Getting up at 2:45 am to get everything done and get to the airport in time was quite the achievement!

Two flight later we made it all the way to Portland in time for lunch!

Arriving in Portland we went directly to lunch. Our first lobster roll. The plan in to have lobster at least once every day!

After lunch, we spent a wonderful (grey) afternoon of exploring Portland and sampling various offerings this beautiful town in Casco Bay had to offer.

And then we crashed after a very very l-o-n-g day!

Our first (and only) full day in Portland started with a trip on the ‘Mail Boat’

This is the boat that operates in Casco Bay and ferries people and mail (mostly Amazon packages!) between the islands.

A cool, slightly rainy, and very foggy day gave everything an enhanced aura of mystery.
It reminded us immediately of the last time we were on a boat between islands in a bay. It was foggy as well!

Some excellent research was done prior to embarking and thus we were prepared with enough provisions to have a lunch of wine and charcuterie.

An excellent way to experience this part of the Maine coastline.

Having ‘delivered the mail’ in the morning, we went for an afternoon walk through the town of Portland.

Lots of interesting little shops, bars and restaurants.

We found a railroad museum and there was a narrow track railroad going up the edge of the bay for about a mile. Of course we had an afternoon jaunt on the train, first class one way and second class coming back, to get the full experience.

We ended the afternoon with a great dinner at a small restaurant appropriately called ‘DuckFat’

The first stop on the way to Boothbay Harbor was the L.L.Bean flagship store campus in Freeport.
There was major construction on their main building, but it was still a very interesting place to experience. They definitely have their market style.

The most famous, and claiming to be the best, lobster roll is allegedly from a tiny little building on a corner in the town of Wiscasset. There was no way we could NOT go to Red’s Eats to try it ourselves. They open at 11:30 and we timed everything to be there at that time.

When we arrived, the line was already to the corner and it took an hour-and-a-half for us to get to the front to order. At some point you begin to doubt if it is really going to be good enough to warrant the never-ending waiting.

O.M.G. IT WAS!

We have never eaten so much lobster – excellent lobster – in one meal. Of course with pints of the best melted butter.

Finally made it to our destination for the evening: Booth Bay Harbor.

After checking in to the Tug Boat Inn, we walked through the picturesque town before dinner.

Breakfast at the charming Blue Moon Cafe next door to the Tug Boat Inn was followed by a trip to the beautiful Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ most famous inhabitants are the Guardians of the Seeds. These are giant trolls hidden in the expansive woods along the trails, all made out of wood and recycled materials by the Danish artist Thomas Dambo.

Thomas Dambo lives and works in Copenhagen. A self-labelled “recycle art activist,” his trolls are on the list of the most significant attractions in Denmark and can be found worldwide, not only telling a story of sustainability, but one of global connection.

The trolls were built on-site in 2021 with his team and help from the Garden’s staff and over 150 volunteers. They took two months to create.

Walking made everyone hungry, so we went to a small lobster shack in the middle of nowhere at the end of a road on Sprucehead Island.

Roskva is the heaviest, hardest, and strongest of the trolls. Every day, Roskva climbs towards the sky, and every year she grows taller and wider. If a troll forgets something, they can always ask Roskva—she counts the seasons and remembers everything that happens around her.

Just last summer, Lilja came out from her hiding place. The youngest of the trolls, she’s still just a child. She loves the colors and the scents of the flowers and when bees and butterflies fly among branches.

Søren is a very curious troll; his head is always turning and twisting, searching for places ever higher. He dreams about drifting around on a cloud in the sky, and when the wind is blowing, he loves to celebrate with a dance.

Gro is the wanderer. Every fall she disappears, but the trolls are not worried because every spring she returns to the forest. On her return, Gro walks around to make sure every friend of hers is fed. After hurrying to catch a few sunbeams and a handful of raindrops, she creates a feast for the forest.

Birk is the wisest and most mysterious of the trolls. He hides in the shadows and listens to the whispers of the soil. He knows everything that happens in the wild, and every day he tells tales to all the other creatures of the forest.

Late afternoon we got to Bar Harbor and after checking in, met up with friends that have already been there for a week.

It was a fun evening eating, drinking and catching up.

It was a full day in Bar Harbor.

We started early morning with a road trip through Acadia National park – the smallest national park in the US. However, it is always in the top ten of most visited parks!

We drove (slowly) along Park Loop Road stopping at some of the viewpoints, like Thunder Hole and Fabbri Monument, on our way to Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is known as the first place in the continental U.S. to see the sunrise, although that is only true for a portion of the year. We opted for sleeping in and going a bit later in the morning.

Stunning views all around.

Back in town we had some brunch and walked around a little before we headed off-island to just outside Hancock for an afternoon riding the Downeast Scenic Railroad.

The Downeast Scenic Railroad offers a wonderful 12-mile round-trip train ride from Hancock, Maine, through Ellsworth Falls, and across the Union River Bridge on the former Maine Central Railroad. The beautifully restored passenger train, with vintage locomotives and coaches, staffed by our all-volunteer crew, is the first passenger train to run on these tracks since 1960.
– downeastscenicrail.org

What a great trip that was! It is about a ninety minute ride on a beautifully restored train. At the far end, just before it crosses the bridge over Union River, they change the locomotive from the front of the train to the back. First it pushes the train over the bridge, and then pulls it back along the same track to where we started. So much fun!

A day full of adventure was followed by wonderful dinner.

After a very early breakfast we headed out to the airport for our first of two flights for the day.

There were a lot of really nice large jets at the airport. Not our airplane. Those were all private jets, and our commercial flight was scheduled on the smallest airplane at the airport.

So small that they weigh everything that goes on the airplane. Luggage, hand luggage, passengers… EVERYTHING!

Our seats were right behind the pilots. So much so, with barely any leg space, it looked like the pilots were sitting on our laps!
The flight was great and a very unique experience as far as flights go.

A layover in Boston was followed by a uneventful flight back to Orlando. Made it home late evening.

What a great (extra) long weekend, seeing places we’ve never seen, spending time with friends,
and eating ‘Lob-Stah’ EVERY… SINGLE… DAY!

What a trip!

Live the life you’ll always remember!