Maine Travel: Bangor Like a Local (by a local)

Thomas Hill Standpipe, Bangor Maine

If you would have told me five years ago that I would be living in Bangor, Maine, I would have squinted my eyes and said something that would have included some choice swear along the lines of “no *&^%ing way.”

Yet, here I am. And I love it.




I grew up in the southern part of the state, which is where the bulk of Maine’s population resides, where the big city of Portland is, and as far north as I had ever expected to live. I had been to Bangor once, in college, merely passing through on a geology class field trip to Baxter State Park. I think we stopped at the mall to pick some one up. I didn’t even get out of the van. Bangor held no interest.

I moved out of Maine in my early twenties, first to New Hampshire, then to Connecticut for a twelve year stint. During that time, my friend Joe moved from the same area in southern Maine where we had met back to his home turf in Bangor. I figured we’d never see each other again, and if we did, he was going to have to travel because no way was I going THAT FAR NORTH. 

Well, I fell in love with my friend Joe and married him last summer.  I moved to Bangor more than four years ago. 


Reality is that Bangor is only two hours from Portland and well worth checking out. Its proximity to the flagship campus of the University of Maine in nearby Orono gives the area a diversity that’s unexpected. It is also the city that serves as central point to a large part of eastern and northern Maine, Washington and Aroostook counties. The lack of large cities in those counties gives Bangor the responsibility of providing social service offices, hosting regional tournaments, and maintaining a civic center and auditorium that affords the area the ability to enjoy concerts and conferences that would otherwise be inaccessible to many. It’s got the largest high school in the state. Each July, Bangor hosts the Bangor State Fair, the http://www.bangorstatefair.com/ and in August, Bangor is home to the American Folk Festival, which is a 3 day event, closing down streets near the city’s waterfront and attracting world class music acts on multiple stages. The food is fabulous and the whole thing is free. Please make a donation to keep it so. Here’s more info on the Folk Festival: http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/

Bangor resident Stephen King's home.

The city really is the cultural and commercial hub for eastern and northern Maine.



So enough about the history of the city. What do you do when you live here? How do you do the Bangor area like a local?

Start downtown. From one end of Main street, just off interstate 395, you can:



1. ATTEND an event (concert, garden or other trade show) at the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center http://www.basspark.com/.

2. TAKE a gamble (adults only, of course) on the slots and the state’s only casino, Hollywood Slots http://www.hollywoodslots.com/.

3. EAT - Geaghan’s for awesome burgers and onion rings, Paddy Murphy’s Irish Pub for some brew and grub, Central Bagel, the Friar’s Bakehouse, just to name a few downtown establishments worthy of your dining dollar. 

4. ENJOY: live theater by the Penobscot Theater at the Bangor Opera House http://www.penobscottheatre.org/. 

5. SHOP:   some of my favorites are The Grasshopper Shop http://www.grasshoppershop.com/
Metropolitan Soul http://www.metsoul.com/, The Briar Patch, and Rebecca’s – all within walking distance of each other and all very cool places.  Side note:  Look for my photo cards at shops downtown!

7. DISCOVER: The Maine Discovery Museum resides on a large block of Main Street and remains one of my daughter’s favorite places to go. Three floors of children’s exhibits that are interactive and educational and just plain fun. if you’ve got kids and you’re in Bangor, GO. Admission is reasonable and you can spend hours http://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/.

8. ART: the University of Maine Museum of Art is on Harlow Street and exhibits contemporary artists. Check out http://www.umma.umaine.edu/.

All this is just downtown. Thursday nights this summer the city offers live concerts in Pickering Square. Also this summer, the Arts & Crafts fair on the waterfront, the city’s Art Walks. You can find more info right here at www.maine.info/cities/bangor/events.php

If you’re looking for some outside activities check out Bangor’s City Forest for some hiking and biking trails http://cityforest.bangorinfo.com/index.htm. While you’re there, take a nature walk on a peat bog boardwalk http://www.oronobogwalk.org/.

Bangor International Airport will welcome you if you're flying. 



Interstate I95 will get you here if you're driving. 



