Road Trip, Day 1: Boothbay Harbor

Well, friends, our three-week road trip up the Maine coast and through the Maritimes has begun! After months of planing the route, making reservations, and second-guessing just about everything (route, reservations, packing, etc.), we finally took off in the van on Tuesday, June 25, and crossed our fingers that 1) we remembered everything; 2) the van wouldn’t cause us any issues. Only time will tell!

DAY ONE: AT A GLANCE
Starting point: Hampton, New Hampshire
Ending point: Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Starting mileage: 188,295
Ending mileage: 188,463
Daily total (miles): 168
Trip total (miles): 168

While we live just about 15 miles from the Maine border, our travels these past 24 years together have largely skipped the Casco Bay area and focused either on southern Maine (Kittery, York, Ogunquit, and the Kennebunks), Freeport, or Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park. We’ve visited Portland a handful of times and few places in between all the others, but not often. Our Memorial Day trip to Hermit Island Campground in Phippsburg with our van changed that, as we finally had the chance to explore one of Maine’s “fingers” along Casco Bay. For this trip, we’ll be exploring parts of Maine on both the front and back ends, and we decided to make our first stop in Boothbay Harbor, a town we had only visited once before.

On the way up, we made a few stops—the first, in Brunswick for a return visit to Gelato Fiasco because…well, why not? So, so good. For me, a treat-sized strawberry balsamic sorbetto (no dairy); for G, a medium three-flavor mix of Doughing Me, Doughing You, Torched Marshmallow S’More, Maine Wild Blueberry Crisp (note: check out the link for the flavor list and descriptions of each!).

After a quick stop in Freeport to check out the LL Bean Outlet and Patagonia (no deals this time; we came away empty-handed), we made our way back to Hermit Island Campground so we could buy stickers for the cooler, a thought G had after our weekend camping there. Stickers in hand, we made our way further up the coast to Boothbay Harbor. We had been there YEARS ago, and we were looking forward to a return. It was drizzly and unseasonably chilly, but it’s never too cold for a lobster roll in June. Our stop for a late lunch: Shannon’s Unshelled, a cute little shack tucked away behind the shops. The verdict: Excellent.

And the flower was edible!

Boothbay Harbor is like so many coastal Maine towns—cute boutiques, fudge and taffy shops, and a working waterfront. Unique in Boothbay Harbor, however, is the footbridge—with a former artist’s studio smack dab in the middle.

With the rest of the afternoon before us, we decided to head over to one of Boothbay Harbor’s best attractions: the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, a place we first visited years ago with G’s family. The flowers in bloom popped against the gray skies, and even amidst the drizzle and cool temps, walking through the garden was a great way to spend a few hours.

Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/5, 1/180

Lupine, Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/5.6, 1/180

Peony, Fuji X-T30, 55-200mm @ 55mm, f/5.6, 1/180

Allium '‘Purple Caila’ Ornamental Allium, Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/4, 1/250

Lupine and Poppy, Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/5.6, 1/250

Nepeta X faassenii, ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint, Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/5.6, 1/180

Rosa rugosa, “Therese Bugnet,” Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/4, 1/180

Rosa “White Pavement,” Fuji X-T30, 35mmF2, f/2.8, 1/250

After the gardens, we checked into our first stay of the trip: The Topside Inn, perched just above the downtown area. It was fabulous. And for dinner, a few apps at Mine Oyster: six oysters—three raw “Oyster & Blueberry: (blueberry mignonette, crispy prosciutto, sliced jalapeño, fresh mint); two baked cheddar and apple oysters (Cabot cheddar & spicy sweet apple salsa); one baked oyster Rockefeller (Sambuca flambéed spinach, garlic, shallots, bacon, cream and Swiss cheese); bluefin tuna carpaccio (a special that night due to a 500lb bluefin caught the day before!), four woodfired cajun scallops, and a side of fries because, Maine—and potatoes…and duck fat. I can’t believe I forgot to take pics of dinner, but trust me, it was awesome.

After dinner, we made our way back up to The Topside Inn, just before the rain started to fall heavily. This place is a gem. We stayed in Room 10, in the Leeward guesthouse. With the exception of being able to hear the man next door snoring (I have supersonic hearing—occupational hazard from having taught high school for many years!), it was a fabulous night’s stay.

And that’s a wrap for our first day of this road trip. So far, so good!