A lot can change in fourteen years. That’s how long it’s been since we last visited Midcoast Maine.
Yes, we were in Portland a couple of years ago in October and had a great time.
But, as for spending longer than a weekend and doing some in-depth exploring, we haven’t been to Maine since 2010.
How would our favorite little town (Damariscotta, ME) have fared?
We knew of a few changes. One of our favorite eateries burned down this year, and a hotel we once stayed at was now closed and for sale.
Would there be other changes substantial enough to unravel the fabric of this quaint East Coast town?
That is exactly what we were going to find out.
Stops Along the Way
We took a couple of days to get to Maine and planned some fun stops along the way. If traffic flows nicely, it’s about a twelve-hour drive from Cleveland.
First, we stayed a night in Watkins Glen, NY. Watkins Glen is located at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes.
The weather was perfect and our hike through the gorge at Watkin’s Glen State Park was spectacular. More about that in a future post.
The second day, we stayed with my brother and his family in Stratton, VT. Also a fun time amidst the beautiful fall foliage.
Both of those legs of the drive were about 4 ½ hours.
On the third day, we started mid-morning for our vacation destination on the Pemaquid Peninsula. It was a Sunday, and traffic was heavy as people traveled the Eastern Seaboard. We were delayed by a few accidents and the drive took a good six hours rather than the five we expected.
A Cottage with A View
Back in late September, when I started planning this trip, I looked for a vacation rental that would feature an ocean view.
My first idea for accommodations was the house we rented in 2010.
I couldn’t find it online and assumed it was either 1) knocked down and the oceanfront land sold or 2) wasn’t offered as a rental anymore.
What next came to my mind was a place my husband’s parents used to rent, called Thompson’s Cottages. I searched online and found it. Luckily, they had a few cottages available the week we were looking at, so I called.
I had a wonderful chat with the granddaughter of Dan Thompson, builder of Thompson Cottages. She and her young family are the third generation to operate the cottages and the fourth generation to run Thompson House.
This establishment is located in New Harbor, just about a mile away from Pemaquid Point.
You can book a cottage online and use a credit card, but it was nice to talk to a live person and learn that paying cash rather than using a credit card would save us a bit (enough for a meal out).
We decided to rent an oceanfront cottage. They also offer oceanview cottages for a little less, cottages on Back Harbor, and apartments and rooms in Thompson House.
We sent in our deposit pronto. The balance was due at check-in.
Getting to the Midcoast
Two things happened on Sunday when we arrived in Damariscotta.
The first was that we drove down a slow and crowded Main Street because we were arriving on the second to last day of “Pumpkinfest.”
Pumpkinfest is Damariscotta’s annual autumn festival and draws locals and tourists to this area.
Businesses and locals display elaborately decorated pumpkins throughout town.
There are the usual foods and games, plus a “Pumpkin Regatta,” in which contestants sail in giant, hollowed-out pumpkins in a course on the Damariscotta River.
It’s a festive way to end the tourist season.
As we drove through Damariscotta, heading straight to the grocery store, we were happy to see that much appeared the same. This lovely town had retained its special charm.
The big grocery store is Hanniford, and we figured that we should stop on the way to the cottage to get some basics for the morning and a quick dinner for our arrival. We were beginning our stay at the end of the season, so it wasn’t clear what restaurants we would find open late on Sunday.
We threw into the shopping cart some basic supplies to take to the cottage, including sausages, eggs, chips, apples, 2 gallons of drinking water, and a pecan pie.
It turned out that we didn’t need drinking water. The cottage tap water was just fine.
The second thing that happened was that after we got unpacked, it started to rain.
Rain had been scarce this fall, so you might see it as bad luck to start our vacation.
But, honestly, it was predicted to only last for a day and I could live with that.
Also, the patter on the cottage roof along with the crashing of the waves just added to the cozy feel as we fell asleep that first night.
Off the Grid
In planning our trip, we were concerned about doing laundry. The cottages don’t have laundry facilities but there is a laundromat in downtown Damariscotta.
Since most of our vacation week was dry and cool, it turned out that we didn’t have the time nor the need to do laundry.
Thompson Cottages also has limited cell service (we had some service in certain areas of the cottage) and there is no wi-fi. Funny thing, we really didn’t miss it much because anywhere else we drove we got cell service.
