posed. Go to St. George Peninsula which has a beach or two and plenty of art galleries. Go to Monhegan Island from Port Clyde. I go every year to Thomaston’s Prison Store to buy beautiful woodwork. Go to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland and explore the antique markets. Camden is stunningly beautiful, Belfast is interesting and from there you can take a trip into the interior to eat at The Lost Kitchen in Freedom (you must make your reservation on April 1). The interior of the state is beautiful too and you can still see old cabins in the woods, moose and people who still read by candlelight. See if you can find a beanhole party (they advertise in the papers). I go to the Union County fair every year to see the Belted Galloways. Make sure you visit lobster pounds and afterwards pick blueberries and lupines. Buy Giffords’ blueberry ice cream and buy fresh doughnuts at Willow Bakery - the best I’ve ever had. You can even buy them in Hannafords.

And despite its libs, you’ll see plenty of Trump signs. See it now because the rich libs are buying up all the coastline, knocking down the old cabins and putting up ugly mega-mansions and blocking the views of the coves.

Have fun! I’ll be up there over Labor Day.

[Liz]

Mabel's Lobster Claw
124 Ocean Avenue
Kennebunkport Maine 04046.

Where to go for everything lobster: great rolls stuffed with big chunks of
meat; classic shore dinners featuring lobster, steamers, broth and butter,
corn and potatoes; and old-fashioned Lobster Newburg . And save room
for Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie.

NOTE Near the Bush compound. George likes the Baked Stuffed Lobster; Barbara the Eggplant Parm.

Mabel's Famous Lobster Savannah

Lobster split and filled with scallops, shrimp and fresh mushrooms in
creamy Newburg sauce, topped with provolone and parmesan cheeses,
roasted red peppers and baked to perfection.

[miss marmelstein]

Someone mentioned mosquitoes. Don’t rent in pine groves, you’ll get bitten to death. I rent along the coves and have never had a problem with them. When I rented in a pine cove, it wrecked my vaca.

Good luck!

[rlmorel]

My wife and I love Maine...we spent a week last summer in Bremen, ME (North of Boothbay) right on the water in a completely isolated little cabin, and I took this picture from the tiny deck:

I slept with the windows open, woke up one morning at 0500 to two lobster boats several hundred yards offshore, and one older guy on one boat was yelling at two younger guys, obviously trying to teach them how to do some kind of lobstering task, with the heavy Maine accent yelling out at them "NAAH! YOU DUMB A**! THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT! WHAT, DO YOU SIT ON YOUR BRAINS?" It was annoying and quite funny at the same time...I considered yelling at him to shut up, but I figured I would just draw return fire! So I got a laugh out of listening to them.

When you enter Maine from the South, one of the first places you can go is The Maine Diner which is a great place for Breakfast or Lunch. Then ride north, and hit the Fort Williams Park right outside Portland, ME to stretch your legs. Go a little further north (up the coastal route is where we always go) pass the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge (and flip it the bird like I always do!) and stop in Kennebunkport...if antiques are your thing, there is a huge place called Old House Parts which is a lot of fun to walk around in!

Portland is a fun city to bar-hop in, and has great restaurants and stores. While there, you MUST go to the Holy Donut which specializes in donuts made from...of all things...Maine potatoes! It sounds weird, but they are completely delicious. Just stop and and buy one of them to try...:) While there, if you want lunch or dinner, go to a very unique restaurant called Duckfat which is so named because they don't use regular fat to cook...they use duck fat! Okay, that may sound strange too (Maine can be strange) but oh man...it is good. I don't much like Brussels Sprouts, but they made an appetizer of brussels sprouts in bacon and duck fat that made me want another one!

Go to the Bath Iron Works and take a tour...sadly, they don't walk you through any more, but you can have breakfast at the little diner across the street, take the tour on a bus (See how they make the fabulous Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, then visit the Maine Maritime Museum which is great! One of my favorite museums. NOTE: You have to reserve far in advance for the Bath Iron Works tour. I highly recommend a stop at Bowdoin College to visit The Peary-MacMillian Arctic Museum which has the history and artifacts from the Peary Expeditions to the North Pole in late 19th Century.

