MAINE TRAVEL

Tuesday, May 18, 2010



Maine Travel: Marginal Way and Mount Agamenticus

I have so many places to tell you about. I was looking back through my photography over the past few years and you might guess that I have photographed each place we’ve visited and I can only say that we’ve been around. For today, I want to share a day we spent last September in Ogunquit and York. Let’s dub this another in my Spend the Day series.

We packed a fine lunch of sandwiches, cut up veggies and cookies for this one, thinking that somewhere along the way; we would find a nice spot to rest and refuel.









Marginal Way is a 1 ¼ mile paved walkway that begins in the parking lot at Perkins Cove and ends at the beautiful Ogunquit Beach. The walkway meanders along the rocky shore, affording stunning views of the cove, its shops and restaurants and sailboats on the water. The beautiful day that we were there, the deep blue ocean sparkled with the sunlight. Along the walk, there are points where you can step off and take in the view from an outcrop or beach. At the start of the walk that day, some creative souls had built rock towers that as we passed, were nearing their ends as the crashing waves crept closer and closer to their bases. We walked to the end and turned around to return to where we had begun. The kids were hungry and tired. It was Labor Day weekend, a very busy time on the walk, and their desire to run was hindered by baby strollers and lots of folks enjoying the day.

Upon returning to Perkins Cove, we grabbed our portable cooler, packed with our lunches, and walked through the village to a spot at the end where we sat near a small boat launch area, on the rocks by the river outlet, and enjoyed our lunch and the view.

Though it had been many years since I had been to Marginal Way in Ogunquit, it was pretty easy to find. From Route 1 in Ogunquit, follow Shore Road. As it nears the water, Shore Road bears to the right on its way to Cape Neddick and points south. Look for the signs for Perkins Cove, staying nearly straight as the road bends. Most likely you’ll see traffic heading that way. It leads you down a narrow street which will open into a large parking area. It is well worth the few bucks to pay to park there, rather than back out on Shore Road, opting to walk into the Cove area, although there are many nice little shops along Shore Road and a good sidewalk for pedestrian use. More info on what’s in Ogunquit can be found here: http://www.ogunquit.org/

With the kids wanting to run, we thought: The Big A. That’s the local name for Mount Agamenticus in York. http://www.agamenticus.org/recreation.html Back out onto Route 1, just south of Ogunquit, bear right onto Clay Hill Road (also called Agamenticus Road and Mountain Road). Follow these directions to Mount Agamenticus Park http://www.agamenticus.org/directions.html.

From the tower you can see the Presidential Range, with Mount Washington, in New Hampshire as its star. From the lodge deck, you can see the shoreline, with the Cape Neddick lighthouse and York beaches, all the way up the coast past Kennebunkport. It was beautiful. We walked the Witch Hazel trail that day, but had previously done the horse trail. There are more extensive trails, for hiking and biking, but that would have to wait for another day. The kids especially loved the large open area where they rolled down the hill’s green grass. We saw lady slippers in the woods and enjoyed checking out the old ski tow equipment that still stands on the mountain, a glimpse of its former life. There are picnic tables and waste disposal. We have picnicked there on another visit. Maps are available at the entry and along the paths as well.







The area has so much to offer, depending on what you like to do. You could spend the whole day, or a few days, exploring Ogunquit’s stores, restaurants and beaches. There are many funky little B&B’s as well resorts and larger hotels. The beaches – well, they’re beautiful in this part of the state – just what you expect for a beach holiday – and I’ll save that for another entry.

 
May 8, 2010
Kennebunk and Wells

When we left the house last Saturday, we had a few ideas of places we wanted to check out that day. We were in southern Maine, in Biddeford, and planned to head to Kennebunk and Wells.




