RVing In Maine For Two Months!
So we finally made it to Maine, and it’s a significant moment! As soon as we crossed that state line we knew we were nearing the northernmost point of our travels this year. This was as far as we would go in 2017 and it was where we’d see the end of summer and the beginning of fall, including the magical transition that happens in-between the two.
It’s a place we’ve both wanted to explore for years. I’ve followed numerous blogger friends who’ve traveled this way in the past and their pics always had me drooling. Plus this summer was going to be extra special. Not were we going to cross off a bucket list location, but we were going to do it with family, traveling with my dad (in our rig) and Paul’s dad and stepmom (in their rig). It doesn’t get much better than that!
SO Much Coastline
The thing that’s always attracted me most about Maine has been the coastline.
Yes, I know Maine is not ALL coast (there’s lots of inland beauty here too) but we’re both huge fans of the water, and anytime we can get close to it we do. It’s not really because we swim (unless it’s warm) or kayak (not really our thing) or even go boating much (thanks to my sea sickness), but we love it simply because it brings us peace.
There’s something so incredibly soothing about watching water flow and the natural tides rise and ebb. It’s a visual connection to the physical forces that shape this world, the movement of time and the planets. It’s just so….grounding!
And here in Maine that connection is everywhere.
Maine has 3,478 miles of coastline (5,000 miles if you include all the Islands!) which is more than almost any other state (only AK, FL and LA boast more). The coastline curves and flows like crystal dendrites (= that’s a Materials Science thing, if you’ve never seen one click HERE) presenting no end of interesting coves and inlets to explore. You could literally spend months driving into all the intricate fingers and boating out to the islands. It’s quite the thing.
Our experience so far? We’ve been loving the crazy Maine coastline and totally digging the water vibe, but we’ve been driving (for sightseeing) way more than we originally thought we would! Many of the inlets here are SO big that what looks like a short drive on the map (say, 5 miles as the crow flies) can take longer than an hour to drive simply because of how far you have to drive back up (inland) to get from one cape onto the next one over. Driving distances are deceiving here!
Lighthouses Galore
And of course that’s not all. Thousands of miles of unfurling coastline mean lots of places for ships to get stuck or shipwrecked, which means…..you guessed it….lighthouses!
There are ~65 historical lighthouses (57 active) still standing in Maine, the oldest of which dates back to 1791. The lighthouses are famed for their beauty, positioned as they are along the spectacular winding coast, although many require off-shore excursions to get to. It’s not the state with the most lighthouses (that’s Michigan if you want to know), but it’s got an INTENSE concentration of them in very close quarters.
Our experience so far? Oh yeah, we’re going nuts on the lighthouses here! Get ready for more lighthouse pics than you might ever want to see….
Wild Blueberries & Lobstah Are EVERYwhere
The other thing Maine is known for is wild blueberries and lobster (or as the locals would say lobstah). Wild blueberries are native to the area and more are produced here than anywhere else in the world. The lobster production (~130 million pounds last year) is just as impressive. Those are no small numbers!
Blueberries are something we both love and enjoy, but unfortunately the red crustacean is something only one of us can tolerate (I’m horribly allergic to shellfish of all types, so much so that even the smell makes me nauseous). However BOTH are incredibly cheap, abundant and easy to find here. So for those who enjoy the fruits of the sea, Maine is the place to indulge!
Our experience so far? Yup, we’ve seen them everywhere. Blueberry stands/pie/jam/you-name-it in every town and lobster meals in every restaurant (lobster rolls are literally more common than burgers. Even McDonalds has one!).
It’s SUPER Dog Friendly
The other big thing that attracted us to Maine was that we’d heard it’s SUPER dog friendly!
Not only are dogs allowed pretty much everywhere humans are, including eating establishments (dogs are welcome in pretty much all outdoor patio/seating areas), but they are ALSO allowed on trails inside Acadia National Park. The latter is practically unheard of and one of the things that makes Maine truly unique. In fact there’s only one other National Park we know that allows dogs on the majority of their trails (Shenandoah Valley National Park) so it’s a true treat to visit another.
