The Double D’s Take on Maine

Over Labor Day weekend Derika and I took a small road trip up to Maine, since it is one of the few states that she still has to check off her list before she has been to all 50. Next up is Vermont for a fall color change trip, and then we will have to figure out how to get her to South Dakota to check the last state off of her list! I didn’t know much about Maine before our trip, and the only place on my list to see in Maine was Portland. Unfortunately, due to the holiday weekend it was impossible to find an affordable place to stay. So I jumped on Airbnb and just looked up affordable places that were available in Maine that weekend. I ended up settling on an adorable place with a great view in a cute town called Belfast Maine. It was close to a bunch of small towns that I figured would make great day trips. So off we went!

Portland, ME

We left NYC super duper early on Friday to beat the crazy holiday traffic. On our way to Belfast we stopped in Portland, ME for lunch at a vegetarian place called the Green Elephant. I know it probably seems weird to go to a vegetarian restaurant in Maine, but I figured I would squeeze some vegetarian food in before we got to chowder and lobster roll country. Green Elephant was an Asian Fusion vegetarian place and their food was amazing. Definitely check it out if you are ever in the area and do a little window-shopping in the great downtown area. I would love to go back to Portland Maine to spend the weekend. So cute!

Belfast, ME

We arrived in Belfast on Friday evening; got settled and then strolled to a fantastic place called Three Tides. Our place that we were staying in was walking distance to downtown Belfast, so it made strolling around super convenient. They have a brewery that is attached to Three Tides, that has a great patio overlooking the water with a huge fire pit where you can grab a happy hour cocktail and hang out.

We were not in Belfast much, but we did manage to grab dinner one of the nights that we were there. I had done some digging and read that Darby’s Restaurant claimed to be a local favorite that was known for its pad thai…What!? So of course we had to go there! We ended up ordering their baked Jarlsberg dip and their pad thai. Both of which were very decadent, but surprisingly good and I would recommend checking it out on your visit.

Camden, ME

On Saturday we headed out to a town called Camden. We got lucky and they were having their Windjammer festival. We spent the morning snacking around town, hanging out at the festival and window-shopping. Camden is super teeny, adorable and beautiful…it actually has a river running right underneath some of the buildings, that you just have to see to believe.

Rockland, ME

I had no idea how close all of the towns were, we were actually able to hit Rockland for lunch, so Derika could get a lobster roll and so I could document it. We settled on a cute place called Claws. They have a great patio and if you are vegetarian they also have a veggie mac and cheese and a decent beer selection. I was just in it for the photos and the cocktails, so I enjoyed a local beer while Derika let me document her enjoying the lobster roll. I was surprised by the simplicity of the lobster roll. It is basically a buttered roll that you can get laced with lettuce and then filled with a bunch of lobster that is served cold. I thought that it would be loaded with cheesy goodness and other stuff and served warm…my mind was blown! Something so simple and people seem to go bananas for them!

Lincolnville, ME

After Rockland we still had plenty of time to be adventurous, so we decided to work our way back to Camden and stop at anything along the way that caught our eye. We ended up hitting up the Cellar Door Winery in Lincolnville. Who doesn’t love a good winery with complementary tastings!? We did not leave with any wine, but we had a nice time. While we were there, I did learn that most of the wineries in this area get their grapes shipped from the west coast to make their wine…which I was super surprised by! I guess it kind of makes sense based off of how cool the weather can be on the east coast.

While we were in Lincolnville we also stopped at Lincolnville Beach so we could twinkle our toes in the sand, and so I could get a photo of Derika by this great sign…love it!

Rockport, ME

The last town that we hit before making it back to Camden was Rockport and we got there just in time for happy hour and a bite to eat. There were two super cute restaurants in this teeny town, so we decided to grab a beverage at one and a bite to eat at the other. We had a beverage at Shepard’s Pie, because it opened before the other place that we wanted to check out. The drinks were out of this world and I wish that we had more time to go back and actually eat there.  If I am ever in the area again, I would for sure hang out there for dinner and a beverage or two.

After Shepard’s Pie we walked over to the Salt Water Farm because they were finally open and we wanted to check out their patio. Unfortunately, the patio was full when we got there, so we just hung out by the bar, had a cocktail and some snacks and watched the chefs cook in the open-air kitchen. The atmosphere was great and the food was awesome. Rockport is tiny, but they have amazing restaurants! After a light bite to eat we rolled ourselves home for an evening of cards and vino.