Saturday was May 1st, and Mayday has been celebrated for centuries. In Kennebunk, this year marks the 12th Mayday Festival, always held the first Saturday in May. My daughter and I have attended the festival since she was in a stroller and it always proves entertaining. Some years the weather cooperates and some years, well, the chill or precipitation forces you to scurry from venue to venue and juggle hot drinks while enjoying the Maypole dance. The sunny, blue sky day we had this year was perfect for a street festival. Route 1 runs through downtown Kennebunk, and from the Kennebunk Free Library, through to Rotary Park, and on both sides of the street. The library hosts a bake and book sale and is home to the festival’s Fairy Garden and story time. A group of volunteers also helps little girls and boys make flowered wreaths to wear on their heads, complete with long colorful ribbons that trail behind them. Across the street, at the Brick Store Museum, kids can make their own May baskets. The museum offers a display of traditional may baskets, encased in glass, and set up a long table. Kids start at one end and select a small plastic cup like basket, then move down the rows, choosing from the other baskets on the table, filled with small items like colorful bracelets, foam airplanes, and rubber bouncy balls.

The Brick Store Museum wisely chose an alternate entryway this year. Rather than open one of the front doors and set up the basket making directly at the entry, curators had festival goers enter through a side door and wind through the museum to the table, passing displays and the donation box along the way. It gave me the opportunity to check out the museum, even go upstairs to see the portraits and lifestyle displays, and make a donation on the way out. In years past, we hurried in and out with our baskets, not seeing much of the interior of the buildings that are linked together by addition after addition, and occupy a sizable section of Kennebunk’s Main Street. Working our way down the street, we passed musicians, street vendors selling hot dogs, chili, coffee, cotton candy, and ice cream. Behind a gas station, wedged between Nason Ct and Grove Street off of Main street to the east is a large parking area, that on this day, and others throughout the summer, was an abundant farmer’s market. At this point in the season, most were selling potted plants, herbs, vegetables and some had brought the fruits of last years harvests, soaps and dip mixes, jams and jellies. Most years, a horse drawn trolley picks up and drops off here and provides a tour of the festival. I didn’t see it at this years celebration.

The highlight, in my opinion, of the Mayday festival is the Portland School of Ballet’s Maypole dance. The school brings young dancers to perform traditional mayday dances for the crowd that inevitably gathers in Layfayette Park. This year, festival organizers chose to move the craft vendors to this location, giving them more traffic than at their previous site, in Rotary Park, at the end of the festival area, generally used to stage the parade. Four maypoles had been set up in the grassy park, their colorful ribbons tied up until the time was right. The tallest was reserved for the dancers. They performed a few dances, then unfurled the ribbons and with choreographed steps, wound the ribbons until they formed a basket weave down the pole. Surrounding the maypoles and throughout the park, there was live music (provided by Tony Michaud and his band), a bounce house, a BBQ trailer, craft vendors, and demonstrations. The parade was at 1:30, but this year, we decided not to stay, although folks were lining Main street with their chairs, and garnering spots on the curb as we were leaving. My past experience with the parade is that it’s a fun time for the kids, with twirlers, clown driven tiny cars, fire trucks tossing candy, and the usual town dignitaries waving from convertibles. It is fun, but we had hunger and other things to attend to.



Our next destination was to find a place to grab a bite to eat, which, in the towns of Kennebunk and Wells, where we were headed, is really not all that difficult. But a quickie sandwich shop didn’t come into view before hunger overtook us.

We passed the Maine Diner and noted that unlike in mid summer, the line at the door seemed relatively short. We doubled back and went in. The twenty minute wait turned out to be more like ten minutes and our party of five was soon seated at a table in the large room to the left of the main dining area. The Maine Diner is an institution of sorts. Its celebrity visits and newspaper and television endorsements are lauded on the walls. Many make this a stop on their stay in Maine. The menu is diner fare with a decidedly Maine twist. Along with club sandwiches and breakfast all day, there’s the lobster macaroni and cheese, lobster pie and blueberry everything. My daughter and our friend’s daughter both ordered the kids macaroni and cheese (what else?). Our waitress told them that it came with muffins, either corn or blueberry. We commented that since it wasn’t noted on the menu, perhaps it was the diner’s way of getting rid of the morning’s muffins. Regardless of the motive, they were delicious. Our friend’s daughter got the corn, and my daughter got the blueberry. The girls sliced them open and buttered their insides. The tops were crunchy, with soft, tender, cakey insides. Perfect large muffins. The girls macaroni and cheese dinners came with very tasty, seasoned French fries. Our friend commented, after snatching a few from his daughter’s plate, that they were the best fries he had had in a long time. I force myself to try some from my daughter’s plate, for the sake of the review, and agreed. The macaroni and cheese was of the home baked, crunchy topped variety, not the blue box version that kids seem to favor.

