Road Trip, Day 3: Monhegan Island
DAY THREE: AT A GLANCE
Starting point: Camden, Maine
Ending point: Monhegan Island, Maine
Starting mileage: 188,535
Ending mileage: 188,570
Daily total (miles): 35
Trip total (miles): 275
Monhegan Island. I finally got to experience your magic.
Monhegan Light—straight out of the camera (Fuji X100F)
For more than 15 years, we’ve wanted to visit Monhegan Island and just never made time. So, when the idea for this trip rolled around, we knew we had to add Monhegan to the itinerary. We decided to visit on June 27—what better way to celebrate our 20th anniversary than to spend it on Monhegan?
We had stayed in Camden the night before, so we had to do a little backtracking to get to Port Clyde 26 miles away, where we were picking up the ferry. We had booked tickets for the 10:30 ferry through Monhegan Boat Line, “the original Monhegan Mailboat Experience.” Roundtrip tickets for the two of us were $95.40 ($38 r/t each + $7 parking/day ($14 total). The ferry is about an hour, and on this particular day, visibility was pretty poor—especially the further away from shore we sailed.
Once we boarded the boat, we chose to sit on the exposed, upper level. I’ve only ever felt nauseous on a boat once, and that was years ago in Acadia; I’ve been on lots of ferries since then and have never felt sick. Still, I popped two “natural” Dramamine tablets—ginger is the only ingredient—and I’ll just say right now: these did not work for me. AT ALL. I tried keeping my eyes on the horizon, except the horizon was obscured by fog. The boat rode the choppy waters, bobbing and rocking its way forward. I could feel my entire body breaking out into a sweat, and with only a little further to go, I thought I was done for. The elderly woman sitting across from me had a bit of a coughing spell and then proceeded to vomit. In her hands. And then some more. A woman next to G pulled out a wad of tissues to help, and G, being the good guy he is, went downstairs to get her paper towels and a few bags. At that point, all I could think about was the barf-o-rama scene in Stand By Me and hoped beyond hope that my nausea would stay somewhat contained (the ginger-tasting burps from those damn tablets didn’t help matters, either (as soon as we checked into our room, I tossed the rest of the bottle!). At one point, fearing I wouldn’t make it down to the head in time to throw up, G went down to grab me a few barf bags (is there a better name for those??); I held them at the ready for the rest of the trip. Luckily, I didn’t need to use them—I think I willed myself into not getting sick in front of the rest of the passengers. And then, just when I wasn’t sure I’d make it much longer, we arrived. Whew. Barf-o-rama averted.
Okay, enough about all of that. We had reached Monhegan Island, and wow. Just wow. Just about everywhere I glanced was photo-worthy. Monhegan was—and still is—an artists’ paradise, attracting the likes of Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, and Jamie Wyeth. Yes, I could understand how easy it was to fall under Monhegan’s spell; it’s the kind of place that makes you want to capture it all, whether through pens, lenses, oils, or pencils. Anything to capture—to try to capture—its wild beauty.
After being incredibly grateful to be on solid ground, I stepped into the Barnacle, located at the foot of the dock and owned by the Island Inn. I grabbed a scone and a water in the hopes that my stomach would eventually settle, and we walked up the hill to the inn, where we be spending the night, so we could drop off our bags before setting out to explore a bit. I can’t say enough about the inn—majestic without being ostentatious…just like the rest of the island.
Our first stop: Lobster Cove, with a quick stop at Mohegan Brewing Company for root beers. (Note: The brewery offers a full selection of beers; we certainly would have sampled them if we still drank!
After the brewery, we continued on the path to Lobster Cove, located at the southern tip of island. Lobster Cove is beautiful—though also eerie, as its landscape is scattered with the rusted remains of a tugboat that ran ashore the rocks in dense for in November 1948. Luckily, there had been no fatalities.
Still not feeling 100%, I opted to head into the hotel and take a nap. I hated knowing I was taking time out of the day to rest, but I’m glad I did. Our room faced the water and the dock; even with the fog, it was a great view. And the room itself was charming, with painted wood floors (I’m a sucker for painted wood floors) and peaceful, coastal hues. While a rooster and the ferry horn kept me from fully sleeping, I felt 10 times better after resting a bit.
Feeling a bit more energized, we decided to explore a bit more, this time, heading up to Monhegan Light. We arrived around 3:45, and the museum (and light tower) had closed at 3:30. Aargh. But, all the more reason to return…soon. Even without being able to visit the museum and the light, the views were spectacular. I think I could photograph that lighthouse all day, every day.
We made our way along the Whitehead trail out to the cliffs overlooking the water; unfortunately, the fog prevented us from having much of a view. After following the trail back to town, we decided to eat an early dinner—lobster rolls at The Fish House. Great location (although that’s a given on Monhegan), good lobster roll (although G wasn’t a fan of the sub roll—it takes away from what he calls the “lobster to roll ratio.”)
After dinner, we wandered around a bit more, and I couldn’t resist snapping photo after photo. I was initially bummed that we didn’t have a warm, sunny day; however, looking back and seeing the way the fog created a magical, mystical haze, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Monhegan certainly cast its spell on us. And yet, I couldn’t tell if G (the introvert) liked it at first—he kept saying it was so quiet, so still, that he wasn’t sure he could get used to it. That, however, was exactly what drew me (the extrovert) in. And then, by the time we were set to leave, both of us were ready to stay longer. One day just wasn’t enough.