Hotels and accommodations:


Any of the usual aggregators will find you a room. There are dozens of hotels in Bangor. Do be aware, though, that it’s not always easy to get a room, so don’t think you can drive into town and find one. There are many area events that bring people to town. For example, this weekend is the Special Olympics Summer Games on the University of Maine campus and participants come from around the state, book rooms, eat out, shop, etc. I had a friend who thought that of course he could get a room, it’s only Bangor, right? Wrong. He got a room, but miles out of town at a boutique hotel and twice the cost of a regular room in the city. His arrogance in thinking – as I had so many years ago – that there’s nothing here, cost him.

So if you’ve got time in Bangor, whether an overnight for a sports event or driving through on your way to maritime Canada or just looking for a new place to check out, surprise yourself with what Bangor has to offer.

Life in Maine: The Lore of Lobster or How to cook a lobster

It may be hard to believe this: We really only eat lobster a few times a year here in Maine. Of course, I can’t speak for every Maine resident. Heck, I have heard of some Mainers who don’t even like lobster. Given the way the state is marketed to visitors, you would think that most meals in Maine homes have a lobster component. The truth is that eating lobster is usually reserved for an occasion. Unless you have a direct lobster connection, which I do not, lobster is expensive to buy, even if you’re living mere miles from the sea.

I have a confession to make. I’ve only had one lobster this year. It was a beauty, though. It was a hard shelled 1 ½ pounder whose claws required a hatchet to crack open. We brought two of them home to cook, against my better judgment. In the past, I have preferred to request that the lobster pound or fish monger cook the crustaceans for me. I don’t own a lobster pot. In fact, I wasn’t really sure HOW to cook it. Steam or boil? For how long? How do I know when it’s done?




Perhaps by this point you’re questioning my native Mainer status, thinking that I should turn in my resident ID card.

My husband apparently has done this before and said that steaming is what restaurants do as it preserves the flavor. He set about filling the largest pot we have. My daughter and I hung around the kitchen, poking the bag of live lobsters. When the water was boiling, my husband took one of the lobsters out of the bag and made him face his fate, head first into the pot. The lobster flapped his tail and kicked his little crawling legs. A claw tapped the glass cover. We decided that next time we’ll have the store cook it or at least use a cover we couldn’t see through.

I'm not much for killing.  I eat meat but don't want to lead the cow into the kitchen to prepare her for dinner.

Call me what you want.  I just winced and looked away when that lobster clamoured to get out.  Wimp.

The pot was too small for the two lobsters to be cooked at the same time. While the first one was changing colors, my daughter and I took the other one out to check it out. We set it on the kitchen floor. Our cat was cautious and curious. He sniffed the creature as it tried to creep across the floor. He got in pretty close, as did I to get this photo.

When cooked and cracked, they were packed with meat and very tasty with butter. My father tells me that this time of year – May and early June – is the best time to eat lobster. They haven’t molted so the shells are still really hard and full of meat. Late June to October the shells are soft. Hard shell lobsters are harder to eat, given that you need tools. Soft shell lobsters are usually less expensive. That won’t be the case in restaurants, but in the markets, the prices usually go down. The soft shell lobsters tend to get over cooked because people cook them for just as long as the hard shelled ones (another reason to have your lobster pound cook them) so the meat will be overcooked and tougher. If you’re coming to Maine and intend to have a lobster or two while you’re here, I suggest that you do so pretty soon. My friends Mitch and Dawn have a restaurant in Boothbay Harbor that’s awesome. It’s called The Lobster Dock. Here’s their website: http://www.thelobsterdock.com/. Tell them I sent you.

So that I – a Mainer –don’t find myself  not knowing how to cook a lobster, I looked up some of the major points. This was a very helpful website: http://www.lobsterhelp.com/

Lobster Cooking Times

For steaming a lobster

Lobster Weight Cooking Time

1 - 1 ¼ lb. 10 - 12 minutes

1 ¼ - 2 lb. 12 - 18 minutes

2-3 lb. 18 - 25 minutes

3-6 lb. 25 - 40 minutes

6-7 lb. 40 - 60 minutes

8 lb. and over 7 minutes per pound

How Do I Know When The Lobster Is Cooked?

Lobsters will turn their characteristic bright red color well before the meat is thoroughly cooked inside. Follow these easy tips to ensure that the lobster is cooked.

 Tug on an antennae or pull off one of the small walking legs. They both will come off easily when the lobster is done.

 The meat inside the lobster will be firm, white and opaque The tomalley, which fills much of the body cavity will be greenish-yellow.