Our experience so far? YES, it’s true. Maine is crazy dog-friendly. We’ve taken Polly just about everywhere with us here including restaurants and trails. It’s been great!
But The Season Is Short (And Busy!)
Maine is way up north which means the weather here can be extreme. Winters are long and harsh whereas the summers are gorgeous, but incredibly short. That combined with the beauty of the coast means it’s a popular spot!
May is really too early to come here*, but June starts to get nice and then July is IT. The area crowds up with visitors both local & international and remains packed solid through Labor Day. Right after Labor Day there’s a slight lull (kiddies go back to school you know), but then the leaf peepers come in. So you get another rush right up through Columbus Day after which it finally, truly calms down. Then, winter sets in again for the long haul.
In summer the crowds can get really bad here, especially in the most popular areas.
We’ve had a lot of friends travel this way so we knew this which means we also knew to book ahead. It’s not that you can’t “do” Maine in an RV in the summer without bookings. We’ve known many people who’ve done it, knocking from site to site around the place as they were able to find openings. It’s just that if you’re “beastly” in size** and want the best sites (waterfront mostly) for an extended period of time you’ve got to plan ahead to get them.
So we pin-pointed where we wanted to stay, planning a slow(ish) itinerary up the coast, finishing with a month-long stay just outside of Acadia National Park. Then we booked up our sites -> 6 months ahead!
Our experience so far? For our purposes it was well worth the effort to book ahead. At the campgrounds we’ve stayed at so far we’ve definitely seen some open spots, but most week-ends have been packed and all the “prime” waterfront spots have been fully booked everywhere we’ve been. We’ve been VERY happy with our site selection. Also traveling with family it’s been a relief not to have to think about making last-minute bookings or looking for availability. We’ve just been able to show up, go straight to our site and get on with sightseeing.
*NOTE1/ In Maine, many campgrounds OPEN on Memorial Day and CLOSE on Columbus Day so beware of this if you decide to come early or stay longer up north in your rig.
**NOTE2/ Smaller rigs have more choices than big rigs with many public campgrounds offering a larger selection of smaller-rig sites as well as a mix of reservation and first-come-first-serve sites. Also, inland campgrounds have many more openings than coastal camps.
Summer Temps Are Awesome!
One of reasons why people flock here like migrating birds in summer is that the weather ROCKS! It’s mostly sunny, clear blue skies and the average temp is around 70. For all those folks escaping in-land (and southern) heat it’s like a breath of fresh air. Spring and fall are nippy, but can also be beautiful.
Our experience so far? We’ve been in Maine since around the third week of Aug and it’s actually been much warmer than we expected, but I guess that’s been true just about everywhere in the US this year. We’ve seen MANY days of mid-to-high 80’s with only a few dipping into the low 80’s. But it’s been beautiful and sunny just about everywhere we’ve been! We’re just now (mid-Sept) seeing the first signs of nippy fall, but it’s STILL warm and mostly sunny. It’s been great!
But Bugs “Can” Be An Issue
For folks traveling coastal areas, one of the first questions that always comes up is “what about the bugs?”.
Up here in Maine the two worst offenders are blackfies and mosquitoes and reports range from them being REALLY BAD to being OK, depending on the month and year. From what we’ve read and heard blackflies can be horrible from late spring into early summer, while mozzies can run through most of summer. Fall seems to be the BEST time bug-wise with very little of anything pesky to annoy you.
Our experience so far? We must have hit the timing just right because in the ~4 weeks we’ve been here we haven’t really experienced ANY bugs to speak of. It’s been wonderful! However we met some RV buddies who’ve been in Acadia since early June and they told us the mozzies earlier this summer were HORRIBLE (like, literally swatting at clouds of the nuisances).
We’re currently scheduled to stay in Maine through around the first week of October so we’ll see how it all turns out, but so far we are LOVING it. Lots of new blog posts coming up (I’ll try to crunch them out over the next week so we can catch the blog up to real-time), so stay tuned for tons more coastline gorgeousness. Next stop -> Boothbay Harbor. See you there!