We brought books and had comfy chairs to pull up to our oceanfront picture window. It’s from this perch that we read, had coffee, tea, or cocktails depending on the time, and just enjoyed the peaceful beauty that makes Maine a true “Vacationland” for so many people.
Midcoast Maine Day One: Pemaquid Point and Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf
Crashing waves and light rain were the scene on Monday. We made our coffee and light breakfast, then headed to New Harbor, a little more than a mile away.
We wanted to check out Hardy’s Boat Cruises to see if the ferries to Monhegan Island were still running.
No one was around, but I saw someone in the kitchen door to Shaw’s seafood restaurant. This is an iconic seafood stop on the peninsula and I was looking forward to sampling some seafood.
I felt half lucky and half unlucky to find out that today was the last day for the season to enjoy Shaw’s. It was still early, so we planned to return later in the afternoon.
Hardy’s Boat Cruises to Monhegan Island were already closed for the year.
This was a disappointment for me because Monhegan Island is a picturesque island with those features so closely associated with Maine: rocky ledges falling into the ocean, pine needle-carpeted woodland, a historic lighthouse, and lots of artwork for sale.
Oh, well, maybe next time!
We got back in the car and headed to Pemaquid Lighthouse Park, an 8-minute drive to the Atlantic coast.
After parking, we took a stroll down Cliff Road, which is where our 2010 cottage rental had been located.
The house seemed to be gone. I was dismayed because it was such a cute, gray clapboard house on a beautiful piece of oceanfront land.
But, just as we were about to turn back, I saw a garage that looked familiar. It was an old garage with a wood plank door. Walking a few feet more, we spied the old house.
It was still intact and as charming as ever. But it seemed that a lot of places had popped up around it. Such is progress.
There’s a fun restaurant and gift shop next to the Pemaquid Lighthouse. It’s called The SeaGull. We’ve not been there to eat (the timing was never right), but it appears to be a popular hangout for summer folk.
The gift shop is huge and fun to browse. It’s a good place to pick up souvenirs as they stock lots of tee shirts and sweatshirts, hats, kitchen gadgets, home decor, and toys.
Afterward, we headed to the Pemaquid Lighthouse and did a self-guided tour of the fisherman’s museum and learning center.
There are lots of artifacts to see as well as videos of storm surges along the coast. The park entrance fee is $4 per person. You can also climb the tower for an additional $1.
New (to us) was the Pemaquid Art Gallery on site. We spent a good half hour browsing artwork in a variety of mediums by local painters and artisans. I was particularly attracted to some intricate woodblock prints. I guess that’s a new interest for me!
We were starting to get hungry and decided to head back to Shaw’s for the farewell lunch.
Arriving almost exactly at noon, we both ordered the clam strips platter. I don’t care for clams, but I remembered really liking these fried clam strips the last time we were here.
Well, there was no disappointment as I settled in to devour the plate of clamstrips, french fries, and coleslaw. It was all fabulous. The clams were tender while the fried coating was crunchy and light. The french fries were hot from the fryer, and the coleslaw was cold and nicely sweet.
We were so full from lunch and so tired from our morning excursions that we decided to head back to the cottage to read and nap. No dinner was necessary, just some snacking and lounging.
It was a relaxing and refreshing day.
Day 2: Damariscotta-Newcastle Browsing, Maine Coast Bookstore, and Food Shopping
Day 2 was a bright, sunny day – our first but not our last for the week.
Sipping coffee in front of the ocean and blue sky was a perfect way to start the day.
Plus, the book I was reading, The Death of Mrs. Westerway, by Ruth Ware, was drawing me in. Reading for pleasure is so much easier on vacation since the daily chores and outside commitments don’t come with you.
We walked around the cottage neighborhood in the morning, following the path to Back Cove.
On the way, we saw a picturesque, large white farmhouse on the hill. Yes, Maine is full of white, wood-sided farmhouses, but this one was kind of spectacular owing to its big, wide porch adorned with rocking chairs.
It’s called Hillcrest Farm. I later found it to be available for rent online.
There is a path to the cove that starts from the intersection of McFarland Road and Leeman Hill Road and goes through woods to a footbridge across the water. The short walk is scenic and the views of Back Cove are beautiful, especially in the morning.
