From Freedom Trail to Carriage Roads

Part 2 – Maine, Touring North to Bar Harbor

Thursday, July 5th we set the compass north, and made our way toward Maine. Heading out of Boston, we made sure to have a few stops in our back pocket (beside the typical rest stops) to stretch our legs, take in some different areas of Maine, and of course allow the littlest traveler on this journey some time to recharge from the road if need be. Our ultimate destination for the day is Bar Harbor, where we would be staying a night. The final two nights of our visit to Maine would then be spent in Portland, returning to Boston Sunday to catch our flight back to Baltimore.

The drive was pretty easy with what seemed to be little holiday traffic, and we made it to the first rest stop in Maine pretty early on (don’t forget the theme of the trip is “beat the crowds” with the early to rise early to bed family life). We grab some Starbucks, make sure to take our obligatory picture with the moose statue, and point at the lobster roll food truck like tourists wondering how many of those we’ll have eaten by the end of our.

While coffee holds us over, we end up stopping around 11:00AM in Augusta (because why not stop in the state capital). This strategically happened to be the same time that the Cushnoc Brewing Co. opens. Located in historic downtown Augusta and on the Kennebec River, it provided the right space and refreshments that we were looking for in taking a break from the road. I tasted a flight, she enjoyed a pint, and the youngster got snacks. We place an order of their rotating flavor popcorn to munch on as well; maple sage flavor. With everyone getting to use the restroom, we were ready to hit the road again.

What seemed to be the right amount of travel time before stopping again, we decided to grab lunch in Bangor at the well-known Sea Dog Brewing Company. Located right on the Penobscot River, what a perfect setting to enjoy their famous Blueberry Wheat Ale (which they put actual blueberries in the glass). Some how I passed on ordering something with lobster, but the wings with Maine blueberry bbq were pretty awesome. After lunch it was our final stretch to Bar Harbor.

We checked into the Villager Inn around 4:00PM, and once freshened up started checking out the downtown area filled with quaint (but busy) shops, souvenir stores, restaurants, pubs, ice cream parlors and more. We made our way to the harbor to get our first glimpse of the infamous Maine coast line. Strolling through Agamont Park, we were all smiles as we took in the evening view of the quintessential harbor, anchored boats and buoys scattered across Frenchman Bay, and the crisp dark blue water with the dramatic forest greens and rocky bluffs of nearby small islands.

 

Prior to dinner we made a pit stop at Atlantic Brewing Company, popped in and out of multiple souvenir stores, and shopped the historic Sherman’s Book Store.

As we made our way back toward the waterfront past all the stores, we had dinner at Stewman’s Lobster Pound. We started off our dinner with a few local raw oysters, getting a taste of the nearby waters. While we saw the steam pots in action, no one order a whole lobster, but we did do lobster rolls all around. That’s right, they even had a lobster roll on the kids menu.

After enjoying dinner, we walked the downtown streets of Bar Harbor one more time as we made our way back to our hotel for the night in anticipation of explore Acadia Nation Park the next day. Next stop, carriage roads . . .