Useful External Links:
- Maine Lighthouse Guide -> Click HERE for a list, and HERE for Google Map version
- Visit Maine -> Good online guides HERE and HERE
We’ve been going to Maine for years now and you are spot on with your summation. I would point you to Lubec, which is as far east as you can go in the lower 48 and it is there you will find the Quoddy Head Light which is as close as you can get to Africa in the lower 48 as well. Also, there are fewer crowds and Campobello Island is just across the Canadian border too with the Roosevelt historic site. But my primary thought for you is this; if you liked Maine you are going to really like and fall in love with Newfoundland. That place is worth an entire summer and fall until winter chases you out. Trust me and trust our mutual friend Suzanne on this. Have fun!
Lubec and Quoddy Lighthouse are DEFINITELY on our list before we leave here. If we have time we’ll definitely pop over the border to Campobello too. And yeah, agree we’d love Newfoundland…I’ve been drooling over Suzanne’s posts all summer.
Nina
I’m from Maine originally and you are in the best spot in the state, Acadia National Park. If you have bikes you should bike up Cadillac Mountain and coast down. Definitely get an order of lobster and steamers (steamed clams). Other places I recommend there: Asticou Gardens, Northeast Harbor, Thunder Hole, Carriage Trails, an eat a Bar Harbor Bar.
Water does it for us too. Mountains second, but water always has drawn us. We’re talking about heading in that general direction next year when we leave the cottage so I’ll look forward to your coming posts!
Based on our experience so far I’m pretty sure you’re going to like it here! I’ll be sharing ALL my secrets with you…fear not.
Nina
Not sure What your plans are for leaving the northeast, but it’s a good time to come across NH and VT. The Kancamagus Highway is going to be great shortly. And Vt is also beautiful in fall. Blackberry crossing on the Kanc is a nice place to park. We go over to that area quite often. Nice covered bridges in the area.
The fall colors are already starting here in Maine, so I know it’s going to be really pretty further in. We’re definitely considering a drive over to see some of that area on our way back down. It would be a nice time of year to go too.
Nina
Since you are staying in Maine for sometime, let me aclimate you to the language (I lived on the coast for 7 years and dream of returning one day). So as to not bring you any embarrassment, when you travel northeast (as the coast runs), you do not go up the coast; you go down the coast. You’ve undoubtedly already heard the expression “Down East”: that’s what “doing ” the coast northeastward means. It’s derived from the ocean currents which run northeast (down east). Portland and the coastal towns to the south are technically in Western Maine, as Eastern Maine is far to the east of Portland. Whatever way you define the coast of Maine, you will certainly have a very wonderful time. Keep the blogs coming. Thanks!
LOL! I’m going to have to run that one through my head a few times before I get it right, but cheers much for the education. Not sure I can acclimatize myself to saying “down the coast” but I will do my best 🙂
Nina
Respectfully, I want to disagree with Warren, as a native Mainah (63 years and kicking). “Down East” is originally a nautical term. The prevailing winds blow from the northwest, so they blow from “up west” to “down east.” In modern parlance, Down East is the area of Maine more or less east of Bar Harbor. And Nina, while you’re in the area, if you haven’t visited already, I’d highly recommend Schoodic Point, which is part of Acadia N.P. Anyway, as we’ve been researching RVs and full-timing, I’ve greatly enjoyed your blog, especially the recent posts about my beautiful home state. I hope you’ve enjoyed our most recent blast of summer — temps in the middle to upper 80s inland (Augusta area) — but today, it’s like somebody flipped the switch!
VERY interesting. Thanks so much for that explanation! And guess where we just landed? Schoodic Point! We’re loving it, and we’re totally digging this crazy warm weather (finally a bit chilly this AM, but still spectacular). What a great summer/fall it’s been!
