The Enchanted Land of Maine

Maine - an enchanted land of its very own. I found myself under its spell when I went for a long weekend travel up the coast. It was winter time and very cold but still magnificent! My first stop was the small coastal shipping town of Portsmouth. The downtown area hosts many shops in the brick building lined roads. Most of the parking is metered parking along the sides of the narrow streets. Here in this little gem you can find a shop for anything your heart desires! I always have to visit the “Life is Good” store and then any other store that supplies locally made items. You can spend your whole day walking around the area and browsing store to store and café to café. The two main things to mention worth seeing is the biggest outdoors store I have ever seen (I got lost) and a "Triple D" Food Network feature.

 Bob’s Claim Hut is along the main road that runs North and South along the coast and is just north of Portsmouth town area in Kittery. It was featured for its Lobster Rolls—which is a must when you are in Maine! The toasted buttered roll (kind of like a hot dog bun type thing) stuffed with oceans and oceans of yummy crab meat, butter and served with a fresh batch of fries. It is like a party in your mouth…but not just any party…like a Graduation kinda party! They have other items (land and sea) to choose from if you are just crazy enough to not want the best thing in the world. On my road trip, I tried a roll at every hut I could find! Just couldn't get enough of the buttery meaty goodness.

Kittery Trading Post is the mecca for the outdoors-man in Maine. They are like the true "outdoors" kind of people! I could have spent days and millions in this place. Hiking, camping, fishing , kayaking, climbing, swimming, boating, hunting…like everything and anything you could think of doing, they had a whole section dedicated to it and tons of neat gadgets! This place was three stories of craziness and I am serious, you need a map!

For my first night in Maine I stayed at a gorgeous bed and breakfast right on the water-Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa. They hosted many comfortable rooms with nooks for reading, a spa that offered massages, pedicures and manicures and a Jacuzzi! The inn keeper was a wonderful host and cook! Nighttime cookies and milk, along with tea and coffee then the most wonderful breakfast I have ever had! I had to get her to give me the recipe for her egg soufflé. It was a soft pillowy cloud of sweet dreams topped with Maine blueberry maple syrup and a side of fresh whipped cream and cinnamon (it was to DIE for!). She was also helpful with where to eat for supper and things to see in the area. My little bedroom was on the second floor corner with windows looking out to the “ha-bah” (harbor). It was a pretty snowy night while I was there and the one goal I had was to make it to the rocky coast to get some sunrise pictures of the water and sky. 

top: rocky coast line on a cloudy sunrise    bottom: sunrise over an inner harbor

Driving up the coastline was gorgeous! Postcard perfect! Huge mansions and lighthouses lined the coastal road of hwy 1. York, Maine hosted tons of coastal mansions, beaches and trails.

In Wells I went to a highly rated “sports bar”, The Ramp Bar & Grill, on the water. It was a hidden gem in the middle of a fishing dock area. Highly rated on Yelp! too :) The crazy decor of the hanging buoys was so neat to me! I love the coastal type themes you find in the the beach towns. I was tempted to do this to my house...though I think I would for sure be marked as the crazy neighbor in "land locked" Kentucky!

 

 This is one of my favorite pictures with the way the lights are hanging and seem to glow. It is like a fun party on the water! Defiantly the kind of people I want to hang out with!

 

 North of Cape Elizabeth on Shore Rd-(turn right on Powers Rd then right onto Ocean Rd) you will arrive at a historic lighthouse that will gift you with many great pictures. You will have stuff that should go on the walls of Red Lobster!

Isn't that gorgeous!?! I could have sat here all day if the wind wasn't so strong and nippy! It was the kind that just cuts right through all the layers of your clothes and freezes your bones. There is something about the sea that is so clean and refreshing. It heals all of your pains and worries. Clears your mind, body and soul!

Arriving in Portland I landed in a very fancy bed and breakfast called the Carleton B&B. This, to my surprise was owned by a Kentucky boy, Buddy! It was neat having someone that knew my part of the world way up in this strange little place. He had tons of suggestions and ideas and the greatest was taking the mail route on the ferry to see other islands out in the ocean.

 






 It was a neat experience! I won’t say great only because it was too cold to ride out in the open therefore I sat inside sideways without much ventilation and that is a sure way to make me seasick! So, if you are there in the winter, take lots of clothes and blankets to be able to sit outside and get the great view or just go when it’s warm outside! I did keep going up to the top and walk around the empty deck. I watched the sun setting and the waves in the water, very soothing. Each little island is its own world. There were people that I bet never get off but maybe once or twice a year! The ferry delivers large dollies of items and mail that the people on the island order and they are there waiting for the pickup. Also, on this ferry was a fair group of school kids that use the ferry as the “bus” to get back and forth daily to school. Seems like a very long process that lasts most of the day! I did think it was kind of neat to think that when those people needed off the island, some just jumped in their boats and took off to land. I admit, that would be heaven for me! I’m no land lubber!
 
 

Along the brick roads and sidewalks of downtown Portland I found myself back on the waterfront ready to eat some great food! The parking garage tenet at the ferry terminal highly suggested the nice place next door that was sure to not disappoint! This was the first place I indulged at Flatbread. It is a farmer’s market type pizza and salad chain that is local for Maine and Vermont. They serve in season, local ingredients and cook their pizzas in a brick oven. The place was hopping on the night I was there. Live music and tons of families and young people hanging out on the harbor enjoying the vibrant atmosphere.

 

"farmers market" salad: arugula, beats and goat cheese with house made ginger vinaigrette. This was an addiction! All grown local.

This was the end of my journey as I hit up Trader Joe’s and Wholefoods on my way back to my temporary home in Vermont. Maine was a place of soothing sea and thick pine forests that showed me its beauty and charmed me with its ways. I will always have a love for that place! 

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"all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. we are tied to the ocean. and when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came." JFK