Nonetheless, the girls finished theirs, minus the tasting of their parents. Our friend and I ordered the same thing for our lunch, the grilled yellow fin tuna sandwich. It arrived on a bakery bun, lettuce and tomato, with a side of tartar sauce. The Cole slow that accompanied it was creamy and fresh. The tuna itself was moist and tender and flaky, not a tough burger like sandwich at all. My husband had the tuna salad wrap and it was huge! Cut in half and served with potato salad, he struggled to finish it. We left the Maine Diner well fed. Would we go back? Of course, it’s a must in Maine and with so many items to choose from, everyone can find something. I would suggest you go for breakfast, too. Most of my past Maine Diner experiences had been for breakfast and though I can’t recall exactly what I ordered on those visits, I do remember fondly that they were delicious. Good strong coffee, too. The menu and hours can be found at http://www.mainediner.com/
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Next was our planned nature walk. I had printed off the information about both the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm and the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. Simply because it was a right turn out of the diner parking lot onto busy route 1, we chose the Rachel Carson Wildlife Reserve.

Rachel Carson was a marine biologist, environmentalist, and author of several books, including Silent Spring, in which she linked unrestrained chemical dumping by industries to deathly consequences in the environment. She died in 1964 of breast cancer and is credited with beginning the environmental awareness revolution. The Wildlife Reserve was established in 1966 to preserve the salt marshes and estuaries for migratory birds. The walking paths are wide and well tended, and would be wheelchair accessible, with long inclines rather than steps along the way. At the entry area and parking lot, there are picnic tables. My husband commented that had we found a sandwich shop, this would have been the perfect place to have our lunch. Several platforms have been built to view the marshes. Though not far from route 1, the area is very quiet and bird’s song is the only sound you hear other than your own footsteps. We watched a large group of geese paddle in from the estuaries, calling to each other as they waddled onto the grass. Fiddleheads were beginning to unfurl and flowers were blooming everywhere. It was a beautiful spring afternoon for a nature walk. The trail was relatively short and at a leisurely pace, we finished the loop in about 45 minutes. Just enough to have walked off our lunch. Information about the reserve can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/rachelcarson/.

Spend a day in Wells and Kennebunk. Though the Mayday festival is held only once a year, there are many other things to do and eat. Another right turn, this time out of the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge will lead you back towards Kennebunk, this time on Route 9. You can follow this for a tour of Lower Village, Kennebunk, into Kennebunkport, past the Bush compound, into Cape Porpoise and the beaches of Biddeford. The roads are windy and afford stunning ocean views. Even as a native, I never tire of the scenery. If you decide to visit the area, check back here for some tips and sites to see that only this Mainer can give you. You can email me directly at celeste@celestecota.com
 or comment to this post.



Information about the Kennebunk area is available at http://www.visitthekennebunks.com/.






May 4, 2010
Summer in Vacationland

Days like today nearly make up for days in February that have me plotting to move to the tropics. The sky is incredibly blue. There’s a slight breeze. Trees are flowering in every yard. Tulips and daffodils have yet to give way to daylilies and irises. It’s spring in Maine and I’m hard pressed to come up with a time of year I love more. It’s 70 degrees and sunny. And, best of all, it’s early May. May is like the morning of summer. You get a glimpse of what lies ahead, but it’s not quite there yet.