Nina
We just spent all summer in Trenton, ME at Timberland Acres right outside Acadia. I hope this is where you are staying, we met so many wonderful people there that are also fulltimers. The location is perfect for going to Acadia. If you get a chance go to the Pickled Wrinkle bar/restaurant in Birch Harbor, fun place and has outdoor seating for doggie. Enjoy your stay !!
We’re just a few miles down the way at Narrows Too Campground. Also a great place (we’ve loved it here). Cheers for the tip on the Pickled Wrinkle Bar.
Nina
I agree with Ed on seeing Lubec and Campobello. The Nat. Park has tea with Eleanor daily in a beautiful house. Lovely ladies serve tea and ginger cookies and then tell you all about the Roosevelts and their love of the island. The 10:00 tea is free !! We stayed at Lubec at Sunset Point which is actually a peninsula with water views all around. Cindy ,the wonderful host told us all the hot spots and was so welcoming.
Now we have moved on to Nova Scotia and seeing the magnificent Cabot Trail.
Happy Trails
Great info. Cheers! One day we’ll make it up to Nova Scotia…another bucket list destination for us.
Nina
We were in this area earlier this summer and your post is spot on. We absolutely adored Acadia – finding the key to avoiding crowds was heading to the park after 4:00 pm (easier in the height of summer when the days are so long). We’ve also had the same experience with packing miles on the toad…. on a map, 2 places appear close. In reality, not so much! The weather was absolutely perfect and we didn’t find the bugs to be any more of an issue than anywhere else. We absolutely loved our time there and I’m jealous of your lengthy visit. Finally, I’ll echo what another commenter said above – if you can make your way through Vermont on the way south, do it. If you like craft beer, hard cider, cheese, maple syrup, ice cream, and a place where everything is gorgeous AND there are hardly any people around, this is your place.
We discovered that same trick in Acadia, although we’ve been attacking it from the other side and going in early (around 8-9AM). That’s been perfect too. So avoiding the crowds hadn’t been “too” bad as long as we time it right. Good to know you didn’t have any bug issue when you were here either.
Nina
Vermont is amazing. A lot more chill and less touristy then the Maine Coast (although I still LOVE the Maine Coast (north of Portland) and I love Maine in general! VT is full of cool local artisinal food of all kinds… cheese, beer, cider, maple syrup products, fresh food from all the small farms. When people used to use the old Rand McNally paper maps that dotted scenic highways….almost every single road in VT was dotted! Downtown Burlington may be the best small city in New England (right on giant pretty Lake Champlain, views of green mnts and Adirondacks). Portsmouth NH is cool too. Burlington far nicer looking than Portland ME though IMO.
Your photos are pretty wonderful Nina. We have not explored Maine so I am looking forward to your discoveries.
Maine is beautiful . I was only there for a week. Flew to a friends in New Hampshire where I stayed a week then rented a car and toured up to Maine for a week. Would like to re visit it one day. Great place to be this time of year. You mention it being crowded . I have been traveling some this summer in between house sit jobs and I find that every place is crowded !! Do you guys see that more this year ?? Glacier National park in August was packed but so beautiful that I just told myself to get used to the crowds.
You know I kinda feel that too. I keep thinking it’s because we’re out East this year, but I agree that it feels crowded….in general. Maybe because more folks are traveling? More people are buying RVs? It certainly feels different than it did 8 years ago when we started.
Nina
I lived in northern Maine for 6 and 1/2 years and the only month snow has not been recorded is July!
Amazing! I would never have known that!
Nina
If you feel like experiencing a unique County Fair while you are up in Maine, make the drive over to Fryeberg.
There’s a huge fair with more things to see than you can imagine fro Oct 1st thru the 8th.
Also check out the Boothbay Craft Brewery and Watershed Tavern.
Once again our paths cross! We are currently in Salisbury Beach and will be heading to Boothbay on Saturday 9/28 for five nights. We’ll be staying at the Boothbay Craft Brewery (with FHUs!!) and we will also be traveling with parents!! Steven’s parents, who live in Ireland, will be arriving in Boston on 9/20 and will joining us on our trek up the coast of Maine to Boothbay and Winter Harbor. Any chance we might meet up for a brew? I think you will be just a couple of mile up the road from us!