 The roe in female lobsters will be bright orange-red and firm. If it is a dark greenish-black, with an oily tar-like consistency, the lobster is under cooked.

 The internal temperature should be 180 F (80 C)

Family Travel: Day Trips in the Mayan Riviera

The choice was tough. Icy fresh cut pineapple or mango. Which will best satisfy you as you gaze out over the bluest stretch of water you’ve ever seen? It’s hot and sunny. You’ve just been body surfing below the cliffs of the Mayan ruins at Tulum. You watched a young Mexican boy make his way down the steep jungle path with the cooler tied with a rope around him. He opens it with a grin. Inside, fresh cut fruit is skewered, wrapped in plastic, and packed in ice. Dig out your wet pesos and pay him. It’s sweeter and juicier than any thing you’ll find in the supermarket. Better than you imagined. Refreshed, you dive back into the sea.




The eighty or so miles that stretch between Cancun and Tulum is known as the Riviera Maya, or the Mayan Riviera. New resorts are being built and grand openings abound. They’re beautifully crafted, stunningly located on the aquamarine Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and in many cases, all inclusive. That means that you don’t really have to leave the campus to find everything you could possibly need on vacation. There’s abundant sun to frolic in, a variety of restaurants and buffets to savor, frozen drinks to cool you, shops to find the right souvenir of your trip, and the requisite palm treed strung hammocks for seaside napping. If that’s not enough for you, well, you just might be in need of a day trip.

You might recognize the ruins at Tulum from the scenes in the brochures of Mexico. Perched on the Caribbean, their history is as amazing as the view. Go for both. For under $5.00 US per person you can tour the ruins on your own. History markers tell the tale of human sacrifice and devotion to Gods. The word “Tulum” means “walled,” as in walled city. Iguanas rest in the sun on the building’s peaks and foundations. El Castillo or The Castle is the tallest building in the city. The center square was probably used for rituals and ceremonies. It is hot at peak hours of the day, with very little shade. It is easily accessed from Highway 307, about a two hour drive from Cancun. Save some time in your schedule to check out the flea market at the entry. It is packed with silver jewelry, Mexican blankets, hammocks, trinkets and carved wooden statues.

If you’re in the mood to explore the underwater world of the Mayan Riviera, head to Akumal for some amazing snorkeling. There are three places to snorkel. Akumal Bay is home to sea turtles that graze on the sea grass, lazily surfacing for air whenever they think of it. The beach there is dotted with palm trees. You can rent snorkel gear from the Akumal Dive Shop. They have snorkel vests available that allow you to virtually hover over the turtles and rays as they munch. Further out into the bay, the protective reef supports corals and colorful tropical fish. You can jump on one of the boat tours that will take you out there to the known sites. In the sandy center of town, you can rent a golf cart for the day and head down the road, along the shore to the next area, Half Moon Bay. Accessible from many spots along the way, one of the favorites is next door to a great little restaurant for lunch. The Buena Vida has a swing bar and sand floor. You can have a great fish taco and colada with your toes dug in. They have a crow’s nest that the kids love to climb up. From the perch you can see the whole bay, curving in both directions, sheltering a coral studded bay.



After lunch and some shore snorkeling, make your way to the end of the road and the Yal Ku Lagoon. The entry fee is minimal and immensely worth it. There are primitive lockers for your belongings and parking space for the cart. Walk down the lush paths and encounter bronze statues of birds, animals, and people. At the lagoon, there are stairs that lead you into the water which is teeming with fish. Fresh water mixed with the sea and the limestone rocks form a protective harbor for brightly colored parrotfish, schools of yellow striped sergeant majors, and other sea life. The water is not deep, six to twelve feet at most, so you can feel safe bringing the kids. All around the lagoon there are benches, paths, palapas, and statues. When you’re through at the lagoon, make your way back to the center of Akumal and try some homemade ice cream at Lucy’s Kitchen.

The Mayan Riviera is situated on top of the most extensive system of underground rivers and caverns in the world. The caverns that open to the surface are known as cenotes. The water in them is of an unbelievable clarity. If your kids are clamoring for adventure, try Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park. It’s right on highway 307 just north of Tulum. From cycling through the treetops on one of their sky cycles to riding the 600 ft zip line to repelling into a cenote and then riding a zip line to splash down into that same cenote, there’s no lack of whizzing and flying to do at Hidden Worlds. At the end of the sky cycle ride, you enter a cave, don a snorkel vest and gear, and go underground, swimming into a cave where you follow a guide into giant caverns, one so large it has acquired the name “the church” for it’s cathedral ceiling. It’s an amazing under ground and tree top experience. The ride into the jungle, on one of their buggies is an adventure all its own. The kids will come out of this one with stories to tell their friends. The staff at Hidden Worlds is incredibly helpful and friendly, joking with guests, providing insight into the surroundings and wildlife. Special discount rates are available at their website http://www.hiddenworlds.com/.