On the far side of the bridge, Back Cove Road begins (ends?) and a few more Thompson rental cottages edge the west bank of the cove.
We continued up the cove road to Southside Road. On the crest of the hill sits Thompson House, where the Thompson family has run its rental business for generations.
We hiked on to Leeman Hill Road and looped back to our cottage.
The route was hilly and a good morning workout, though some blind curves made walking along the road a bit challenging.
Afterward, we got in the car and headed to Damariscotta.
It was an easy drive through South Bristol on ME-130 North, merging onto ME-129 just before downtown Damariscotta on US-Bus.1.
It took about twenty minutes total travel time, and a few more minutes to find parking. The easiest place was the public parking lot off Main Street.
We walked along Main Street and in and out of trinket shops. One of our favorites was just over the bridge. I later learned that “over the bridge” is the town of Newcastle.
The shop is called The Beach Plum Company and is stocked to the gills with home decor, garden tchotchkes, kitchen gadgets, lotions, candles, toys, and general gifts. Beautiful stuff!
My husband bought a Virginia Woolf puzzle. He and our son and daughter have made completing a 1000-piece jigsaw one of their Christmas holiday traditions, and that’s what he had in mind when he chose it.
Some things have changed on Main Street since our last visit. There were a few more upscale shops. Does this portend an invasion of wealthier clientele?
We took a gander inside Simmons Seafood Market and the offerings looked great: Nova Scotia scallops, salmon, and lobster; we would be back later in the week. Also, they were selling some very nice souvenir T-shirts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one in my size.
A sad sight was the charred remains of Schooner Landing, one of our favorite seafood restaurants that burned down earlier in the year. There is talk of rebuilding it, fingers crossed.
We visited the Maine Coast Bookstore, one of our favorite stops on Main Street on our last trip to Damariscotta.
The store was as busy as ever, but there were changes. These changes ring true for just about every bookstore you visit these days.
You notice that more of the stock is souvenirs, toys, general hostess gifts, stationery, and so on. Less floor space is devoted to actual books.
I’m sure that the logic runs along the lines of having to pay rent, payroll, and other expenses to keep the business going. After all, you can only sell what people want to buy.
I’ve found that when I am visiting a place I really enjoy immersing myself in the scene by reading fiction or nonfiction connected to the place.
I was specifically looking for a book about Beatrix Farrand.
Farrand was one of the first female landscape architects in the United States and owned a home in Maine. She designed gardens in Maine that are being restored in her honor, and roadside plantings in Acadia National Park.
There was a book in stock about Farrand, but it was a huge, heavy coffee table book. Not something to carry around on vacation. (My daughter and son-in-law later gifted me the book for Christmas, not knowing about my perusal of it in Maine!)
We managed to choose a healthy stack of books, though.
After browsing the central shopping district on Main Street, we drove east on US Bus-1 about half a mile to a new (to us) grocery store called the Rising Tide Co-op.
The Co-op carries a lot of local products including organic produce and dairy items. We bought cheese, coffee, bread, broccoli, apples, yogurt, and bulk brown Basmati rice (ah, alliteration!)
Then, we headed back to the cottage and snacked on our new purchases plus some wine and peanut butter we picked up at C.E.Reilly & Son grocery store in New Harbor.
After refueling, we drove over to South Bristol to check out the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-op. We purchased two steamed 1-½ pound lobsters and brought them home for dinner.
Due to my lack of dexterity, or maybe it was my enthusiasm, I extracted my tail meat with such force that it shot out of the shell and rolled a couple of times across the kitchen floor.
It was still good, though.
Day 3: Rutherford Island, Plummer’s Point Preserve, and Scallops
The moon was full last night and sparkled on the ocean, contributing to the magical feeling that draws so many people to Maine.
But it is more than ocean and moonlight. I think it is the forests, too; they can be dense with green growth from a mix of deciduous and evergreen plants.
There are many preserved areas on the peninsula for hiking and experiencing these landscapes.
We decided to check out Rutherford Island on Day 3. It is at the very tip of the South Bristol Peninsula.
First, though, we took another morning walk to Back Cove.