Correction! We will be arriving in Boothbay 9/23! Departing 9/28!
Ah sorry we won’t be there! We were in Boothbay several weeks ago and are already way up north in Acadia (my blog is a few weeks behind), so we’re quite far away. You are going to LOVE the brewery though!! We didn’t actually know you could stay there in an RV until we went for a tasting. If we’d known that it would def have been our first choice. Enjoy the area! We really, really liked it there.
Nina
Lol, I should have known that, my own blog is a few weeks behind! That is great to hear about the brewery! We chose it because we were able to get an adorable AirBnB close by for Steven’s parents. We are looking forward to our stay there! Safe and happy travels!
Maine is lovely and thanks for sharing. But when I read the point about Maine blueberries, that did not ring true somehow. Here in Michigan, I know we have a huge blueberry crop. So this is what I found…….
According to a 2014 report by US Department of Agriculture, Washington was the nation’s largest producer of cultivated (highbush) blueberries with 96.1 million pounds, followed in order of “utilized production” volume by Michigan and Georgia, Oregon, New Jersey, California and North Carolina.
Blueberry – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry
I don’t see Maine even making this list. But I guess I can’t blame the folks from Maine for trying!
Yup you’re right and my bad. I made a mistake in the original post and didn’t catch it until after I’d published. The post should have said WILD blueberries, not just blueberries, a small but very important distinction! Maine is the biggest producer of the wild ones, specifically. I corrected the post (almost right away), but couldn’t correct the one that already went out by e-mail. Sorry for the SNAFU!
Nina
Really wonderful post Nina and spot on. Glad you like Narrows Too. Are you in the 500s? I doubt I’ll finish posting about our 3 months there for at least another month. SO much to do, lobster everywhere. I did my best to sample it once a week always at a different place. At some point I’ll do a symmary.
Because we had family with us, we decided to fork out the big bucks and get one of the waterfront sites at Narrows Too. It’s the priciest site we’ve stayed at this year (ouch!), but the water views have been amazing. It’s been really nice for happy hour.
I’ll have to refer Paul to your lobster post when you get around to it. Did you find a clear favorite?
Nina
Could not open your Google maps to see what campgrounds you stayed in!?
Hmmmm….Sorry about that! I’ll double check permissions tomorrow AM. Maybe I messed something up in the link. I’ll be reviewing everywhere we’ve stayed in up-coming blog posts, but basically we went to Shore Hills RV Park (in Boothbay), Camden Hills State Park (in Camden) and Narrows Too (near Acadia).
Nina
Next time you go up that way go earlier, say late May, and keep on going up through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland/Labrador. We ended up spending 6 weeks on Newfoundland. Then we spent the early fall going back down through Maine during the fall colors. Glorious!
Next time…. 8^)
That trip sounds spectacular! I have no doubt we’d love it, but I do see that we’d have to come through MUCH earlier in the season. Did you find end of May OK weather wise? I love the idea.
Nina
We left Liberty Harbor RV ‘Resort’ on the 29th of April and hit Augusta (the State Capital), ME on the 7th of May where we stayed at an Elks Lodge. This was after visiting Burlington, VT (to visit my old base in Plattsburgh, NY, just across Lake Champlain). Then we drove across the middle of the state (ME) to reach Fredericton, NB on the 14th of May. We were opening campgrounds as we went. We occasionally had to deal with snow along the side of the road, but it never snowed ‘on’ us. We reached PEI by the 22nd of May, still opening campgrounds as we went. We were in Nova Scotia by the 8th of June and after a couple weeks touring Cape Breton Highlands National Park, we finally hit Newfoundland around the 1st of July and left there on the 21st of August. It was the best part of the trip! We were back in the states (Roosevelt Campobello) on the 10th of Sept. We then did the coast of ME. And then it was back to Liberty Harbor RV ‘Resort’ on the 12th of Oct for another week stay. We love walking around Manhattan!