When you’re ready to get back in the water, go to Xel Ha. . Pronounced “Shell Ha,” this ecopark won’t allow you to use your regular sunscreen. They are so protective of their beautiful environment that you can only use approved eco friendly sunscreen. The self proclaimed “World’s Biggest Aquarium” really is as it suggests. With so many things to do at the park, it’s a wonder that some tour groups actually package a visit here along with a stop at Tulum. Though they are relatively close to each other, Xel Ha deserves its own day trip. Beyond snorkeling in their immense lagoon, where you can circle boulders and swim through avenues traveled by angle fish, Xel Ha has a lazy river where you can climb into a tube from a platform in a mangrove and float down into the lagoon, a leisurely 45 minute ride downstream past cliffs and cliff jumpers. You can pull over anytime at one of the many platforms and take in the scene. The all inclusive rate is definitely the way to go. As well as your park admission, it includes all drinks and food from a variety of cuisines, bicycle and locker rental, towels, snorkel gear and security bags for your belongings. There are deck chairs and hammocks all over. There’s a small shallow inlet for the little kids to play. There’s even an apiary to check out. You can walk through the jungle and cross over the tree top bridge. See a cenote and a grotto. They even have a Snuba program. Take your kids to Xel Ha for an incredible day of fun. Their website is http://www.xelha.com/ and they offer discounted rates online.

Still looking for something to do? A day trip to Cozumel just might satisfy your need for some Mexican culture. The world’s second largest barrier reef runs between the island of Cozumel and the Mexican mainland and the snorkeling there is spectacular, of premium clarity. Corals, eels, tropical fish, urchins, all seem within grasp. You can snorkel from the shore at many places. Take the ferry from Playa Del Carmen. There are two competing ferry lines. They charge the same rate and take the same amount of time to get to the island. The Money Bar Beach club is located right at the Dzul Ha reef. You can take a taxi right from the ferry dock. Their website is http://www.moneybarbeachclub.com/ for more information. Another great place to visit while on Cozumel is the Chakanaab Park. For a very reasonable admission fee, you can use the park’s hammocks, beach chairs, restrooms, showers and huts. You can take snorkel tours, swim with dolphins and manatees, and sea lions for additional fees. Their website is http://www.cozumelparks.com./

The public transportation in this part of Mexico is safe and reliable. The “Collectivo” runs between Cancun and Tulum. You can travel from Playa Del Carmen to Tulum for about $3.00 one way. The collective system moves the population and is not geared specifically for tourists, but many drivers know to park outside of the large resorts for customers. You can also take a taxi. Many of them also wait outside of the resorts waiting for customers. At most resorts, your concierge can call a taxi for you as well. Unless extremely adventurous, you don’t need to rent a car when visiting the area. Public transportation will take you to and from your day trip destinations.

Some very helpful websites geared towards travel in the Mayan Riviera are www.locogringo.com, which is the ultimate travel guide for this area. Read forums and find out about the many choices of hotel resorts. The maps on this site are some of the best, especially the snorkeling maps of Akumal Bay. Another great site for travel in general is www.tripadvisor.com. Read reviews, forums, and recommendations from travelers like you. One of the most well known tour operators for Mexican vacations is Apple Vacations. At their website, http://www.applevacations.com/, you can view flights and resorts. Their rates generally include airport transport to your hotel.



More than just “how to get around” Mapchick’s website http://www.cancunmap.com/ will tell you just about all you need to know about visiting. You can get information about the weather, travel tips, the airport, resorts, fish you’ll see, documents you need, the best time to visit, and read Laura’s (aka “Mapchick”) blog. Her maps are worth the investment for the sidebars alone. She and husband Perry scour the peninsula in search of great spots to visit and eat. They travel the streets with a GPS for accuracy. They’ve made it their (awesome) jobs to provide tourist tidbits to travelers. The maps are $10 each.