As we walked along the Back Cove road we came upon a flock of (wild?) turkeys pecking in a cottage garden. They didn’t seem impressed by us at all.
We located the Thompson Boat House on the shoreline, just about smack in the middle of a little line of boat houses. There were a couple of canoes available to Thompson cottage guests, but it was a bit chilly to indulge in boating.
Our morning walk accomplished, we headed back to the cottage to pack for the day’s adventure.
After a second cup of coffee, I put together a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
We got into the car and headed back to South Bristol. We crossed the drawbridge and entered Rutherford Island with the idea of hiking a short trail (about a mile out and back) called Rutherford Island Preserve.
Driving around the island was a visual treat. This community is rife with grand Victorian homes with some newer houses interspersed. It was, and looks to still be, a summer retreat for the well-heeled.
We found the trailhead for Rutherford Preserve and parked in the teeny-tiny parking area. The nature preserves we visited on this trip all had limited parking. It’s hard to imagine the challenge that parking would be if we were visiting during the busy season.
Luckily, we were the only ones to tackle the trail this morning.
As we made our way from the parking area to the Damariscotta River shoreline, the trail became more narrow with baby pine and hemlock saplings brushing us on both sides.
This green curtain darkened as the growth deepened. Sunlight struggled to break through.
One review I had read about this trail described it as easy and relatively flat, but that ground wasps were a big problem.
We didn’t encounter wasps in mid-October, but we did notice lots of holes around the prominent bare roots running across the narrow trail. The path wasn’t steep at all, but those holes and roots required us to pay attention as we walked.
Along with the moisture and shade, fallen pine needles made the ground acidic and soft so it is a haven for moss. The velvety moss-covered rocks and dead wood all around the trail. I thought it looked like a scene from Lord of the Rings!
The trail ends on private property and signs advised us to stay on the pathway. There’s a beautiful view here of the Damariscotta River.
It took us about 30-40 minutes to hike the trail round trip.
One necessity that I didn’t consider was restroom facilities. It’s something worth thinking about when you embark on these hikes.
I ended up using a port-a-john at the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-op where we bought a pound of scallops (frozen) for dinner. Another possibility was the Rutherford Public Library, though it wasn’t open when we stopped.
After our seafood purchase, we headed north on ME-129 to Plummer Point Preserve.
This would be our second and more challenging hike. We took out PB&J sandwiches and ate them as we hiked the Richardson-Ukin Loop Trail.
This trail is twice as long as Rutherford Island Preserve. Some parts of the Shore Trail are very steep. But it was another beautiful hike with lots of river views and lookouts. There is a public dock at the point, though it was closed for the season.
There is also a quarry on the Shore Trail, but after all of the hiking we did that day I was too tired to hike further up to see it. Maybe next time!
We drove back to the cottage and had some snacks as we prepared our dinner of scallops, rice, salad, broccoli, and bakery bread.
The scallops proved to be a challenge to defrost even after being in the car during our Plummer Point hike. They were so tender that it was difficult to separate them as they thawed without damaging the flesh.
We learned from the woman at the co-op that these scallops were likely from Massachusetts, as scallop season in Maine starts in December and runs through March.
That’s likely also why Simmon’s in Damariscotta was offering Nova Scotia scallops.
Dessert was the last of our pecan pie. We then read for a little before heading to bed.
It had been a full day of physical activity and it wore us out in a good way.
Day 4: La Verna Preserve, Books and Bakery, and Round Pond
It was already our last full day. Time went by so fast.
Once again, we began the day with a walk to Back Cove. The sun was bright and the tide was coming in as we crossed the newly reconstructed footbridge. It was surprising how swiftly the current was flowing under the bridge.
After that morning jaunt, we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, packed some stuff in the car, and headed via ME-32 north to La Verna Preserve on the eastern shore of the Pemaquid Peninsula.
This hike would be our longest but promised some special views of the Atlantic. The trails we took were mostly flat. That was a good thing because we were planning to walk around Damariscotta and maybe Round Pond after lunch.
La Verna Preserve’s parking area was the largest we’d encountered so far. We read reviews that despite its larger capacity, cars often overflow onto the road during summer.
We were the second car when we arrived but there were several more when we left, confirming that this is a popular hike on the peninsula.
