Maine to Boston trip

[AstroVol]

On July 24th, we are flying into Portland, Maine and renting a car. We are flying out of Boston on Aug 2nd. We are bringing our 18-month old daughter (very good traveler for that age) a lot of stress and no plans. We hope to do a lot of relaxing and decompressing.

If you have any suggestions or ideas on things to do in that general area, I'm all ears.

 

[FAST FRED]

Get off the interstate to see Maine.

Take rain wear and plan on adopting the layered look to keep warm at night.

Acadia National Park has beautiful scenery, equal to Big Sur and Monterrey

Drive along the coast through small seafaring towns with boat filled harbors, lighthouses and many cottages painted in bright or pastel colors.

Stop at local bakeries and lobster joints for good eating.

Fun golf courses; some of the most interesting were municipal nine holers.

Factory outlets for shopping, like L. L. Bean, etc,

Notice how their put their mailboxes on see saw-like poles in rural areas, so they can be raised above the winter snow drifts.

Read a Stephen King book when you're not driving.

Notice the big wooden houses in Augusta.

Drive carefully and defensively; except for the interstate, Maine highways are like farm to market roads in Texas: often two lane with multiple curves, following the contour of the land with few passing opportunities and, I have read, lots of drunk drivers.

I was in Maine 35 years ago, it was fun and memorable.

 

[brntorng]

1. Eat lobster
2. Stop in Kennebunkport and look around
3. Take a lobster fishing boat tour out of Kennebunkport
4. Head up to Acadia National Park for a day or two--one of the prettiest places in the country with plenty of outdoor activities
5. Eat more lobster

 

[YoLaDu]

i loved the Boothbay Harbor area.

I am jealous of your trip. No one deserves this heat. The high was 60 degrees in Boston yesterday. I mere 45 degree difference from Austin

 

[ColdHornFan]

Once you land in Portland, are you heading south or plan to hang around Maine for a while?

Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor is nice. Its about a 3 hour drive (northeast) from Portland. Or you can go up the coast to the Camden/Rockland area. This is a nice coastal place. Maybe a couple hours drive from Portland.

I recommend driving US Rt 1 as much as possible. This is where you'll see the coast and small fishing communities. It will take more time though.

In the Portland area, LL Bean in Freeport is popular. Its only about 20 minutes north of Portland. You should also check out the Old Port area in Portland, lots of shops and restaurants.

Also in Portland, you can take a boat tour off the coast and see the lighthouses and small islands (Casco Bay Lines). Also eat at The Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth. Very nice view, hopefully its not raining.

When leaving Maine, definitely drive Route 1 and check out Kennebunkport and the rest of the towns on your way into New Hampshire. I hear Portsmouth, NH is nice too but I haven't spent much time there.

I didn't include links but these places are easy to google. That's the Maine portion, hope that helps.

 

[Dewbrewer]

Ha! Did this last summer. We headed north of Portland and stayed in Camden. Great little town with cool shopping, good food, good beer, and coastal sights. You can head up to Bar Harbor but there are more tourists. Good view from Cadillac Mountain though. The drive down to Boston was a bit of a pain...there are toll booths that stack up w/ Bostonites & New Yorkers going back home. It will likely take more time to get to Beantown that the GPS says so plan ahead. Oh yeah, driving in Boston is a bit crazy but it can be done. Pay attention. We mainly took the subway though to get around. Enjoy the cooler weather!!

 

[LadyDee]

LOVE this stretch of road and have traveled this way many times.

*Camden is so cute. Cappy's Chowder house is great place to eat as well as the Salty Dog Brewery.

Bar Harbor/Acadia- must see and gorgeous. They often have concerts in the park. Great town.

Boston- Quincy market is fun and the New England Aquarium is one of the best.

You will see many Lobster Roll stands on the side of the road. They are good stop at the all.
McD.s even has a Lobster roll on the menu there.

Enjoy the beautiful scenery. It is one of my favorite places to visit.

 

[elface]

Portsmouth, NH is nice. The downtown area is renovated and very cool place to hang out.

My kids (11 and 6 at the time) loved Salem, MA with the history of pirates and witches. Not sure if an 18 month old would get a kick out of that. We also went to Vermont and hung out at farm for a few days.