Coastal Maine (08-01-18)

Eventually we left Massachusetts.  The last time we came thru the small coastal town of Rockport, ME, we were towing our 5th wheel, and had reservations further up the coast. This time, I was determined to stop and check it out. 

The nearby town of Rockland has an Elks Lodge with RV sites, so we plopped the camper there, and started exploring.

First up was food- we found a local place to have dinner- another lobster for Paul, and even though it was cool outside, we had a great view while we ate outside at Claws Restaurant.

Slightly south of us was Owl Head Light, so for our first full day, we packed a picnic lunch and headed out. There has been a lighthouse here since 1825 and this particular one was built in 1852.

The views from the lighthouse were awesome. The fog kept rolling in and out, constantly changing the look of the shoreline. I love the smell of the ocean!



















After exploring the shoreline area, we decided to head to a nearby beach to have lunch. Not a bad view!

Our “hike” for the day was along the Rockland Breakwater. It’s 7/8 of a mile all the way out to the end.

Once there, you can relax and watch the many lobstermen pull in their traps.

After taking it easy for a day, we looked for a challenging hike, and Camden Hills State Park delivered.

I have to say that this is one of the best days we have had in a long time.

We started by hiking Megunticook Trail to Adams Lookout (2.5 miles RT with 900 ft of elevation gain). The trail was fun and the views at the top were amazing! 

We are still ramping up on the hiking thing, so this was perfect.

Once we descended from the trail, we crossed the road, threw our chairs on our backs (they have straps to carry them) and hiked a short distance to the perfect spot to have lunch. We spent two hours just relaxing and watching the fog and the boats in the distance.

We spent our last day just driving around through the local towns. Most of them are on the water, and have a few restaurants and shops. After driving through them all, my favorite was Camden. It was  a great mix of outdoors, restaurants, shops and waterfront.

The small town of Thomaston doesn’t have a pretty harbor, but it does have two unique things- one is a store that showcases the beautiful work, much of it woodwork, done by prison inmates..

…and  an urban garden, which is planter boxes along Main street that contain herbs, lettuce, tomatoes etc. which are free for the taking.  It was kinda neat.

Paul managed to find lobster again along the way, and I was happy with the haddock chowder.