In Search of Lobstah in Portland Maine…

Our quest while in southern Maine was to find some delicious lobstah! Just up the road from our park in Saco is Portland Maine which of course we had to visit as well. Portland is a large city with a very popular waterfront. It felt very touristy along the waterfront and as such parking was $5 per hour but just a few blocks removed from the waterfront we found free two hour parking.

Since Sharon and I were mostly interested in a good urban hike parking away from the waterfront was no problem. We were also in search of some lobster to take home. First up was a visit to the Visitors Center on the waterfront where a nice gentleman guided us to a few places to see such as the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house built in the 1780’s and he pointed out a fish market where we could purchase some lobstah!

Portland is a very walkable city with a nice vibe and some interesting architecture. We wish the visitor center would have had a self guided walking tour but since they didn't we took it upon ourselves to walk all over Portland. We did find the local fish market in town but these lobster come from a different socioeconomic class than we do. So we finished up our walk and on our way home we discovered Allagash Brewery which luckily for us actually gives away four free samples of their beer since they don’ t sell it by the glass. Score!!!

After enjoying some tasty samples we drove home along the coastline via Old Orchard Beach still a little disappointed at the price we found lobster to be back in the city.  Old Orchard Beach was quite the touristy town which surprised me as I was hoping to find a nice and quiet little Maine town full of fishermen. No Lobstah here!  Happily, though as we were driving home Sharon spotted a small sign that said Sam's Lobster so we turned down the small side road where in about a block or two we saw a guy sitting in his yard next to a his small shop.

Here we met Sam who is the owner/fisherman who told us all about the lobstah around here. Inside the shop were large tanks containing all sizes of live lobster! He was very friendly and helped us pick out a couple of beauties to take home. Once home the poor soles took their last swim in our lobster pot and became a real Road Treat and a very tasty dinner for the two of us. YUM YUM!!!

Our last day we spent some time bike riding on the Eastern Trail Bike Path which is a 65-mile section of the East Coast Greenway connecting Kittery to South Portland Maine. Of course we didn’t ride all of it but we did enjoy a nice leisurely bike ride along a beautiful and well laid out trail. Afterward we visited another local brewery thus calling our visit to southern Maine a wrap…

NOTE: We are still in Exeter NH and will head south in a few days…

Northwood Meadows State Park Hike in NH and then on to Maine…

Our last day in Northwood, New Hampshire we did a hike in nearby Northwood Meadows State Park. We parked in the free parking lot adjacent to the state route and found the trailhead easily. We decided on a short 2.5 hike as the weather was still a bit dicey. The trail began off on an old logging  road but became a nice trail before long. We took the Lakefront Trail around Meadow Lake.

It was a nice hike through some dense woods in the 675 acre park. It was very pleasant hiking  with only a few other guests visiting this state park. Alongside the trail were numerous mushrooms due to the damp conditions left behind after the recent rains. There were even some late season wildflowers still blooming but alas, no berries for the hungry forager.

Well we enjoyed our short stay in southern New Hampshire but it was time to hit the road the next morning and off we went only 60 miles away to our next stop in Saco Maine. We pulled into Saddleback Campground and found our rather tight pull through but since we are just staying three days it is not a problem.

After setting up we headed into town where we explored the fairly large towns of Saco and Biddeford Maine. We immediately noticed Saco to be another town with lots of red brick buildings but it appeared to be because most of the buildings were once part of a huge Mill. We later read that the mill produced everything from lumber to iron to textiles over time with the oldest remaining buildings dating back to the 1830’s. The remnants of the mill have become a revitalization project and now house several businesses and residential living in industrial lofts.

We also explored some of the rocky beaches in this area and were delighted to once again see the Atlantic Ocean. The water is very cold this far north but beautiful nonetheless. Most important is that these waters house the wonderful delicacy known as lobster, or labstah as they are called around here. We certainly hope to find one or two during our stay in southern Maine…

NOTE: We moved today south to Exeter NH for a six nights and then (depending on what the remnants of Hurricane Irma does) we plan to explore the Cape Cod area a bit…

Camden Windjammer Festival…

I have a confession to make of sorts… when we first decided that we were going to go to Maine we decided that we wanted to go to Bar Harbor and see Acadia National Park. So I got on the web and went to the Maine State Park website and booked us a spot at Lamoine State Park just a short drive from Bar Harbor. Perfect, right? Wrong!

