COASTAL MAINE<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Updated 3\/12\/21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Note:\u00a0 This article contains affiliate links that might help us earn a small commission at no cost to you.\u00a0 See our disclosure policy<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Howie and I had a few days after his August 2019 high school reunion in the Boston area, so we agreed that a short Maine trip could be fun.\u00a0 Although we lived in Massachusetts twice, we had never ventured as far <\/span>downeast<\/span><\/a> as Acadia National Park.\u00a0 It was always too far to go (5+\/- hours).\u00a0 But Howie had just driven from Arizona to Texas (15 hours) in May and then from Los Angeles to the DFW area in August (20 hours), so I knew that he had it in him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p> Th<\/span>ere are many reasons to visit coastal Maine in August, but we longed to see the ocean, savor fresh seafood, and admire the historic architecture.\u00a0 If you’re planning a short trip, this article highlights the best experiences from our three-day detour to coastal Maine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t One of Maine’s greatest draws is its natural beauty.\u00a0 You can be surrounded by nature, whether it be forests, mountains, beaches, lakes, ponds, or the ocean.\u00a0 Acadia National Park alone offers 38,000 acres of rugged coastline, lakes, ponds, meadows, mixed coniferous and deciduous forest, and Cadillac Mountain<\/a>, which is the highest peak on the east coast.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p> We wanted to see the ocean, so our goal was to hike along the water in Acadia National Park.\u00a0 We arrived at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center to buy our day pass and get a map.\u00a0 If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought our pass <\/span>online<\/span><\/a>, consulted the <\/span>\u201cPlan Your Visit – Hiking\u201d section of the NPS Acadia website<\/span><\/a>, and printed out the maps provided by the <\/span>https:\/\/www.mainetrailfinder.com<\/span><\/a> at home.\u00a0 I had downloaded the free <\/span>AllTrails<\/span><\/a> app, but I didn\u2019t realize that cell service in the park was extremely limited.\u00a0 With the pro version of the app, I could have downloaded the map to my phone.<\/span><\/p> We started out at around 11:30 a.m. doing the <\/span>Ocean Path hike<\/span><\/a> along the water.\u00a0 The briny smell of the Atlantic Ocean from the parking lot near Sand Beach thrilled and transported me back to the familiar seaweed-encrusted West Harwich beach of my youth.\u00a0 It was overcast but cool and crowded at first.\u00a0 <\/span>Maine summer temperatures, especially on the coast, were a great escape from the soaring 100s at home in the DFW area.\u00a0 <\/span>The beach and rocks were covered with people, but as we made our way towards Otter Cliff, the crowds thinned.\u00a0 As soon as the trail disappeared into the trees, we felt more isolated. It was wonderful to be hit in the face with the fresh air with hints of sea salt and a twist of sandy beach rock.\u00a0 At Thunder Hole, all of the tourists stopped to marvel at the crashing waves and foam. No one wanted the show to stop.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t At one point, Howie noticed that most of the folks that we saw on the path were from other countries because we heard French, German, and even an Italian \u201candiamo\u201d\u2014Howie’s favorite Italian word that means \u201clet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0 He asked me why the foreign tourists weren’t in Boston, New York, or Chicago where they could get more bang for their buck. I pointed out that we were going to Scotland to stare at their rocks and waves in a few months for the very same reason.\u00a0 I don’t know what that reason is, but they are certainly people magnets.<\/span><\/p> After our coastal hike, we drove over to the <\/span>Jordan Pond House<\/a> and walked around the pond:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The pond was still and glorious that afternoon with the North and South Bubble Mountains<\/a> in the distance.\u00a0 People were walking, fishing, gazing, and watching the gulls hover over the water.\u00a0 Even with the tourists, we felt embraced by the stunning, quiet, wordless nature.<\/span><\/p> After Jordan Pond, we tried to get to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse<\/a> in time to watch the sunset, but I was feeling sick so we headed over to Bar Harbor for linner (you know:\u00a0 late lunch, early dinner).\u00a0 Were we able to experience the entire park at the most perfect time of day\/year?\u00a0 Not at all, but we still had a terrific afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Where we live, the grocery stores generally do not stock live lobsters, so our family sends us <\/span>The Lobster Net<\/span><\/a> gift cards for our Christmas present every year.\u00a0 On this trip, I ate lobster in one form or another four times, fried clams (another item that isn\u2019t readily available in Texas) twice, and codfish and steamers once.\u00a0 I think that I am really a pescatarian at heart.<\/span><\/p> In our quest to taste the best the Atlantic has to offer, we visited two iconic seafood establishments:\u00a0 <\/span>Red\u2019s Eats<\/span><\/a> in Wiscasset, ME and the <\/span>Clam Box<\/span><\/a> in Ipswich, MA.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p> There was no line at the Clam Box (lunch was fast and tasty), but scoring a <\/span>lobster roll at Red\u2019s Eats on a Monday afternoon proved to be more of a challenge.\u00a0 The line got noticeably shorter at 4:15 p.m. that day, so maybe it\u2019s better to go for linner. We devoted two hours to the line at Red\u2019s and were rewarded for our efforts with succulent fresh lobster chunks overflowing the roll paired with some amazing melted Kate\u2019s Homemade Butter<\/a> (this is the same butter that The Lobster Net<\/a> sends us) for dipping.\u00a0 All in all, it was absolutely delicious, but very few meals can really live up to standing in a line starving for two hours on a humid 85-degree day with the sun beating down.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p> My only regret was that I didn\u2019t sample a piece of blueberry pie on this trip.\u00a0 As we rolled into each seaside town, we saw card tables with neatly stacked boxes of freshly picked blueberries and blueberry pies and cakes on the dessert menus.\u00a0 Now I have another great reason to return to coastal Maine!<\/span><\/p> One very special thing about New England is that its history is not limited to the confines of the history books or museum\u2014it is written all over its architecture and the old trees lining the town commons.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p> In Maine\u2019s pristine seaside towns, we found clusters of white <\/span>Federal and Greek Revival-style homes<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 The uniformity of the <\/span>paint color<\/span><\/a> only added to their allure.\u00a0 On this trip, we stayed two nights in the small seaside town of Castine as our home base for our trip to Acadia National Park.\u00a0 We used a paper map to do a walking tour of the town, but we probably should have downloaded <\/span>the app from the Castine Historical Society<\/span><\/a> ahead of time and listened to their audio tour as we walked.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tThree Great Reasons to Make a
Three-Day Detour to Coastal Maine in August<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\tA.<\/b> Acadia National Park<\/b><\/h2>
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/handaathomeandaway.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HA-Maine-2019-Acadia-NP-with-Jordan-Pond14.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&ssl=1\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tB.<\/b> Maine\u2019s Seafood<\/b><\/h2>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/handaathomeandaway.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/HA-Clam-Box-Ipswich-2019.jpg?resize=353%2C472&ssl=1\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/handaathomeandaway.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/HA-Maine-2019-Wiscasset.jpg?resize=340%2C470&ssl=1\")
<\/p>C.<\/b> Maine\u2019s History<\/b><\/h2>
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/handaathomeandaway.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HA-Bar-Harbor-3.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/handaathomeandaway.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HA-Bar-Harbor.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t