Anyway, it was a GREAT trip. I think I enjoyed it even more than Alaska.
I hope you guys get to experience it, too!
— jc&bev
Excellent. Thanks so much for the additional details. It sounds like an EPIC great trip!
Nina
Oh, this sounds like the trip I need to make someday. I was already thinking I want to go to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. My husband and I spent a week in Rockland, ME, several years ago starting with the first weekend in August which is Lobster Festival. It was wonderful!! That was before we were camping. We started in Mississippi but hugged the coast from Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina to Maine seeing as many lighthouses as we could find. I can hardly imagine that I didn’t look for lighthouses in Maine — another time. I guess I got distracted by the lobster. lol
I really enjoyed reading your blog and reliving Maine through you. Looking forward to reading more. 🙂
We stayed at Narrows Too for 5 weeks this summer, June 23 – July 27. Our first time to Maine and the experience was awesome !
Mt. Desert Island is gorgeous with something new and photo-worthy at every turn! We could have stayed indefinitely!
ENJOY!!
Outstanding! Curious if you saw a lot of mosquito’s back in June? Our neighbors here said they were really bad earlier this summer, but we’ve literally seen none, so I’m just curious to hear your experience. We’re def loving this time of year here.
Nina
We did Maine last year and Alaska this year, and in our experience there were lots more mosquitoes in Alaska, as well as their being more aggressive and pesky. We picked up a paperback of Native Alaskan myths, and quite a few stories were about “how mosquitoes came to be”. Back in the Lower 48 now, we’re working on maintenance and repair of our coach. Hope you get to see great fall color!
We went backpacking in Alaska many years ago (pre-RV) and I have to agreed that those were the most aggressive bugs we’ve ever come across (ever)!
We’ve been pleasantly surprised by our East Coast travels this year. Apart from a few mozzies way down south we’ve been pretty much bug free the entire way. None in NY, MA or here in Maine. It’s been great.
Nina
I’m so happy you are enjoying my home state (I may live in FL, but my heart will always be in Maine ). Did you get to Portland? Portland Head Light amd Spring Point Light and Allagash beer, all are musts! Enjoy!
YES, we made it to Portland although just in passing to see the lighthouse. I’ve got pics coming in the next post.
Nina
Maine is such a terrific state, love it. The interior of Maine is really great too with tons of lakes, mountains and LESS tourists! Hope you hit the Allagash tasting room outside of Portland for the second best Belgian style beer in U.S. outside of Ommagang!
I know both are different, but what do you like better Coastal ME or OR Coast? One nice thing about ME coast is it is warmer for “true beach time” and it has nice historic quaint towns, more things to do, better restaurants. OR Coast is wild and beautiful, but the towns can be dead and sort of economically depressed. Weather can be cold in windy even in summer too OR Coast.
I didn’t see any posts on Vermont yet, did you hit that state? That may be my favorite New England state in terms of mountain views EVERYWHERE you go, small quaint towns, gorgeous back county two lane highways, fresh farm to table food, the best peak fall color in NE, and pristine quality. And so many rustic cool micro breweries! Don’t go to New England and miss a tour of Vermont!
So PNW versus Maine…It’s a tough comparison. I think you nailed the differences…both are gorgeous, OR is a little more “raw” whereas Maine is a little more “touristy”. Personally my heart tugs towards OR for the more raw experience and less tourists (I do think it’s easier to find stretches of solitude out there), but I do like the quaint little Maine towns and if I were a boater I think I’d definitely lean towards Maine. LOTS of Islands to explore here if you’re able to get off land. I like both, but given the choice I’d prefer to settle down in OR.