So many things to see and do in the Mayan Riviera, you might need more than a week to visit. Despite the day trip information provided here, make it a priority to enjoy yourself. Nap in a hammock. Stay up too late. Eat too much. The natural beauty of the sea and sand and surroundings beg you to chill out a bit. You could easily fall in love with it all and become a loco gringo yourself.

Photography Topic: Inspiration Found!

Who knew? Remember how I was seeking photographic inspiration? As if the blooming gardens and the smiling face of my kid wasn’t enough to satisfy me, I was in a photographic funk. I contemplated direction. Put down the camera for a while? Take a road trip? I needed something to energize my work. Well, I found it.

I upgraded my cell phone recently to an iPhone. My plan was offering a deal and I thought it would be a nice thing to be able to use the GPS functions of a 3G kind of phone. Let me point out here that I use about 9 of the 500 minutes of my cell phone plan. My phone was off and stuffed into my purse for most of the time. I took it out to call my husband when I was going to run an errand or something. I am not one of those cell phone people. At all. I don’t text. I don’t walk around with my phone strapped to my ear. I am not one of those people. But …I found a list of the best apps for photographers and someone listed the Hipstamatic. I checked it out and made my first app purchase of $1.99. Over the weekend, I got a chance to try it out.



Now I can’t stop thinking about stuff I want to shoot with it.

Here’s the deal. It uses your phone’s camera (all 2MPs) and gives you some options in shooting with it. You can select different “lenses” and “film.” The lens choice makes the image tinted, bluish or brownish for example, giving the photograph an old fashioned look. The “film” gives the shot a frame, jagged and rough or rounded and aged like they just came out of grandma’s box of photos in the attic. The images are grainy and uneven. The details are purposefully lost and blurred.



It’s the most freeing photography find I’ve found in a long time.



Any one who is at all familiar with my photography knows that I love detail. I’m a sucker for the centers of flowers brushed with pollen. The curl of a leaf. The texture of the sand. Sunshine in the wisps of my daughter’s hair. I tend to shoot things that make you want to touch them. Detail. Nuance. Love all of that. All of those details.

It’s a – gulp – CELL PHONE CAMERA of all things! It’s got no ability to focus and no telephoto or wide angle options. It’s just so off that the images end up looking dreamlike and exaggerated. The framing and the tinting make you think not of fine art but of old pictures that you see from the fifties and sixties. My Dad has a box of slides that evoke this kind of feeling.





This one, well, there’s no distinct focus, and the lighting is off.

Normally, these shots would be discarded from the file as a mistake.

What kind of flower is this? Who cares?

A pair of flip flops on the deck? A chunk of the flag?

I’ve shot this water tower in Bangor a lot of times. It’s a local landmark. Look at the distortion!

 It’s awesome!

I know that I can probably do all of this in Photoshop, but who has that kind of time? I like to compose in camera and do very little to the image once created. I found that using this little gadget gave me the freedom to shoot differently, to be inspired by the little ordinary things.

So what have I learned here? I learned that sometimes you’ve got to look at things through a different lens. How things are framed and presented can profoundly affect how they are perceived. This goes for many things in life beyond photography.

I’d love to hear from any readers who have found something that makes a change in the way you’re shooting, even short term.

If you’re interested in getting the Hipstamatic app, go to the iTunes store and search the photography apps. For me it was worth the two bits just to shake me loose from the photography stagnation.

Recovery Reading

On my bookshelf, interspersed with my dreamy tropical travelogues, literary fiction, and just plain fun reading is a collection of recovery reading that has enlightened, encouraged, and comforted me over the past few months. I would like to take the opportunity to share these books with you and suggest that if you haven’t read them, you consider doing so. Each speaks from a different voice. Each has a distinct story to tell. I have enjoyed them all.

The first book I ever read that related at all to recovery, one which I recently re-read just because I loved it so and am a huge fan of the author is Augusten Burrough’s Dry. After I read the AA big book, early on in my recovery, this was recommended to me. You might be a bit familiar with the author’s memoir of his demented and dysfunctional childhood, which was made into a movie of the same name, Running with Scissors. In Dry, Burroughs tells of the depths of his alcoholism, reluctant recovery, and continued sobriety. His humor and sarcasm throughout is what really drew me into this book. I felt a relief in reading this book although it was uncomfortable in places, in finding that I could still laugh. I’ve read every other book Augusten Burroughs has read and just love him so this was an easy pick for me in listing recovery reading. I met him at a lecture when I was 5 months sober. I was nearly star struck as he signed the pile of books I brought in. He commented on my recovery, saying “it makes a big difference doesn’t it?” How little I knew then about how different my life would be. Here’s a link to Mr. Burrough’s website http://www.augusten.com/site/dry.

