Summer in Maine is a very special time!  As it is wedged between the ever so brief spring and the ephemeral fall, summer must be taken advantage of.  So don’t put off that trip to the beach or that road trip to the part of the state you have never been!  The great thing about our state is that in a few hours from our southern border, one can experience “the real Maine” and a lot of it.   Beautiful empty beaches, fascinating historical towns, a happening art scene and trendy restaurants are all within a few hours drive of Portland or even Boston.

DESTINATION ROCKLAND VIA GEORGETOWN ISLAND

For an overnight trip in Maine you don’t need to do a lot of packing; some beach togs, a cooler with snacks, beach towels and a change of clothes are pretty much all you need.  Of course, a fun and fast sports car can improve any road trip, so we recommend this as well!  Most places are pretty casual in Maine, so there is little need for fancy clothes and in the summer it stays pretty warm, although a pullover is always a good idea for chilly nights!

We left Cape Neddick and headed north on highway 95 to Portland where we took highway 295 to Bath/Brunswick where we took highway 1 north.  After crossing over the bridge at Bath, we took the first right turn southeast to GEORGETOWN ISLAND and REID STATE PARK.  From Bath to Reid State Park is one of our favorite drives in Maine.  When we took photos for our book, “MAINE CLASSICS”, we intentionally came here as it has such quintessential Maine scenery.  After about one half hour of winding our way past marshland, coves and ponds, we came to the entrance of the park.  Other than the great drive down, the reason to come here are the two unspoiled barrier beaches.  There is always a sprinkling of people here but none of the crowds of southern Maine and the beach is just beautiful.  After a few hours of sunbathing, reading, jumping in the sea and walking, we headed northeast to Bath and then north on Route 1 to ROCKLAND.

WE STAYED AT THE 250 MAINE HOTEL ROCKLAND

Maine is full of lovely old inns and historical hotels, so it is actually refreshing to stay at the newly built and mod 250.  This is not a hotel that is chock full of amenities; there is no bar, restaurant or fitness center, but there is a cool lobby where you’ll be offered a glass of bubbly or still wine upon arrival and where a simple breakfast is served in the morning. Our room was on the fourth floor (high above Rockland) and sported a large terrace overlooking the harbor.  The decor here is pleasingly spare and modern, the bed was very comfortable and the room large.  Check out is 11:00 but the folks at the desk were happy to arrange a late check out even though they were pretty full.  The 250 is a few steps from all that downtown Rockland has to offer, and that’s a lot!

WE HAD COCKTAILS AT ADA’S KITCHEN

A few blocks down from the 250 is the trendy and casual Ada’s.  This is the perfect place for a tasting of snacks or a light dinner.  There is a great mixture of locals, arty folk and international and local visitors.  The bar is set in an attractive open space, the bartenders are affable, and the drinks are well prepared.  What more could one ask for?

WE ATE AT LONG GRAIN IN CAMDEN

Since I lived in Beijing and Taiwan in the early eighties and since Mark and I travel almost every year to some part of Asia, we were excited to try the food of Ravin “Bas” Nakjaroen and his wife Paula Palakawong both hailing from one of our favorite cities, Bangkok.  The duo opened the contemporary looking restaurant in 2009 and Ravin was a semifinalist on the long list for the James Beard Awards in 2014.  The menu is kept to a perfect length and features dishes from all over South East Asia although the emphasis of the menu is decidedly Thai; which is just dandy in our book.  The dishes that we had were Thai sausages, Larb salad, wide rice noodles with tofu and curry with chicken.  All of these dishes were bright with flavor, replete with quality ingredients and very authentic in preparation.  The dining room has a great modern look and the crowd was a fun mix of locals, monied and not so monied.  Oddly, the tables are set with chopsticks, which we take as a bow to American expectations and one inadequate paper napkin.  Our service was efficient. If you plan to go to Long Grain be warned, they don’t answer the phone during the dinner service so call early in the afternoon preferably a day or two in advance.

VISITING ROCKLAND

It would be easy to spend a full day in Rockland as a morning at The FARNSWORTH MUSEUM is a must, and a lot of fun.  We’ve visited the museum on several occasions and the permanent exhibits of the Wyeth family's art are very impressive, but there are also many of America’s most important artists' works here including Hopper, Winslow Homer, Georgia O’keeffe and many more beautifully displayed in the 20,000 square foot museum.  The special exhibits are also notable and on this visit we were lucky enough to see the superlative work of Ashley Bryan, one of Maine’s most gifted artists.  This exhibit was featured recently on the PBS NewsHour, which highlighted this gifted black man’s important contribution to America.

After a few hours spent having our spirits illuminated with great art, a stroll down Main Street brought us more riches.  It seemed like just twenty or so years ago, Rockland was a bit of a sad backwater; well today, it’s definitely not!  Lining the streets are high quality art galleries, shops and cafes.  The HARBOR SQUARE GALLERY, in a gorgeous old bank building, has an especially fine collection of jewelry, sculpture and painting all handsomely displayed.  A few yards further down is the exceptional ARCTIC TERN BOOKS.  Exceptional because the owners, who were both on hand the day we visited, actually greet you as you enter and graciously offer to assist you in your selections.  Moreover the books and other items are attractively laid out and yes, (to use an overused word, but appropriate in this case) well “curated”.  The result of this kind of care is we bought a number of books and some great presents!  A bit farther down at the CLARKE GALLERY there was no such graciousness, and although we were interested in two pieces, the gallery owner, we presumed, was more interested in his computer than his potential clients.  We finished our morning with delicious sandwiches at MAIN STREET MARKET.  This trendy and fun market proudly flies the gay flag in front, the food is fresh, the counter people are friendly and everyone seems to be having a relaxing time there.

VISITING CAMDEN

A road trip to this area just wouldn’t be complete without a swing through the charming harbor town of Camden.  We walked through the downtown enjoying window shopping and through the beautiful little old fashioned park in the center of town where it is great to just sit and watch the people and enjoy the sun.  A few steps from the park is the harbor and the famous Camden schooners.  We are already planning a return trip and a sail on the meticulously restored SCHOONER, MARY DAY!  After idling most of the morning we were ready to at least get our blood moving a bit, so we headed to MT.  BATTIE for a quick hike up the mountain (which is really more of a large hill).  After about a 45 minute hike up through the woods we were rewarded with one of Maine’s amazing sites: the view of Camden harbor below!

RETURN TRIP VIA BATH

Turning the nose of our roadster south we couldn’t resist another stop and a few more hours on the beaches of Reid State Park and then in the late afternoon we headed for Bath.  For us there’s nothing like a good espresso in the afternoon to set you up for the evening ahead and CAFE CRÈME in Bath is just the place for this.  The crew here is always outgoing and the cafe is comfortable in a great hipster way.  No visit to Bath would be complete without a visit to NOW YOU’RE COOKING in the center of downtown.  We always find some great wine here from their well chosen selections and if we’re not careful more gadgets for our kitchen and Mark’s ever growing selection of pots, pans and casseroles! 

All good getaways come to an end, but we're already planning our next adventure back to this region where there is so much to be seen and discovered!