The Maine Coast

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I must give much thanks to my Uncle Chuck for housing me at his 1885 Andover, MA farmhouse. The rain drizzled down for three days and I was grateful for having a warm dry place to stay. I returned my rental car in the morning after stopping at the post office then rode the bike back to the house in the drizzly rain. I mostly spent my time on the internet catching up with blogs or looking through my uncle’s massive collection of books. He showed me all about the reconstruction work he was doing on the house; refabricating, residing, scraping, and painting. So much work to do and it really shows, a beautiful old house. Thanks so much for the long weekend of rest!

I left Andover in the morning of the third day as the clouds were breaking and the sun started to peak through the clouds. I rode through the northern Mass countryside into Salem to visit the Salem Witch Museum. I went through the interesting theatrical display with a hoard of French teenagers and quickly left afterwards to escape their rambunctiousness. I continued on to Marble Head To stop for a lunch picnic and a loop ride around the beautifully ritzy Marble Head Neighborhood. Later I peddled up the coast passed more stately mansions by the sea and into Gloucester. I stopped here to find a place to stay and was referred to an artist colony rental property guest house. Tom was a photographer who lived there and he knew the owner of the guest house. I am glad I ran into Tom because this guest house was so warm and cozy built right over the water on a dock. I had a delicious warm dinner from a nearby deli then talked for hours with my guest house neighbors who were both actors in a play showing in town.

My guest room was beautiful in the morning with bright sunlight shining in and a glassy harbor just outside my window. I ate banana pancakes at Sailor Stan’s before riding away for the day. I rode the Cape Ann Loop into Rockport, another destination for artists. This is where Motif #1 is, a world famous artist and photographer subject. I walked through this interesting town snapping photos, sketching among the other artists, and eating ice cream. I left after noon and completed the Cape Ann loop back to Gloucester and then traveled up the coast to Newburyport. It is a beautiful old village with great old brick buildings. I used the library here and hooked up a place to stay with friends of a friend in North Hampton, NH. Once again the hospitality towards me has been outdone. Kate, Erec, Nancy, and Marc showed me into their beautiful house and let me into their family for the night. We shared adventure stories over pizza and beer and continued our stories into the evening. I was thrilled to be able to stay in their guest suite and could not have asked for a better place to stay with new friends who I will never forget.

I left with the morning rush of going to work and am truly grateful to my new friends in NH… Thank you very much! Back on the coast, I took a short ride up through nice peaceful neighborhoods to the edge of Portsmouth where I stopped at BG’s boathouse for a lobstah roll lunch then continued on into the beautiful old town of Portsmouth. I checked into a hotel then strolled through the town shops and pubs. The Portsmouth Brewery, Harpoon Willies, the Coat of Arms, and Gilleys late night food place inside an old caboose were all great places to enjoy the fun.

After a relaxing stay at the Hilton, I crossed the bridge into the last state on my journey before crossing into Canada and it felt good. On the other side of the bridge I talked to some older men on bikes as they just finished their cross country journey all the way from San Antonio. They were on their way to eat lobster then go back home. I on the other hand kept on truckin. Through Kittery and the southern Maine beaches into Kennebunkport where I had a nice relaxing salmon wrap lunch on the dock. A short ways down the road was the Bush Compound and a photo op. I stopped for the night at an Old Orchard Beach Campsite and listened to the Korean War Vet caretaker’s great war stories.

Today would be a short ride to Portland. I could not miss the great Portland Head Lighthouse before going into town to check into the St. John Inn for the night. It was hot today, the hottest since south Florida. I unloaded my stuff then went out to do some laundry which was not the most fun thing to do on a blistering hot day but it had to be done. Soon I was walking through the exciting Portland Old Town where the old harbor streets were covered with cobblestones, laid back musicians played their tunes on street corners, bars were full of life, and good beer was everywhere. I had a great time with great beer and exciting bar life before laying down for a long nights sleep.

