September 2018
Maine has been on my bucket list for awhile now and I was so excited to finally go! The moment we brought up visiting this beautiful state, I researched non stop on what I absolutely had to see (which was pretty much everywhere) and it was so hard to choose! We crammed so much in our three days, but I was willing to give up sleep to maximize our time. And so glad I did! Each town we saw presented its own charm and character, I fell in love immediately. The iconic lighthouses were even more magnificent in person, the coastline offered endless breathtaking views, and each town was so fun and charming. Here is my very busy itinerary, yes I know I’m crazy 😜 but my parents who are in their mid 60’s and my 4 year old were able to keep up 😝.
Weather: amazing! It was mostly in the mid 70’s during our 3 days
Transportation: rental car – we got the easy pass for all the toll roads [tolls in Maine were only about $1-$2 but it was pretty frequent]
Destinations: York, Oguinquit, Kennebunk, Acadia National Park, Portland, Peaks Island
Location base: Portland
Day One
We flew into Boston from LAX because the flights were way cheaper than flying into Portland. And plus, the drive was only an hour away from Maine.
Ok, I have to talk about my dinner in Boston first. We ate at The Daily Catch and oh my goodness it was the best seafood dish I have ever eaten. We ordered the Lobster Fra Diavolo and the sauce was so money. I’m not the biggest fan of lobster but I can definitely say it is one of my favorite meals! Check it out if you are in downtown Boston, you will thank me.
http://thedailycatch.com/fanpier.html [this location has the best view and I believe its the only one you can make reservations at]
📍YORK
Nubble Lighthouse
Sohier Park Road York, ME 03909
Our first stop in York was the Nubble Lighthouse, which was about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Boston. Along the drive, you will pass by so many cute cottages and fall in love with how quaint this cute little town is. Too bad the lighthouse was under renovations when we visited, but I still loved every moment of it!
Nancy’s Cafe
1151 US-1 Cape Neddick, ME 03902
http://www.nancyscafeandcatering.com/
Best brunch. From the corn beef hash to the blueberry coffee cake and blueberry pancakes, everything was delicious!
📍OGUNQUIT
Brenda’s Bloomers
On the drive to Ogunquit, I saw a really cute flower shop in the middle of the road and made my husband turn the car around so I can go. It was SO cute. Goodness 😍😍😍. Stop by Brenda’s Bloomers and take lots of pictures! And buy a birdhouse!! I left mine at the airport 💔😢
Marginal Way Walkway
Don’t do what I did and put “Marginal Way” on Google Maps, it will lead you to a random residential area. There are two parking areas – we decided to go with Obed’s Parking Lot. When we walked out, we had to make a bathroom stop and I was so lucky to stop in Loveshack Juicery. Just another photo opportunity for me, I loved all the happy colors!
Onwards to the walkway. It was so dang beautiful! I read it was stroller friendly and it kind of is, but it was also a little difficult to push uphill. It leads to Perkin’s Cove, but we only made it to the beach stop area. My daughter had a blast here, she loved picking up the rocks and making faces/shapes with it. We spent about an hour here.
📍KENNEBUNK
Alisson’s
11 Dock Square Kennebunkport, ME 04046
Time for lunch! YUM! We ordered two lobsters, clam chowder, poutine fries, steamed mussels, mushroom burger, lobster roll, and cheese pizza (for my daughter). Honestly, everything was really good (even the pizza) and I recommend all of it.
Dock Square
We burned some calories walking through dock square. Look how cute it is! I also got some really awesome souvenirs here 😁.
Day Two
📍ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Since this is one of the top ten National Parks in the US, I had to carve out a day to visit. It is about 3 hours away from Portland and we made a day trip out here and drove for 6 hours this day. I was hoping to do a lot of hiking for the great views to make this drive worth it, but no one was in the mood to hike (especially my daughter) so I feel like the drive was wasted time. BUT I got to try the most delicious ice cream ever, so maybe it was the right decision after all.
Gateway Lunt’s Lobster Pound
We decided to have a picnic at the park so we stopped at a grocery store in Ellesworth to pick up some sandwiches. Little did we know, there would be tons of seafood stands ahead! These were maybe about 15 minutes after the town of Elleswood so if you want to eat at a local food stand, just keep driving. We couldn’t resist stopping by so we got more food. From this particular place, the lobster stew and classic lobster roll were good. The clam chowder was really watery and bland and the steamed mussels (they ran out of clams) were just okay at best.
Sand Beach
Our first stop along Park Loop Road. We were not dressed appropriately and didn’t bring sunscreen or towels, so we didn’t spend much time here. There was a random pet turtle roaming the beach and that was fun for my daughter. It was pretty awesome to see the beach with a forest of trees as it’s background!
Thunder Hole
Lots of people had their phones out in camera mode to capture the waves crashing against the rocks. We were able to witness it but enjoyed taking pictures away from the crowd.
Otter Cliff
Jordon Pond
This was my favorite place in Acadia.
📍BAR HARBOR
Shopping here was the most fun for me. There is an overload of cute supplies in almost every store. Ah!
CJ’s Big Dipper
150 Maine St, Ste 1. Bar Harbor, ME 04609
OMG! Try their blueberry ice cream. I would drive six hours to eat this again.
Day Three
📍PORTLAND
Old Front
Found a small alley way for some fun pictures.
The Holy Donut
7 Exchange Street Portland, ME 04101
This was a very short walk from my hotel so I decided to give it a try. It is SO GOOD! I totally regret not bringing back a dozen. These donuts are made out of potatoes and you can totally taste the difference in texture compared to a regular donut. During the summer, they have their famous blueberry donuts but during fall time, they have apple donuts which was 💯.
Portland Head Light
12 Captain Strout Circle Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
This place was so serene. Please make sure to visit this lighthouse, it was the best!
📍PEAKS ISLAND
To kill some time before dinner, we decided to take a 15 minute ferry ride from Old Port to Peaks Island. For 6 of us (children under 5 is free and we had two seniors), we paid around $30 for a roundtrip ferry ticket. You can find the Casco Bay ferry schedules and details here: https://www.cascobaylines.com.
We rented golf carts and was limited to one hour around the island (by the golf cart renting company), which wasn’t enough time in my opinion but it was a great way to get around. I absolutely loved it here! Seeing the coast in an open view of the cart was just so darn amazing. FYI -everything, and I really mean everything, was closed here in mid-September so make sure to get some food before coming! Tip for parents: bring your kiddos portable potty chair! Restrooms are very scarce at this time of year too.
📍PORTLAND
Street and Co.
33 Wharf St. Portland, ME 04101
http://www.streetandcompany.net/
Since my parents didn’t join us for The Daily Catch in Boston, we looked for a restaurant that had the Lobster Fra Diavolo and this had it! It didn’t have the same richness and flavor as the one in Boston but it was still pretty good. The clams and octopus were very good! Side note – very limited food option for kids
What an amazing three days! We were all exhausted and took an 8 hour nap when we got home. I love you, Maine! Can’t wait to come back and look for some moose and see the fall foliage! 💗
Sunny Travels 