Our mid-June trip to coastal Maine was so much fun that I’ve felt the need to break it down into smaller pieces.
After an exhilarating (short) tour of the Coast Maine Botanical Gardens, we headed to Little Deer Island. We traversed a beautiful bridge near Maine’s Fort Knox that offers an observatory, and then we traversed another bridge that was so narrow that a sign warns large trucks to space themselves.
Our cabin was off the grid, wasn’t numbered, was unlocked, and faced the bay. It was glorious!
We got cleaned up and made it to our dinner reservation at Arborvine in Blue Hill in plenty of time. Hubby had the best fish he’s ever put into his mouth. It was the last week of halibut season in Maine, so he had to make the most of it. I had the steak medallions, which were very tasty. The after dinner decaf with the toasted hazelnut tart was a divine treat.
There were no curtains on the windows in the little cabin on Little Deer, so we awoke as the sun rose in the sky. It was the perfect day for exploring! We started out with a nearby hike in Pine Hill Preserve. There was a bit of a scramble up a pile of granite, but the view of Little Deer and its green narrow bridge was worth it.
Then we ventured a little further out to the Holbrook Island Sanctuary. There are tons of trails, and GPS is sure to put you in the wrong spot, so follow the advice we were given and ignored (at first): find a friendly local and ask. They’re everywhere and are so kind!
We hiked the Goose Falls Trail, which offers plenty of views of Penobscot Bay. We would’ve stayed and done another trail, but we were watching the clock.
Around noon would be low tide, and we’d seen a blog post about Barred Island. We got there around 11:30 a.m. Hubby thought we’d pull up next to a sandbar, but no. We had to hike through the forest and climb in elevation for about a mile (very off-putting to hubby).
It was a lovely hike through dappled light and spongy ground, but we had to keep our eyes on our feet due to the exposed root system of the abundant cedar trees. The air is scrubbed clean there with the scent of Christmas (that’s the only time I smell cedar and fir in Mississippi).
After about 40 minutes of picking our way through the forest, the sandbar came into view. Barred Island is accessible for only a few hours during low tide, so we happily crunched across the sandbar, gratefully sunk down on stacks of broken granite, and hungrily munched some well-deserved snacks. Then we did a little shell-shopping, skipped some of the plentiful flat, smooth rocks, and headed back through the woods to the Jeep.
The snacks were not enough. We headed south to Stonington for lunch at Marriner’s. It felt great to eat outside on the sunny deck overlooking the harbor. They were out of lobster rolls, so I ate the crab roll and hubby ate fish tacos. Then we explored the little town on foot.
It was Sunday, and most places were closed. One friendly shopkeeper told us that lobster harvesters are not allowed to work on Sundays, and the townsfolk were celebrating a high school graduation that afternoon.
Our Jeep started having problems in Stonington, and we got a little nervous about getting back to basecamp in Little Deer and finding dinner on the way… on a Sunday in rural Maine. Turning the vehicle on and off seemed to somewhat fix it, so we headed out of town.
Hubby was a little on edge until we stumbled upon “There’s a Treat,” a little roadside food counter with an ice cream menu. We ordered wraps at one window, and then walked to the left to order ice cream at another window. They make a concoction of candy and ice cream that’s much like a DQ Blizzard. Hurrah! We did not share this time.
The Jeep got us back to Little Deer in time for us to watch the sun descend. We felt it necessary to hit the sack early so we could rise again with the early morning sunshine. Hubby said it was bright at 3:30 a.m.
Monday morning would be a Blue Hill Mountain hike and then on to a few days in Bar Harbor.