Boothbay is nice (a tiny bit touristy, but fun) and if it is your kind of thing, they have a great botanical garden, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. (Don't know what time of the year you are going...) You can also take a very cool water tour You MUST go to Monhegan Island on a day trip if you have time...my wife and I just went there last year for the first time. We thought "How did we miss THIS?" They have beautiful cliffs, we just sat there for a few hours...you do have to take a ferry to get there, though. You can take a cruise to an island that has the famous Puffin birds on Capt. Fish's Puffin Cruises and also, there are some great boat tours that take you around to a bunch of lights and up the Kennebeck River near Bath Iron Works.

If you want to visit a light, one of the most interesting ones is The Pemaquid Point Light which has interesting history, geology, and a museum. IIRC, there was a two ship engagement fought off the shore of that lighthouse during the Revolutionary War, and British sailors were taken prisoner there.

In the winter, Camden can be fun if you go to the Camden Snow Bowl Toboggan Run which is a huge amount of fun...my wife and I went on it, and you fly down a chute and out onto a frozen lake...not expensive and great fun! Also, take your car up Mount Battie for a wonderful view of Camden...costs something like three or five bucks IIRC, but worth it!

[Doogle]

Oy....just gave me a Kennedy moment...
d r o o l....

[ops33]

I agree with Camden Maine. We took a windjammer cruise out of Camden, beautiful weekend. Google “Maine Waterfall Tour” and you will find some more places to visit.

[Doogle]

Don’t try and pet the mooses...one will follow you back to your shower..
serisly

[Andy'smom]

http://www.routefifty.com/2016/06/donald-trump-rally-bangor-maine/129564/

[PfromHoGro]

The black flies from May to June are the WORST! Give me a mosquito any day, you have a fighting chance against a mosquito.

[maineman]

Tour the coastline...Camden, Rockport, Belfast and Bar Harbor. The best spots in the summer, hands down!

[rlmorel]

Maine isn’t that bad in that respect. It has very liberal enclaves, but other parts of the state are okay.

[taildragger]

Chauncey's Creek Lobster House, right across the line from NH, it is right on the water, it is insane. Pick your Lobster they boil it in seawater IMMIC.

http://www.chaunceycreek.com

This hidden Gem on Coles Hill Road, I remember it from back in the day, fresh raspberries, blueberries and pies, yum :

http://merrilandfarmcafe.com

Right down the road from the farm on the main drag, is the Maine Diner, which made it on Diners Drive-in's and Dives. Another haunt from back in the day.

http://mainediner.com

[mairdie]

The grave and house of Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, of Gettysburg fame. Inspiring.

[Liz]

And when all those trees turn to autumn colors----spectacular.

[T-Bone Texan]

BAR HARBOR IS AWESOME.

At the back end of Bar Harbor is/was a campground. It has a kayak rental.

If you time it right, the tide will pull you out towards the sea and then help you get back to the dock. Don’t underestimate the power of the tide.

It was a great experience. I treasure that memory.

I camped across New England that summer (of ‘99) and ate lobster warmed over the camp fire until I was sick of lobster.

I also camped in Kennebunkport. It was a real crummy campground, surrounded by million dollar homes.

Anyway, Bar Harbor war awesome.

[GreatRoad]

LL Beans in Freeport. They have outdoor group activities like kayaking you can join in on. Take Rt 1 to Red’s in Wiscesett for the best lobster roll. Kennebunk Port is beautiful and you can drive by the Bush compound.
My favorite is Bar Harbor with pub crawling, blueberry trolly tour and Acadia National park.

[Little Ray]

I like forts, especially coastal defense fortifications: http://www.fortwiki.com/Category:Maine_All

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Bring warm clothes.

[TIElniff]

My mother-in-law lived in Maine. She explained Maine to me when I was courting her daughter: “In Maine we have two seasons: winter and the 4th of July.”