On Sunday we did not have much of a game plan, but I knew that I wanted to check out Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We thought that we would head in the direction of the park and decide what to do once we got there. Of course I got distracted along the way. I had no idea that Labor Day weekend in Maine was flea market central! I love FLEA MARKETS for the rare finds and the people watching, so of course we had to stop at at least three and that was me restraining myself!

I only scored a cute necklace for $3.  It is kind of hard to really enjoy a flea market when your NYC apartment really can’t hold much more, I still had a great time though!

Ellsworth, ME

On your way to Bar Harbor you will pass through Ellsworth. If it is during blueberry season in August, YOU have to stop at one of the blueberry stands! But don’t just stop by any blueberry stand, stop by the Blueberry Stand with the Conveyor Belt! A cute family runs it and you can actually watch the blueberries being sorted and packaged right before your eyes! I was lame and did not get a video, but you can click on the link above and check out another blog that got the blueberry conveyor in action. I had no idea that a blueberry conveyor belt even existed! While you are there you might as well have a slice of homemade pie made by a sweet little grandma and buy some fresh blueberries for road trip snacking!

To work off the pie and the blueberries you can stop off at the Big Chicken Barn Books and Antiques. This place is epic and if antiques and books are your thing you could literally spend all day there digging through the treasures!  It has a whole floor of antiques and a whole floor of books!

On your way to or from Bar Harbor you might as well stop at Pat’s Pizza, which claims to have famous pizza. I can’t pass up a pizza that claims to be famous, so we had to pop in to taste test. Their pizza was pretty tasty, the restaurant is huge and their serve all of their cocktails in pint glasses!  Winning!

Bar Harbor, ME

We finally made it to Acadia, but decided to just drive by and head into Bar Harbor, since I spent so much time sightseeing along the way. Next time we will check out Acadia National Park! Bar Harbor was a lot bigger than we thought it was going to be and we spent the rest of the afternoon there bumming around. It is so big in fact, that it actually had 2 cruise ships docked in their port when we arrived. Since the town was busting with tourists we decided to jump into CherryStones for a beverage and hoped that the crowd would dissipate once we were through. This place was packed, but we got a seat on the patio and got to enjoy some live music and a cocktail while the crowd died down a bit.

After the cruise ships left the port we ducked into Bar Harbor Brewing Company tasting room so that I could check out their blueberry beer. I love blueberry beer and I had only had Sea Dogs before this.  I really liked Bar Harbor Brewing’s version and if you are in town, you should give it a try. Julia the Mystical Traveling Unicorn liked it too!

The last stop in downtown Bar Harbor was  Stewman’s Lobster Pound which looks like it had an amazing menu if you enjoy all things lobster and seafood.  The patio is fantastic and the drinks were not too shabby either!  Once again served in a  pint glass… I love cocktails in Maine!

Our last  stop on the way out of Bar Harbor was Bar Harbor Cellars Winery. I wished that I had not already eaten pizza that day because their pizzas smelled amazing. They have an amazing outdoor seating area, and there is also a food truck next door where you can get lobster rolls. So basically this is a win win situation if you are traveling with a group! We did end up grabbing some wine at this winery. We really fell in love with their Pinot Noir and their blueberry fruit wine.  I am generally not a huge fan of fruity wines, but this wine will be a crowd pleaser served with a splash of soda water the next time we host brunch. Who wants to come over?? After a fun day of town hopping we headed back to Camden for a quiet evening at our place with some vino from Bar Harbor Cellars.

Bangor, ME

The weekend flew by and on Monday we already had to head home. As we were barreling down the highway I saw a sign for Sea Dog Brewing Company, (the other brewery that makes blueberry beer!) so we had to stop.  I wish I was hungry for lunch, but we had a late breakfast and just decided to get a beer flight. I had no idea there was a Sea Dog in Bangor, and I have to say that their blueberry beer was still my favorite of all of the tasters that we tried.  Definitely stop here for a taster and some food if you are in the area. They have an amazing patio overlooking the water.

That about does it for our Double D adventure weekend in Maine.  I feel like we barely scratched the surface, but that just gives us an excuse to go back 🙂  Hopefully during blueberry season so I can see the blueberry conveyor belt again!

Happy Traveling and Blueberries!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Uncategorized. This post has 2 comments.