Drinking: A Love Story, by Caroline Knapp was an amazing discovery for me this year. Stumbling across it in one of those Amazon recommended lists, I devoured it in a few days, completely ignoring my family, actually spending time laying on the couch to read while I have plenty of other things to do. I couldn’t stop. It seemed that finally I had found a woman who would write about the obsession and misunderstanding. I could relate to how she brought alcohol with her to visit people because there would never be enough. How she would eye the bottle of wine at dinner, thinking about how it would have to be split with the others at the table. How her glass always seemed to be the first one emptied. Her writing style is literary perfection. Sentences and details strung together into paragraphs that once completed, I reread just for their beauty. I wanted to dash off a letter to her, claiming my love and devotion, and found that Caroline Knapp passed away in 2002, at age 42, due to complications of lung cancer. If you’re a woman in or out or on the verge of recovery, read this book!

Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore: Getting through the first year of sobriety by Rachael Brownwell was a powerful story of motherhood and alcoholism, how they affect and unravel one another, and how to hang on until they again merge and make sense. She writes about some of the same feelings I recall as a young mother and an active alcoholic. Visiting the park for the 5th consecutive day with a toddler IS more fun with a tumbler of vodka and lemonade in hand. Watching kids play outside in the yard day after day, with little adult interaction, except from the husband that you’re not so sure you even like anymore seemed so much more tolerable knowing I had jugs and jugs of wine in the house that I could dash in for and make the sun shine a bit brighter. Rachael Brownwell’s book brought it all back for me, but in a way that was extremely relatable. She also touches on the feelings associated with the loss of freedom that comes with motherhood, loss of self, of creativity, of youth, of individuality. I passed it on to my counselor as suggested reading for any woman battling addiction and parenthood simultaneously. A combination that is rarely discussed, alcoholic mothers are the bane of society, so it seems when you’re one of them. Moms are supposed to be the sane ones, holding the whole thing together, right. Read Rachael Brownwell’s book if you know anyone in their first year of sobriety. The stories about the meetings she attended early on are quite funny and tell what it really is like at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. A side note: AA itself was anonymous in the book. The author chose to detail the meetings and her experiences in them, but did not disclose specifically that they were AA meetings, in accordance with the anonymity of the program. Recommend this book to every Mom you see in the park with a tumbler in her hand. Here’s a link to Rachael’s website: http://rachaelbrownell.com//

Lit by Mary Karr is currently on my nightstand. Don’t tell me how it ends, but if you haven’t read it, I encourage you to pick it up and get started. It was a little slow for me at the onset, but I have since been sucked in. She’s funny and sarcastic, paragraphs to consume and enjoy, little details coming through to make huge statements. When she wrote about sitting outside on the fire escape, drink in hand, while her son slept inside, I knew I liked her. Her honesty in her skepticism about recovery and her struggles facing success sober is heartbreakingly vivid. She picks fights. She promises no more, but then just one, then she’s searching the house for any remnants of a bottle. This book is very funny about a very serious subject. I’m loving it and don’t want it to end.






My reading pattern is a roller coaster of serious recovery reading, then on to something a little lighter, like a good novel, toss in a bit of travel writing, a little self-help motivation or meditation and just for the fun of it, something in the direction of feng shui or past life regression. I have read many good and not so good books over the years and appreciate a book that takes me somewhere. All of the above mentioned books do that, but on the topic of recovery, and in different ways. All are worth your search at the bookstore or online.

Maine Travel: Camden Hills State Park, Mt. Megunticook

As we near the halfway point of this year, I took a look at some of the new year’s goals that I wrote down way back in January. As far as travel is concerned, one of the goals I had was to go to at least five places I had never been before, with two of them being in the state of Maine. Well, I hit a couple of new places this past Memorial Day weekend and will tell you about one of them today.