A few weeks went by and I looked at our reservation only to discover that I had booked a site at Camden Hills State Park instead. Back online to see where the heck this place was only to discover it was quite south of where we wanted to be… Bar Harbor’s area. However, further internet searching revealed what a wonderful spot Camden would be and there was even going to be a festival in town while we were there… the Camden Windjammer Festival! So off to Camden it was!!!

The three day Windjammer Festival is a community-led celebration of Camden’s maritime heritage and living traditions. The festival ended Sunday and it was a total blast to attend various parts of it while we were nearby Camden. The first day of festivities had the arrival of the windjammers along with a Maritime Heritage Fair with booths and displays of maritime history, traditions and skills. The first day ended at dark with the sky full of pyrotechnics as fireworks lit up the sky.

Saturday’s festival highlights for us were the Lobster Crate Race and the Schooner Open House in Camden Harbor. The Lobster Crate Race is an event where lobster traps are strapped together end to end in the sea and children get the opportunity to run across them as fast as they can without falling into the water. Lots of fun was had by all watching these kids try their best to beat their rivals. A few even made it across several times without falling in the cold North Sea waters of Camden Harbor.

The Schooner open house was held on both Saturday and Sunday as festival goers were allowed the opportunity to board the schooners and windjammers. Once on board you could tour and explore the ships to better get a feel for what it is like to journey on these vessels. There are some really nice ships here that have been restored and are now active commercial cruise liners of sorts. They take 3-6 day sailing tours of coastal Maine. Pricing varies but seemed to be about $150 per day per person and the sleeping quarters are near as luxurious as the less than $100 per day price of commercial cruises on lines such as Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity.

    

Other Sunday highlights were the Sea Dog Show (which we missed as we were visiting a local winery), the Build-a-Boat race (where contestants built a boat and tried to race to the finish without sinking – not all were successful), and the Boat Parade. The Boat Parade marked the end of the three day festival and what fun it was as the boats sailed by one at a time while the harbor master told us details about each one of them. What a fun festival it was!!

We finished out our Sunday night scrambling online to find a web site that would allow us to watch the fighting Texas A&M Aggies battle the SMU Mustangs in collegiate football. We finally found a link and were able to watch on our computer the Aggies and their victory over the Mustangs. With football being played it must be almost fall… yikes where did the summer go…

   

Now we must get ready to slowly head south as the leaves are beginning to change colors signaling to us it will be cold here soon…Tomorrow it will be off to Salisbury, Massachusetts where we hope to visit Boston and the surrounding area for about a week or so…

Acadia National Park…

All I can say is WOW!!! If you have never been to Acadia National Park you must put it on your list now… We decided to make the 1.5 hour drive north up to Bar Harbor to visit the town we heard so much about but mostly we went to visit Acadia National Park.

The mix of mountains, forested islands and the ocean combine in a way to provide you a path to a sensory wonderland. The green, blue and red hues of the forest, ocean and rock all serve to intoxicate your senses. There is so much to do here with a wide diversity of ways to enjoy it all… so I will only provide pictures and little verbiage as words can’t say it all…

The park is an absolute must see spot… We would love to spend more time here but it a bit too far away from Camden. Plus with the Camden Hills in our backyard we are more than content to explore their beauty which rivals that of Acadia National Park. As for Bar Harbor, we felt as if it is a bit over rated and are much happier that we landed in Camden instead of there. It could be that we like Camden so much that we see no reason to like anywhere else better.

Hiking to Mt. Megunticook and Maiden's Cliff…

There are over 30 miles of trails in Camden Hills State Park and we have barely dented the trails… We have however, hiked up to the top of Mount Megunticook and hiked up to Maiden’s Cliffs. These two hikes along with the hike to Mount Battie are the top three hikes in the immediate area of Camden.

Mount Megunticook Hike -  At 1,380 feet, Mount Megunticook is the highest mountain in the park and the second highest coastal mountain along the Atlantic. The tallest coastal peak in Maine can be found in Acadia National Park. This hike was about 2.5 miles and covered over 1200 of elevation.

