If you are just tuning in, please check out blog posts 1 - 4 of our journey through Maine. You have missed bar hopping with new friends, the best lobster roll on the planet (no joke) and the oldest national park in America…Check it out, you won't regret it! Read them here.
Though we only had a quick stay in Bar Harbor, it was a welcomed part of our journey and somewhere we hope to return to very soon. Now, we were off to the beach part of our trip, Old Orchard Beach. Upon arrival, I was quick to realize that this was not your typical Gulf of Mexico style beach town that I was used to. It was very different. Miles of wood planked hotels lined a massive, sandy beach with many restaurants, a pier, and an old school arcade with amusement park. For a southerner like me, it was the quintessential north eastern beach that I have seen in the movies. So much so it was almost comical.
As per our normal routine by this point, we check into the hotel, toss our bags in the room and start to wander. We hit all the shops along the boardwalk we could, before walking down to the sand for a stroll along the glassy beach. The people watching was fun too-kids playing games, people stretched out tanning and a lot of amateur photoshoots going on!
We walked under the pier and took a few photos of our own along the shore and then climbed the stairs up to tour the pier. We stopped at the end of the dock for a much needed refreshment at The Pier Patio Restaurant. Felt like the end of the earth sitting on the patio out over the ocean like that.
After our drink we made it back down the pier to Dolce Crema Café, for some Ice Cream. Felt like a perfect beach day! We continued to hit just about every shop in sight, picking up random souvenirs here and there until we got hungry. We decided on Surf 6 restaurant right on the beachfront.
The restaurant was gorgeous and set right up on the massive sandy beach with an ocean view. We don’t even remember what we ate as our focus was on our impressive view!
Full from dinner so we ambled back to the hotel for a quick rest before heading out for a night cap. We started at Sunset Grill and we quickly made friends with a group of individuals who had most likely been over served…We think the establishment also thought the same thing because a server never came near us…
We said goodbye to our new friends and walked over to the back patio at The Brunswick Lounge called The Swick. It was just fantastic… sitting under a full moon on a lively patio, listening to music and drinking a beer. Life simply doesn’t get much better than that for me. Soon enough it time to get back to the hotel. Sadly, we head home the next day.
The next morning we started the quick journey back to Portland. After getting parking downtown we started to hit the shops picking up our final souvenirs before heading home. We hit up a small boutique called Sugar. This place was a trendy shop with lots to look at. After a few purchases, including a catchall we still use today, we made our way back to the wharf where all the fun began a few days prior.
We hit up J's Oyster bar for a last meal as I had been looking for raw oysters and I got to try two varieties of raw oysters. I slurped down as quickly as possible as one does and was quite pleased.
Sadly, all vacations must come to an end. Ours came to an end rather abruptly when we received a text message that says our flight home has been cancelled. What? Well shit. Finishing up our meal we sped off to the airport to hopefully find other flight home.
What was supposed to be a very quick, evening flight with one stop turned into an all day affair, through Indianapolis, a night in Houston, then the last flight home into Dallas. Needless to say, we were exhausted.
Though our trip started rough, with a flat tires and ended with a couple of cancelled flights. Maine was amazing. It was a special corner of our country that all Americans should explore. We cannot wait till our next visit and hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.
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