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Have you ever been to Maine? We just got back from a family trip, and we fell for the rocky beaches, lobster rolls and friendly towns. What a magical place! Here are a few snapshots, if you’d like to see…
Running into old friends at Fort Williams Park.
We kicked off the trip with three nights in Portland, Maine, at a rental house. We hit up playgrounds, lighthouses, and the wonderful children’s museum — complete with a mini theater with sound effects, like an evil laugh and silly walk.
Bon Appetit just named Portland, Maine, the “2018 restaurant city of the year,” and it wasn’t hard to see why. For example, Eventide serves up the most ridiculous brown butter lobster rolls on Chinese-style steamed buns. And thank you to everyone who recommended The Holy Donut, where the secret ingredient is potato.
After a couple days chilling in the city, we drove down to Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport. We usually stay at rental houses, so we were excited to spend two days at a resort. You sleep in these adorable cabins!
Sometimes if I can’t fall asleep, I’ll daydream about opening a hotel and think about all the surprises and delights you could have for your guests. Hidden Pond nails it in this way. When you first arrive, you get warm cookies and strawberry water in the lodge…
Each cabin has an outdoor shower, and there are lemonade pitchers by the pool. You can pick out bikes to ride around, and play ping pong and board games. In the morning, the boys would run to our door to get the breakfast bag left outside our cabin. Every evening, we roasted s’mores around the fire. It was such a fun and beautiful place to stay!
We explored the town of Kennebunkport and grabbed lunch at The Clam Shack. When you get a lobster roll, they give you a pin revealing whether you chose “butter,” “mayo,” or “both.” (Busted.)
Then we hung out at the beach for some ocean air and that seagull soundtrack.
After two nights, we drove up to Camden, a seaport town on Maine’s midcoast region. We rented a little house, and my mom joined us! She sent us out on a date night, so Alex and I went out to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary.
We went on a sail, which felt especially fun since we had gotten engaged on a schooner a million years ago.
The next day, our Mainer friend Julie introduced us to Owl’s Head beach.
You could find hermit crabs and periwinkles, which are like sea snails. Apparently, they come out of their shells when you hum to them. How cute is that?
Our final evening, the lovely people at Inn by the Sea let us come by for a swim. Toby asked me to take this photo “to remember that we went swimming at 7:31 p.m.!!!!!” And Anton became super passionate about snorkeling, even though he was still wearing water wings, which made my heart swell. He kept saying, “Mommy, it’s so beautiful,” and told me all about the bottom of the pool.
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience, Maine. I sort of can’t believe people actually live there. We can’t wait to come back. :) Do you live in Maine, or have you ever visited? Where have you stayed? What would you recommend? I’d love to hear!
P.S. The random thing we do on vacations, and Cup of Jo city guides.
