A Much Needed Escape to Maine
Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park.
The rocky coastline is dotted with hundreds of colorful lobster trap buoys, far off islands, and fresh sea air. After four months of little or no travel, my wife and I yearned Maine vacation.
With the pandemic disrupting travel, concerts, sports, dining out, and more, it was time to take a trip. Flying seemed too risky, and driving was limited due to some of our favorite destinations restricting visitors.
In late June, my wife and I decided to try to get in a Maine vacation. We go to Maine about every other summer for lobster, hiking, and perusing the small towns dotted along the coast. I searched for suitable lodging and found a B&B that would fit the bill.
A cottage refuge at our B&B.
The B&B, formerly a hotel circa 1837, had only four guest rooms and a cottage. With such a small place, we felt safe booking a five-night stay. The only problem was when we checked the State of Maine’s pandemic travel restrictions; we found out unless you were coming from NY, Vermont, NJ, Connecticut, or New Hampshire, there were significant challenges.
Since we were coming from Maryland, we’d be required to have a coronavirus test with negative results done within 72 hours of arrival or be required to quarantine for 14 days. Virtually nobody was getting test results back that quick in Maryland, so we figured the trip might get canceled.
I called our hosts, who told me we could quarantine but still go for scenic drives and hikes. Even though the travel restrictions said those who chose to quarantine couldn’t even go pick up to-go food, our hosts said there wouldn’t be a problem.
Muscongus Bay Lobster is one of many to-go lobster choices.
For most travelers coming to Maine from the states not exempted from having a negative Covid test, the prospect of being allowed in seemed unlikely. We decided the heavy restrictions were mostly to scare away visitors and headed up on Monday, August 3rd.
It felt great to be on the road again, and traffic was light on northbound I-95. Within moments of hitting the highway, we saw an Amazon 18-wheeler. I said to my wife, “I bet we see 50 Amazon trucks by the time we roll into Maine.”
She whipped out a writing pad and said, “Let’s keep a count for amusement.” We also counted FedEx and UPS trucks just for fun. By the time we hit Maine, we had tallied 96 Amazon, 48 UPS, and 46 FedEx trucks.
Upon arriving at our destination, we stopped at Muscongus Bay Lobster for a takeout dinner. The B&B hosts allowed us to dine on the cottage’s front porch. The porch looked out on a flower garden in full bloom, visited by butterflies and an occasional hummingbird.
Yard ornament at B&B backyard.
Local attractions
On our first full day in Coastal Maine, we drove the Pemaquid Peninsula exploring the small towns and hiked two local spots. Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring, had researched in the area.
We stopped at the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Reserve to explore the tide pool before hiking the Laverna Trail just north of there. Both stops allowed for much needed time in the great outdoors with few people. The Pemaquid Peninsula offers lots of hiking choices along the rocky coastline, but be sure and do a tick check after venturing into the woods.
A view of the bay on the Laverna Trail.
There was a tropical storm warning due to Isaias that had us hunkered down Tuesday Night. Luckily the storm was wimpy, and Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful for exploring. Over by Boothbay is the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the largest coastal botanical gardens in the US.
We headed to the gardens to spend a few hours on their extensive trail system and see what was blooming. Inside the gardens were signs encouraging social distancing, and several visitors wore masks, including us.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens frog.
Other than many masked people wandering the gardens, it seemed like normal times, and we thoroughly enjoyed the butterfly, children’s, and main gardens. A frog croaked at us from its rock perch as we walked around providing a bit of wildlife fun. At $20 admission each, this was a bargain.
National Park Bliss
Thursday was the best day to visit Acadia National Park. We headed straight for the visitor’s center for a bathroom break before driving up Cadillac Mountain. At the top of the scenic drive, I was pleased to see the parking lot only about 60 percent full.
View of islands from Cadillac Mt.
The blue-sky day offered excellent views of Bar Harbor and many islands. I was surprised to see so many visitors with their dogs. When we had visited the area 10 years ago, I was under the impression dogs weren’t allowed inside the main park, Cadillac Mountain, and Sand Beach areas.
Most of the visitors on top of Cadillac Mountain were unmasked. But some wore masks even though we were spread out with a nice breeze. I snapped a few photos of the people and island views before heading to Sand Beach.
Masked visitors walking Cadillac Mt.
As our car approached the payment booths, traffic stopped. Just when I thought the park wasn’t crowded a 15-minute slog to get through the payment booths showed lots of others on their Maine vacation clogging the road Around the Sand Beach area, it seemed everyone wanted to be in this crowded zone.
We got lucky and got a close-in parking spot and walked down to the sea to feel the sand beneath our feet. Some brave souls were swimming, some wading, but most were just hanging out on the beach enjoying the spectacular weather. Being our first time at Sand Beach, we were impressed with its beauty and soft sand.
Visitors flock to Sand Beach at Acadia Ntl Park.
After a short time at the beach, we fled the crowd to find a picnic spot. Luckily we only had to drive about a mile and found a sparsely populated picnic area under the trees. With lunch finished, we drove the rest of the park loop before heading south to Camden for a look around.
Camden had been our favorite place to visit for a few years, but due to high prices, we hadn’t been there since 2018. Most of the town’s shops were open, but restricted to around five customers at a time, depending on the shop’s size.
The famous windjammer fleet of sailboats was shrink-wrapped into a quarantine that will last until an all-clear to resume is given. This was going to be the summer I finally took a windjammer cruise, but that will have to wait.
Camden Windjammers wrapped up for a long rest.
Our last day in Maine was a mix of art galleries, lobster, blueberries, and Giffords amazing ice cream. We had another spectacular weather day and weren’t looking forward to Baltimore’s steamy August weather.
During the trip we found that few locals cared if we had been tested negative for Coronavirus, and most restaurants, while open, were mainly ones with outdoor eating areas. It felt good to provide some much-needed tourist dollars for the businesses that struggle like we all are with pandemic-era world.
A small harbor on the Pemaquid Peninsula.
Wearing a mask at all restaurants, lodging, and shops was no big deal. Our Maine vacation was so much fun; it’s easy to understand why so many other out-of-staters made the trip. We hope to return in October for fall colors and do it all over again. Who wouldn’t love a Maine vacation this summer or fall!
Note: I haven’t listed the name of the B&B because I don’t want them and the tiny village they are in to get too busy. But if you email me, I might just give you the name and location.
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