I told you all that I’ve been restless and craving adventure, so when my husband proposed going to Camden Hills State park to climb Mt Megunticook, the highest mainland mountain on the Atlantic coast, I thought “Cool! Nice day, blue sky, some exercise, some fresh air, more than likely some great photo vantage points, and it being Camden, plenty of scenic ocean vistas.” I was certainly game.

We packed a picnic cooler and set out, my husband, my daughter, and me. We meandered our way to Route 1 just north of Searsport and continued south, through Belfast and into Camden. Before reaching the harbor area and downtown Camden, we arrived at the park. Camden Hills State park flanks both sides of Route 1, the ocean side and the mountain side. Nearly noon when we got to the area, we decided that it would be best to have our lunch before climbing, saving a dessert something for the top of the mountain. We pulled into the ocean side of the park, paid the entry fee ($7.00 for 2 adult Maine residents, kids free) and drove down towards the shore. We parked in the south shore access parking lot and grabbed our lunch for a short hike. When we reached the shore trail, we could see the ocean, but were a bit leary of hiking down to the water, although there were people down there. It was a bit of a steep decent and with kid and cooler and an injured knee, we thought better of it and picked one of the picnic tables in the sun. After our leisurely lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cut up veggies, we packed it up, and got back in the car to cross over to the mountain side of Route 1.

We found the hiker’s parking lot, swapped the sneakers for hiking boots and spotted the trailhead for Mt. Megunticook. The trail is rated a 2 (moderate) and is well marked with blue blazes. The wet areas have board walks over them. Many of the inclines have small steps fashioned from the stones, making the climb a bit easier at some of the steeper points. We saw many other hikers with walking sticks and thought that might be a good idea for our next trip. The pamphlet issued by the park said the trail was a mile long and would take us about an hour to summit. It was a really pleasant hike with a few rests along the way. The weather was perfect for hiking that day, sunny but relatively cool, in the low 70’s with a breeze. The bugs were minimal. I heard a buzz in my ear, but got no bites, unusual for late May, prime black fly season. Sooner than I expected, I would spot the clear blue sky indicting an opening in the tree canopy and therefore Ocean Lookout, our destination. The summit is another ½ mile climb and we were content to enjoy the view from there before heading back down. From Ocean Lookout, you can see as far as Deer Isle, North Haven Island, and out to Owl’s Head light. Spread before you is beautiful little (or so it seemed from that height) Camden Harbor.

A nice harbor village with funky little shops and restaurants, a visit to Camden, complete with blog report and photograph, is sure to be forthcoming later this summer. The Lookout is a cliff of sorts and my husband commented that when he climbed Mt Meguniticook a decade earlier (without me) birds had hung aloft at eye level. I saw four hawks of some kind floating out there.

The hike back down was pretty easy, taking us 40 minutes to reach the parking lot. Along the way, my daughter spotted this little nest, snuggly tucked in under a fallen branch on the side of the trail. The eggshell color is just beautiful!

After a few minute rest in the parking lot, we decided to head over to Mt Battie. Mt. Battie has a stone tower at the end of it’s auto road that offers panoramic views.

Camping facilities are available at the park. You can visit http://www.campwithme.com/ for more information and to make reservations. Within an hour’s drive of the park you can visit other state parks such at Fort Point and Moose Point state parks. You can also explore Fort Knox State Historic Site and visit the lighthouse at Owls Head.



Camden itself has a lot to offer. Check out http://www.visitcamden.com/ for more information and check back for my reviews on our visit.

More info about Maine’s state parks can be found at www.maine.gov/doc/parks



I would recommend decent hiking shoes for the hike up Mt. Megunticook and the aforementioned hiking/walking stick is a good idea, too. Of course, sunscreen and bug spray are always a good idea. Bring plenty of water, too, but if you forget, you can buy bottled water from vending machines near the park gate on the mountain side.  Definately bring your camera and binoculars. 



Most of all, enjoy Maine’s state parks. They really are awesome.



I’d love to hear from anyone reading this about your experiences in any of Maine’s state parks.

Travel Tips: ROAD TRIP!!

