Mainly in Maine

by

Kelly Kent

*Trip taken in Fall of 2007

While half of California was burning, Jenny, my mom, and I were driving throughout New England. Highlighted and marked with post-its, we flew to Boston with our copy of 1000 Places to See Before You Die (in the United States). The Comfort Inn lived up to its name in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Frustrated with unclear road signs, we attempted to have lunch at a famous lobster shack in Kennebunk, Maine. When we finally found the shack, it was already closed for the season. We ended up eating unimpressive lobster rolls and clam chowder at Bull and Claw. I liked to think of myself as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of clam chowder, and their clam chowder did not move me. However, Jenny liked hers. I will admit that Jenny did have outstanding lobster-stuffed mushrooms.

Checking-off a destination from the 1000 Places to See Before You Die list, we visited the L.L. Bean Factory in Freeport. L.L. Bean was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, who began the future nationwide mail order business in his brother's basement. Upon entering the factory, an enormous “Bean Boot”, the unattractive, waterproof boot originally developed by the founder, stands in front of the main store. There were multiple warehouse-sized stores on the L.L. Bean grounds, one of which sold boats. We decided that the L.L. Bean Factory was on the list “Of Things To See” because L.L. Bean holds a prominent place in American business history. If I had to recommend anything in Freeport, it would be homemade apple pie. Even though it was only eleven in the morning, we stopped alongside the road, and had apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm usually not an apple pie fan, but this was fresh, warm, and homemade!

Since I’ve been told how young I look (14 was the youngest, but I think that lady was drunk), I thought I would try to get some free birth control in Portland. Apparently, Portland only gives birth control to middle school age girls who are attending school! Geez, technicality, smechnicality!

Birth control-less, we drove by Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, originally built in 1828. Luckily our next stop, Portland Head Lighthouse, had a museum we could walk through. This lighthouse is thought to have inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem entitled “The Lighthouse”:

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
And on its outer point, some miles away,
The lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

We also went to the Portland Art Museum, which had an excellent collection of works from artists such as Homer, Monet, Degas, Munch, Cassatt, and Renoir. The wide selection also included local artist, Rockwell Kent.

Even though we were not familiar with poems written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, we still visited a home once occupied by Longfellow. Thanks to a knowledgeable tour guide, we became familiar with Longfellow’s words from letters and works. Memorable quotations include:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem entitled “The Children's Hour” states:

Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

When the tour guide recited these words, we realized my great-grandmother had replaced some of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s words mounted alongside a picture of my mother and her sisters:

Descending the staircase,
Precious Deirdre, and Lovely Diane,
And Debra with the golden hair.

We drove “Downeast,” a term that refers to the section of Maine that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean, to a quaint town called Bar Harbor. We stayed at the Bar Harbor Hotel, one of the only hotels still open for the season. It turned out to be a blessing that the hotel was fairly vacant, when the door to our hotel room was left wide open for, approximately two hours, while we went to dinner. I will only name the Italian restaurant we visited, in order to warn others about the ravioli dish I ate, well, attempted to eat. The restaurant, with the worst raviolis I have ever eaten, was called Guiness Portocellis. To be fair, Guiness Portocellis had an incredible Orchecchi with chicken and cranberries meal.

It is easily understood why Acadia National Park would be one of the1000 Places to See Before You Die. Comprising 30,300 acres, Acadia National Park has it all: woodlands, beaches, mountains, lakes, ponds, and incredible ocean views. Thanks to my lifetime National Park pass, our car was granted free admittance into Acadia National Park. After purchasing a narrated CD about the park, we listened to facts as we drove on the Park Loop Road.

Even though we were a few weeks past the height of the Fall foliage, we were amazed at the beauty of the colored leaves. We were what you would call “leaf peepers”, stopping the car every opportunity available and snapping pictures of any tree with color.From the high point of the park, Cadillac Mountain, we could see gorgeous colors and scenery in every direction. Sandy Beach was one of the places where we left the car but, of course,we didn't get too far because it was not wheelchair accessible! Rusticators were vacationeers who roughed it in the early days on Mt. Desert Island. We viewed "cottages," which were within the park's acreage. These cottages were mansions that existed before the development of the park. Luckily, some very wealthy people bought or donated this land and saved it from destruction and for the enjoyment of the public.

We stopped at Jordan Pond for lunch, which was the best meal we had in Maine! While my mom and I had delicious Lobster Stew, Jenny ate Tomato Bisque. All of our meals came with popovers, a puffy pastry, served with butter and strawberry jam. The best part was that one popover was served at the beginning of our meal and a second one was served mid-meal, both right out of the oven.

I loved hearing the leaves crunch, while we walked (rolled) on a trail near Jordan Pond.

Saying goodbye to Maine, we headed south to New Hampshire where it was raining cats and dogs. Wondering what to do, we came along New Hampshire’s main source of entertainment: Wal-Mart. The receptionist at the motel declared, ‘out of all the places we had visited, this was the best place for bad weather’! We saw the things to see in New Hampshire's White Mountains (a short list): the Franconia Notch and the Old Man of the Mountain. Nothing too exciting. The mountains were more like hills, the foliage had disappeared, and the Old Man had died.

I would definitely recommend visiting the Canterbury Shaker Village for its fascinating history and for the delicious macaroni and cheese served at the cafe. We learned interesting things about the Shaker religion that teaches celibacy for men and women. Consequently, there are only two or three Shakers currently living.

Instead of driving to Vermont, we headed south to Massachusetts for our last day. We saw the tiny Plymouth rock, before driving to Plimouth Plantation, an interactive historical village, that was so politically correct, it was laughable! Along with children on field trips from Connecticut, we visited actors pretending to be “Pilgrims.” Before entering the Wampanoag homesite, a sign explained how using the term “Indian” was offensive to the Wampanoag people. The correct term is “Native.” I wonder how politically correct it was for that Native to have her five-month old sitting in a smoke-filled tepee with an unprotected burning fire!! I think they can learn from their own brochure’s advice, “You can’t change history, but it can change you.”

The most memorable moment of our trip took place in Marshfield, Massachusetts. My mother grew up in New York, and as a child her family vacationed in Marshfield. Relying entirely on my mom's memory of the circular driveway, we found the house, in a surprisingly short amount of time that her Grandparents rented during the summers. My mom stepped out of the SUV to take some pictures, when a man pulled up and asked if we were interested in purchasing the house. He explained that it was on the market for $950,000. If anyone is interested, let me know… Apparently it was now a bargain, since the price had just been reduced from 1.4 million. The man also knew my mom's family friends who had once owned the house. The “cheaper” home, with the wrap around porch, was occupied by my mom's family. The house was once across the street, but is now located a few blocks away from the other house.

As always, I had a great time in New England (mainly in Maine). Thank you-- Jenny and Mom-- for the fun times!

©K. Kent Last Updated: March 5, 2008 Email Kelly Kent