Nina
Nina you have such a wonderful blog and you are so nice to respond to everyone’s comments:)
I think I would go with summering in Maine over the Oregon Coast, just because I’m not as inspired by the small towns on the OR Coast and it can be a bit chilly. ME towns have so much more history and character. And I would go further north ME Coast to avoid more tourist crowds. Because you could also spend time in the Canadian Maritime provinces too if one summers in ME. But I am not a fan of Florida or the Southeast U.S. for winter, so summering in ME would require me to drive an RV all the way back out to AZ or SoCal because that is where I would prefer to winter. And that is too far. So my preferred winter destination would favor OR Coast. But then again I could summer in ME/Maritime provinces….then park my RV somewhere for winter, and fly to some other country that is warm and tropical for winter too:)
I’m probably pushing it, but I’d like to do the coast of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont the month of October. That may be too ambitious, but I’ll decide that along the way. I’ve got a general layout of places I want to see–mostly driving since walking has become difficult. So glad I can read your experiences. I bought a couple of great books–one I especially like, “New England’s best trips – 31 Amazing Rd. trips”. I bought several other regional resource books, as well, but it’s always great to hear “straight from the horses mouth” (so to speak). I especially remember how we “walked in one another’s shoes” in New Mexico.
You are so right. Everywhere is so much more crowded. I remember when Rich and I travelled the Oregon coast with our “beast” and never had to make a reservations. When he passed 12 years ago, I got a small trailer and saw Georgia parks get more and more crowded each year. When I returned to the west coast, I felt bad to see it had become more crowded. I found that to be true all through the west. Have a great time. Thanks for sharing your travels.
Totally agree on the crowds. We’ve noticed it out West too. When we first started RVing we never had reservations. Now we find we almost always need them in summer.
Nina
If you make it to Campobello and E. Quoddy Head remember to time your visit for low tide. The lighthouse is only accessible then and you can’t get an unobstructed view of it from “land”. Take binoculars and watch for the small whale watching boats near shore. I was just there Wednesday and saw porpoises and two whales from the shore! You’ll also likely see seals in the water at Mulholland Point Lighthouse just across the bridge from Lubec.
I gave a wave and a hello in your direction when I passed thought Ellsworth Saturday going from Beals Island to Stonington. I’m at Camden Hills tonight. Thanks to Linda Davey’s comment I’m going to check out Boothbay Craft Brewery for tomorrow night. Another example of how useful your blog is to your followers in addition to it being so enjoyable to read!
I can’t wait for your next posts on Maine. I’ve been wondering if you did the dreaded pre-dawn rise in order to capture sunrise from Cadillac Mountain!
Oh, I’d forgotten about the whale watching from Rockport (I think it was). We went on a big catamaran with huge engines and out and back quicker than the smaller boats and saw lots of whales. We were disappointed we couldn’t take a boat over to Nova Scotia because we didn’t have passports or birth certificates with us (at that time years ago it didn’t have to be a passport). That’s one reason Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are on my bucket list. And, today reading all this, I’m going to need to add Newfoundland. I’ve just discovered this blog, and I can tell already I’m really going to enjoy it!!
THANK YOU for the tip about the tides for E. Quoddy. I’d read that (some time ago), but managed to forget. Whale watching sounds like fun too.
And regarding the sunrise shot…NOT YET!! I keep thinking about it, but haven’t gotten my butt up to do it. This past week it’s been foggy every evening (mountain completely covered) so I might have missed my chance. Oh well!
Nina
I was really surprised to see your coastal mileage numbers – being from California where we have that big long coastline – which led me to look it up. Of course you’re right (I had no doubts) using NOAA numbers. Now I have to go back and learn the difference between CRS (which looks more like the map shows) and NOAA numbers. I love new stuff :-)) Thanks!
Love your pics and info about this lovely area. How fun to share it with your family! Great catch at Curtis Island with the light and the sails – looks like Maine is supposed to!
Isn’t it crazy how much coastline is here? And in truth I’m not exactly clear how the NOAA numbers differ from CRS. I tried to read up on it, but still haven’t quite grasped it. They just seem to compute it differently based on what they do (or don’t) include.
Nina
It’s been a while since I’ve been meaning to write to you and never got down to do it. But your recent posts were a clear indication that it was time I did so.