After packing up and out of the Inn, I toured back through the old Portland Harbor and then north around the beautiful Back Cove area. Northward I went as the terrain began to get hillier to see the worlds biggest globe in Yarmouth and on into Freeport for a rest break. Freeport is the home of L.L. Bean and a few more great outdoor outlet stores. I spent a little while here and thought it would be best to move on before I bought too much stuff. At the end of the day I stopped near Wiscasset to set up camp at the Chewonki Campground, part of an environmental learning center that I had studied in College. I had dinner at a small family restaurant nearby where I felt uncomfortably like I was dinning in at some dysfunctional family’s dinning room.

In the morning I continued through the rolling hills on a scenic detour out to Pemaquid Point to see Pemaquid Point Lighthouse; the lighthouse featured on the Maine State Quarter. It was quite small and the grounds were full of tourists but the landscape and geology of the rocks along the coastline were magnificent. I took my time pedaling through the hilly countryside and small quaint villages into Rockland for the night. I escaped the cool weather and rain at a motel near a movie theater for my evening entertainment. The next day I relaxed with another scenic detour to see two more lighthouses south of Rockland among the rolling countryside and charming quiet seaside villages. Today was the last day I would be part of the active duty Army so I definitely celebrated with good brew in Rockland at the Black Bull Tavern and later gorged myself on a traditional boiled Maine Lobster dinner. I even watched the waitress fish the poor little guy out of the tank and send him back to the boiling pot. I don’t think I will eat lobster again, too much work for not much to eat … and his little eyes keep looking at you as you devour the rest of his body. I spent the night in another great campground near the water. I kept warm by the campfire and went to sleep with the sound of a babbling brook.

The coast of Maine is truly unforgettable and every mile that I continued to ride was more beautiful than the last and I was in awe of all its glory. The rolling countryside was so quiet and peaceful and welcoming. This is something that I have been waiting for all along the tour and was surly glad to escape the hustle and bustle of seemingly every place south of here. This day's ride was no exception as I rode through Rockport into picturesque Camden with its harbor full of schooners, old sailboats, and a gorgeous park designed by Fletcher Steele and the Olmsted Brothers back in the thirties. This great town also had a river that flowed beneath its quiet main street and under many popular businesses and out into the beautiful harbor in a grand display of raging white water over granite boulders. The town was also full of charming old B&B's on the countryside outskirts of town. I continued up the coast with increasing hills through Belfast and across the brand new Penobscot River Bridge into Bucksport. I would stay at yet again, another great Maine Campground on the shores of Patton Pond. I could not wait to dip my legs into the ponds cool waters as I listened to the eerie call of the loon. I would fall asleep to the sound of the loon that night.

The next day would be a short day of riding through Ellsworth and into Bar Harbor. It is a good thing that I am getting used to the hills because there were plenty of them. I stopped at the Atlantic Brewing Co. where I sampled their brews and ate a BBQ lunch then rode through the countryside into Bar Harbor as the clouds and cold rain rolled in. I would have to wait several hours before being able to check into my hostel so I roamed the great village shops and bars. At one great Irish Pub I ordered a pint and began trading adventure stories with two European hikers. They were in town from a few days out on the Appalachian Trail. They had a wealth of stories and were fun to hang out with before checking into the hostel. Later I met up with a friend of the family for dinner and beer and visited the nightlife at a few more pubs before calling it a night.

I decided to stay another night at the hostel so I would be able to explore Acadia National Park and it was more than worth it. I spent the day checking out the sights of grandeur along the rocky coast and peddling the exciting carriage trails through the inner mountains. I even powered up to the top of 1528 ft. Cadillac Mountain. That night I had a relaxed with a pizza on an old couch while watching Spiderman III. I had a wonderful time exploring the Mt. Desert Island area and enjoyed the exciting outdoorsy town life in Bar Harbor; a definite highlight of my trip.

Canada is only days away!

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Photos

white spire church
The thriving town center of Portsmouth, NH

Nubble Lighthouse
Cape Neddick, ME

Portland Head Lighthouse
South Portland, ME

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse
The lighthouse on the Maine state quarter

A river runs through it!
The river flowing under the town of Camden

Sand Beach
Acadia's best place to soak up the sun