And it was lovely. The trails were well-marked and easy to navigate. We took the La Verna Trail to the coast and the Tibbits Trail back. We skipped the slightly longer Ellis Trail to return because the elevation changes would be a challenge and we were still a bit tired from yesterday.
There are several long, low stone walls along the main trail that look very old. Seeing them brought to mind Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall,” in which he recalls his neighbor’s observation that “good fences make good neighbors.”
Frost once owned a farm in nearby New Hampshire. It’s easy to see how he was inspired the the landscape in this part of the country.
We saw people as we trekked, which was different from our other hikes. One group of three ladies asked us to take their photo as they posed on one of the rock outcroppings on the ocean.
These three senior ladies were having fun. They hopped out on the ocean ledges without hesitation. I wish I was as confident when it was my turn.
They told us that they were going to show the photos to their hiking club colleagues who failed to join them for this special hike.
Their attitude was that their fellow hikers definitely would be sorry they missed this outing.
I had to agree with their sentiment. The ocean views from the rocky ledges were spectacular, as were the ledges themselves. We climbed a bit out onto the ledges which to me was a little scary but I wasn’t going to let that anxiety get in the way of the experience.
We got back to the car around noon and ate our sandwiches as we drove toward Damariscotta. Our plan was to visit Simmons Seafood and get something for dinner after we checked out Skidompha Second Hand Bookstore.
“Skidompha” was such an odd word that I decided to search online for its origin. Turns out that it is a word made up from the initials of the founders of the original literary club. The bookstore is run to benefit the public library and takes book donations and sells them.
We probably spent an hour looking at books. I found a copy of Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. This made me so happy because it is one of the books I’d recently read that I found entertaining and memorable.
I also found a book about a town in upstate New York called Lilydale. We had been there with my parents years before.
Lilydale was once a booming summer retreat for those who wished to contact their departed.
I thought my family would enjoy the book.
After our book purchases, we headed to Simmons Seafood. We decided on a piece of Atlantic char and then headed to Barn Door at the Bookstore to pick out dessert for after dinner plus extra for our ride home the next day.
We bought oatmeal and Snickerdoodle cookies that were huge, some berry crumble, and pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. It all smelled delicious.
On our way back to the cottage we decided to check out the tiny village of Round Pond. I’m so glad that we did.
It is a quaint little settlement that includes a fisherman’s co-op, a coffee shop, a couple of restaurants, and an amazing general store/gift shop called the Granite Hall Store.
For a Thursday afternoon, the store was bustling. On display are lots and lots of old-fashioned candies and toys. The first floor also contains kitchen gadgets, greeting cards, stationary, and locally made condiments. They also sell Maine-produced hand-packed ice cream.
We went upstairs and found more souvenirs, locally-made dry goods, home decor, and Christmas ornaments.
As we headed south on ME-32, we passed a nautical store that looked really cool called Skipjack Nautical Wares and Marine Art Gallery. It was getting late and we were getting hungry, so we didn’t stop. But, it’s definitely on our to-do list for a future visit.
We had some wine and snacks when we got back to the cottage, then prepared dinner. Our dinner menu was sauteed char, brown rice, broccoli, salad, and pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls for dessert.
It was another scrumptious meal.
We were both tired after all of the walking we had done in the past several days. We did a little reading, then hit the hay.
Day 5: Homeward Bound
We had such a wonderful vacation that we were already thinking of next year. One idea was to book our cottage a week earlier simply because many restaurants and shops (including Shaws and some of the fisherman’s co-ops) would still be open for the season.
We packed up and were on the road before 9 am On Friday. I was hoping that we’d avoid weekend East Coast traffic but it wasn’t meant to be.
We took I-90 West and encountered lane closures and back-ups. We should have taken our son’s advice and traveled through New York on I-86. Even though Google says it takes 30 minutes longer we would have avoided a lot of traffic and, therefore, slowdowns on I-90.
It took us twelve hours to get back to Ohio.
Live and learn, right?
At least my husband had the foresight to buy some extra bakery treats the day before. Those treats helped us to enjoy the long drive home.
And, we had precious memories of a magical week on the Atlantic coast as the leaves turned yellow and orange and red amongst the evergreens that make Maine the beautiful destination that it is.