In preparing for our upcoming vacation, I have been scouring the travel magazines and websites for great travel tips to use and pass along. I was especially interested in ROAD trip ideas, given that this trip is going to be a long car ride with a child. Some of my favorite memories are from our families road trips, whether day trips into the White Mountains or longer trips to visit relatives or on vacations. I’m sure my parents heard the classic “are we there yet?” enough times and they probably find it odd that I have such wanderlust, given the complaints back then, but it’s thanks to their enthusiasm and planning that I hang on to those times and attempt to recreate them with my own family. Case in point: this past weekend, I was up for an adventure. My husband and I decided to pack up the car for a day trip to Machias, a couple of hours away. Our tween daughter had other plans with her friends and wasn’t happy about giving them up to ride all over Downeast Maine with us. We packed a picnic and set her up with movies and snacks and took off. She asked a few times about how much further and let out a few well placed teen angst sighs. She begrudgingly got out of the car when we got to some scenic spots to take pictures. She made it clear that she couldn’t wait to get home. Yesterday I was looking at her Facebook page and saw that she wrote: “The road trip was awesome!!” the same evening as our trip. You never know, do you.

So here is my compiled list of suggestions for a road trip with kids:



1. Pace yourself: remember that a kids sense of time is different than yours. You might want to go from point A to point B and get the trip over as soon as you can. it will be easier on all of you if you plan for multiple rest stops. It has worked well for us in the past to leave hours before breakfast, slipping the kid into the car in her pjs, tucked in (and buckled in) with pillows and blankets. Wake her up ten or fifteen minutes before you’re going to stop to give her time to get dressed and defog.

2. Games: games are important. They get you to interact with each other and some will get you to take a look at your environment. We have a magnetic travel bingo from LLBean.com that is different with each destination. There are loads of classic car game ideas online.

3. Creative time: we have a lap desk that I bring on our road trips that gives her a surface to use to draw, color, or doodle. She loves to make signs to put up in the windows for other cars to see. If you don’t have a lap desk, a clip board will do just fine.

4. Music: to the tween, music reigns. In advance of the trip, I will load her newest music onto her mp3 player, maybe even throw in a surprise track or two.

5. Audio books: another use for that mp3 player is for audio books. Our library has a free system to download audio books and carries a wide range of chapter books and other favorites.

6. Real books: nothing beats a good book on the road for me. I understand that this is not for all. My little one, though, has become a reader of late so I think I will get her a new book of her choice that she can begin at the onset of our trip.

7. Non messy, non spilling, non sticky snacks: is there such a thing? Stick with waters or sparkling water. It’s the best drink there is and isn’t sticky if (when) it is spilled and has other uses, like rinsing sticky fingers. Fruit like pre washed grapes, apples, and bananas are great. Cut up veggies and put them into plastic storage containers that you can refill at the supermarket later in the trip or use to store seashells. Pretzels, goldfish, crackers are pretty good travel snacks, if you don’t mind the occaisional one crushed underfoot. Use your judgement. If you’ve been a parent for any length of time, you know what works for you and your kids in the car. The basic rule is this: bring way more than you think they could possibly devour.

8. Active toys for breaks: we usually bring a jump rope or a rubber ball or a folding Frisbee just for something to play with at rest stops. It gives your legs a stretch, gets your blood going and doesn’t take long to shake off the auto stiffness.

9. Techno stuff: People have differing opinions about this. Some would prefer that the kids look out the windows or partake in conversations. That’s all great, but sometimes, we all need some downtime and nothing passes the ride like a good movie. Let your kid pick out a few. Maybe get a new one for the trip. Yes, I want to be able to talk to her about what we see out of the window, but there truly are some stretches of highway that offer little in the way of education or interest (stretches of Maine highway come to mind – pine trees, pine trees, pine tress). That portable DVD player can be a wonderful thing in a traffic jam. The Nintendo DS or Gameboy or iPhone game can ease some stress when a kid is bored and tired.

10. Their own stuff: when traveling by plane, I really have to limit what my daughter takes, given that I’ll most likely be the one schlepping it in the airport. Car road trips, though, have the benefit of a little extra space. I always let her pack a small totebag or backpack with her own “stuff.” For her it’s always her stuffed puppy as the number one choice. She also usually brings her little purse, some trinkets and little toys, and sometimes some cards. Whatever she wants.

Putting together this little list has clarified a few things for me and reminded me of others I had forgotten, which are now on my list. I am beginning to get more excited about this road trip ahead of us. We spent some time with the maps and tour books the other day and have discovered a couple of stops along the way that will infuse our vacation with something new. I will surely report them, complete with photos!



I’d love to hear from anyone reading this about their own suggestions and ideas for some smooth road trips with kids. In particular, the route between Maine and Virginia on 95.