Our hike up Mount Megunticook started from our camp site as the trailhead is about a quarter mile from it inside Camden Hills State Park. This trail is rated by the state of Maine as a 2 on a scale of 1-3. I have hiked a lot of trails and would have to say this trial was fairly difficult. Not only was it pretty steep since we were hiking up nearly 1200 feet of elevation in the first mile the trial itself is mostly rocky with the rocks nearly all rounded and not angular making placing your footing all the more critical.

After taking about an hour on a relentless climb winding our way up through woodlands one mile to the summit of Mount Megunticook the trail becomes a series of plateaus until we reached the Ocean View Lookout at 1300'. The Ocean View Lookout at Mount Megunticook is a really beautiful panoramic view of Penobscot Bay including Camden's picturesque harbor filled with all the windjammers and lobster boats. It made this ragged 2.5 mile worth the trip.

Maiden's Cliff Hike – To get to the Maiden's Cliff Hike we had to drive towards Camden, Maine and turn right onto Mountian Road until we reached a small trailhead just before we got to Megunticook Lake. This trail was similar to the trail to Mount Megunticook as it was rated a 2 and the quality (or lack there of) was a bit poorer than the trial up Mount Megunticook.

The trail was not only steep and rocky but additional encounters with fallen trees as a result of Hurricane Irene and several sports of boulder scrambling to reach the summit made this trail more difficult than the hike to Mount Megunticook. The 2.3 mile hike to Maiden Cliffs took just as long as the 2.5 mile hike to Mount Megunticook.

The trail towards the top of the cliffs is about a mile long and the first part made us think this trail would be an easier hike until we hit the steep rocky climb to the top. The hike to the cliff took us about an hour to complete and once you summit you are treated to another fantastic panoramic view..

Megunticook Lake can be seen from above on Maiden's Cliff. The cliffs are a rock outcropping formation that juts out about 800 feet above Megunticook Lake and overlooks Ragged Mountain to the west. The panoramic views of the lake and the mountains below also made this hike well worth it. There is a huge white cross on top of Maiden's Cliff that serves as a memorial to Elenora French who was an 11-year old girl who fell off the cliff on May 7, 1864.

We did these two hikes on two different days and it allowed us time in beteween to recover from the steep scrambling climbs we endured ion each day. There is an alternative to hiking these hikes as the road up to the top of Mount Battie a has similar view to the one we say at Mount Megunticook. All and all we are glad we took these two hikes….

As far north as we will go this summer… Maine

We made it to Maine!!! Even hurricanes and flooding couldn’t keep us away… as here we are in Camden, Maine. We are staying at Camden Hills State Park which is just outside of the city of Camden. Camden is considered to be one of the top three vacation spots in Maine The other two are Kennebunkport and Bar Harbor.

The drive from New Hampshire to Maine went smoothly and we saw very little damage caused by Irene however, there was some flooding and the rivers in the area were raging. This area was spared any major damage as Irene tracked further west of this area than expected.

Our last day in New Hampshire was very windy as Irene tracked just east of us and wasn’t out of the state until nearly noon. We didn’t do much this day except take a small walk along the Appalachian Trail which is a trail I wanted to sorely do back in my backpacking days.

Many of our comments from yesterdays blog suggested that we should have headed more inland to get away from Irene and next time we probably will. However, it is good we didn’t this time as two of the towns we visited in Vermont were completely flooded in the downtown areas. Vermont is a over a hundred miles further inland from where we were but it was not spared the devastation by flooding that Irene caused. So we were lucky that we stayed put in this case.

Once we got to Camden Hills State Park we checked with the main office to see if we could extend our stay to include this labor day weekend since we had heard they had some non-reservable sites for first come first served. Arriving around noon we got lucky and they had one that we will stay at until the 5th or 6th of September. We checked into our site and then made the short drive up to Mount Battie that is located inside this park.

What an absolutely fantastic 360 degree view you get from the top of this mountain on the Maine coastline. This is a must see spot if you are ever near this area and one you will never forget. We could have stayed up there for hours, and we did…