Mornings always find me planning out the rest of the day. I’m one of those people: a list maker. My to do list runs on with never enough time to complete my self assigned tasks. This list a bit more fun. Rather than the reality of “fold laundry, call about the problems my computer is having, shop for Mother’s day cards”, today’s list is one of things to do this summer. While last year seemed to be the year of the “staycation” for most, we didn’t entertain the concept. Having just moved into our house gave us more chores and other to do lists to tackle, and once you toss in our wedding and my niece’s wedding, we had little left of the summer to really plot. A trip to Acadia for a day on Sand Beach and some fun down at Ogunquit’s Marginal Way filled out the weekends.

Now, with the whole summer ahead of me, here are some of my ideas for things I’d like to do:



1. Bike the carriage trails at Acadia National Park. Great, gravel trails well suited to family biking. Bring a picnic and ride up Day Mountain for the view of Somes Sound.

2. Go to Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park. Guaranteed moose sighting. Incredible view of Mt Katahdin.

3. Spend a day (and night) at Old Orchard Beach. Just get into the carnival atmosphere and enjoy the beautiful beach.

4. Fairs and Festivals a plenty. Plan to check out your favorites. Yarmouth Clam Festival, Rockland Lobster Festival, Strawberry Festival in South Berwick, Windjammer Festival in Boothbay Harbor, Old Port Festival in Portland, Blueberry Festivals in a couple of places, the American Folk Festival in Bangor, the Balloon Festival in Auburn, the Fryburg Fair, the Common Ground Fair, the Bangor State Fair. It goes on and on. There’s something for everyone. Here’s a great website to find the one you will love:

5. Maine has some beautiful lakes and ponds. I plan to spend a few days enjoying them. Long Pond in Parsonsfield is a family favorite. Bunganut Lake in Alfred has a nice sandy bottom and public beach.

6. For organized fun – theme park style, there’s Funtown in Saco with its sister water park, Splashtown. Just down route one from there is Aquaboggen waterpark. The aforementioned Old Orchard Beach has Palace Playland with it’s rides and games. I have yet to go but I think I’d like to check out the Windham Fun Park. York’s Wild Kingdom has rides and animals. Google any of these to get to their respective websites for more information

7. The beaches of York and Wells are sandy and clean. Go early to find parking. Do the whole deal: beach blankets, chairs, umbrella, picnic lunches, sand toys. All are well suited for family fun.

8. Nature walks and hikes. Many are short and great to fit into an afternoon. We recently went to the Rachel Carson wildlife reserve in Wells (I’ll tell you all about it on Friday’s blog). Nearby is the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. In Falmouth is MacWorth Island with a great walk and very cool Fairy Garden that little kids just love, the Orono Bogwalk, the Heath in Saco (see recent post), the active Back Cove in Portland has a walking-running trail that circles the entire cove.

9. If you’re not into activity like hikes, walks, bikes, rides, and fairs there’s always SHOPPING. Both Freeport and Kittery have enough outlet stores to drain your bank account. Other towns like Camden, Kennebunkport, Portland, Bar Harbor, Boothbay Harbor, Rockland, Wells, York, and Ogunquit have wonderful little shops and boutiques, chock full of Maine Made crafts and gifts, clothing and kitchen goods. Many places are stocked with unique tshirts and foods.

10. Add to all of these choices, the fact that there are so many neat art galleries tucked in along with all of the shops in the towns listed above and in the larger cities like Portland, Bangor, and Augusta. For the kids, both Portland and Bangor have Children’s Museums. The Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor is one of my daughter’s favorites. The University of Maine Museum of Art on Harlow street in Bangor is small but offers free admission and is well worth it if you’re in town.

When I get to any of the places I’ve listed above, I’ll write a review and give you more information about the place, including nearby restaurant recommendations and other tips for visiting.



Looking back at all of this fun that is available right here at home, I need to ask myself why I always look to other parts of the country when I need a vacation. I could easily fill weeks with stuff to do within a few hours drive in my home state. I will make it a point to take full advantage of the fact that I live in vacationland. That’s the slogan on our license plates. Often you’ll see “Maine: the way life should be” or “Life in the slow lane.” These are fine, but I kind of like Vacationland. It reminds me of all the fun that’s right here.