You might be surprised, but my participation in your blog is full of don’ts: I don’t live in the USA), I don’t own an RV and I don’t see a visit to the USA in my near future. But I certainly enjoy your posts tremendously .
I’m a writer and I admire your simple but straight forward style. Your writing flows very naturally and it is very easy to read. I certainly know that it’s something not easy to accomplish.
And, not the least, your photographs are awesome. Great quality and you can see there was a lot of preparation behind them.
So, through you, I have been able to learn many things of all the states you’ve visited, the RV life, the freedom, the people you’ve met, the culture. I couldn’t have had a better guide. And for that I thank you both. For sharing. It has been an inmensly interesting trip so far.
I don’t know how many foreign followers you have, but know that you have one from Argentina!
Hope you have a great time and keep those posts coming, they are very appreciated!
Charlie
Muchas gracias for your comment!! I love hearing from my International readers and HOW COOL to have a blog reader in Argentina. You live in a country I’ve never been to, but always wanted to visit. Thank you so much for following along and being part of our journey.
Nina
Well, who knows… If you are ever down in this area, happy to host you both!
Love how dog friendly Maine is. One day we took our Westie with us, as we walked the streets of Bar Harbor. She got to the point that she not only expected to be allowed to roam every shop in town, but was a little disappointed, as she roamed though stores, if everybody didn’t drop everything and pay attention to her. It’s easy to spend a full week on Mt. Desert island, doing nothing but walking the carriage paths, eating Lobsters and Mussels, and drinking local brews. JMHO, but right NOW is the best time to be there. We typically try to spend a week, or more there, in the second half of September. Fantastic weather, light crowds, and you can find a few decent Passport America campgrounds that offer 1/2 price sites.
The only thing we haven’t really mastered yet, is navigating the Boston traffic, as we head up and down the east coast, to Maine. Last year, I’m not sure exactly where we went wrong, but in a five hour stretch of highway driving, during evening drive time, we traversed the Boston metro area, and never got rolling faster than 20-25MPH. From 3 to 8 PM we covered 75 miles. It sucked.
I agree on the traffic. The traffic along Hwy 1 (the coast of Maine) has been much worse than we expected. I guess I kinda expected it to be like the coastal roads in the West (curvy, but always moving along), but we had a couple of spots here where we were inching along bumper to bumper. Crazy really. I’ve noticed it seems to be better early AM, and just packs up as the morning wears on into the afternoon.
And yes, NOW is a great time to be here! We’re really enjoying it.
Nina
Ahh you were there about the same time we were, we stayed at Schoodic woods campground for a couple weeks then finished up our visit at Bass Harbor campground. Had a great time and fortunately I can consume massive quantities of Lobster.
Bass Harbor Campground looked like a very quiet and relaxed place to stay. We loved that side of the island. Did you like the camp?
Nina
Bass harbor campground was a nice place with all the amenities you could want, topped off with great neighbors and a very nice staff. The wife and I still preferred Schoodic woods, we enjoyed the solitude, Winter harbor, Schoodic point, and the lack of a lot of light pollution giving us gerougous views of the Stars
Really enjoyed the blog . Lots of great info. We (me, my wife, and our little pooch Emma Jean) are new to rving and we are planning our 3rd excursion. We will be traveling from Louisiana up to Bar Harbor. (7/19 through mid August or so) We have a pretty good size rig with a 13.6 clear highth. I’m seeing bridge heights of 13 ft to 13:6 ft on interstate through Maine. I’m concerned. Any advise as to where I can find actual bridge highths in the northeast? Thanks so much.
There are several option for Bridge Heights. All Stays (App) is one of the easiest to use, but lowclearances.com and CoPilot also work well. Plus of course an RV GPS (that will automatically route you around anything you can’t clear if you put in your measurements).
I’ve got a detailed post on how to manage tolls & low clearances here:
https://www.wheelingit.us/2016/10/05/rv-driving-in-the-east-tolls-ez-pass-low-clearances/
Nina