One from the air, early on a bright sunny day; and one from the sea, taken later that afternoon, as the fog rolled in. In any case, September through early October is a grand time for a windjammer vacation.
Victory Chimes two views
My Maine air show
No, not THAT air show. Yesterday, I flew up, up, and away in a 1933 Waco UBF2 biplane from the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, in Owl’s Head, Maine. Wowser! In my travel adventures, this even outranked riding an ostrich (which I did in Curacao, and which I wouldn’t recommend). I won my 10-minute ride in a raffle—the museum doesn’t sell rides, but it does offer them in auctions and raffles.
Wearing goggles and ear protectors that reduced the noise (all that we lacked were red scarves) and strapped into the open-air cockpit with my seatmate Victor, we bumped down the grassy runway, and then wheeeee! up we went, soaring above the St. George Peninsula, with views back to the Camden Hills and out over island-studded Penobscot Bay. I spotted the three-masted Victory Chimes, the largest in Maine’s windjammer fleet (it’s depicted on the Maine quarter, with Pemaquid light in the backdrop), under full sail, and I even spied a friend’s home in Spruce Head (Hi Kathy, I waved, honest).
While not everyone can take to the skies from the museum, it is possible to ride around the grounds on a Model T and take in all the exhibits; it’s a fabulous collection.
Back on the ground, I checked out the planes, automobiles, motorcycles, engines and whatnot on view at the museum, but even now, I’m still grinning and thinking: Curse, you Red Baron!
(thanks to Lorie Juliano for the photo of me in the plane).
Sweet, sweet Samoset
I live so close to the Samoset, that I rarely visit, but here I am in Rockland, for a conference and now I understand why people love this place.
The view out my window is green golf course (Pebble Beach East?), blue ocean, white windjammer sails, and distant islands.
A short walk (unfortunately for now, through a construction site for what will be the new vanishing edge pool), and I’m at the Rockland Breakwater. At the end of this granite pier is the Rockland Lighthouse. It’s a fine vantage point for watching the windjammers sailing in Penobscot Bay.
And if the weather should change (Hannah, stay away), there’s a full indoor health club with pool. Nice. And as of next spring, there will be a full-service spa, too. And the restaurants will be updated and changed. I had dinner at Marcel’s last night, a fine meal, if a bit rich. It will benefit from a lightening of the menu, and the planned switch to a more contemporary decor and addition of a patio.
Of course, there’s all the region offers, too. Tomorrow, I’m off to the Maine Lighthouse Museum, the Farnsworth Museum of American Art, and the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum in the morning, then I’ll be on board Morning in Maine, one of those windjammers in the afternoon. Ahhh, sweet September in Maine.
Ahhh, September
It’s quiet, and it’s perfect. Sun-warmed days, cool nights, few bugs, no crowds. And here’s a tip: This week and next are sleepers in Maine. Summer’s vacationing families have left, the leaf peepers have yet to arrive, and pretty much everything is still open. Which means, it’s not only a good time to visit, but also a good time to look for internet specials on inn and hotel web sites.
The Theater at Monmouth
If you’re in the vicinity of Fast Eddie’s (see previous post), don’t miss The Theater at Monmouth, a.k.a. the Shakespearean theater of Maine. It’s a double treat.
This classic, professional theater stages five productions in repertory each summer, with at least two being works by the bard. It also stages a spring children’s production and a fall Gilbert and Sullivan production; this year that’s The Mikado.
What makes it all the more special is the building. One simply doesn’t expect to stumble upon an architectural gem like Cumston Hall in a rural community like Monmouth. Designed in 1899 by multi-talented local artist Harry Hayman Cochrane and completed in 1900, Cumston is asymmetrical work of art. It’s adorned with more than 100 stained glass windows and dominated by a four-story Romanesque tower.
While the exterior is magnificent, the interior, also designed by Cochrane, is stunning. In the theater, allegorical figures representing tragedy, comedy, music and dance are painted in heavenly scenes on three panels on the vaulted ceiling. Like the surfaces of the arches and parapets, the ceiling is ornamented with plaster relief. In its center is an oculus. Truly, it’s spectacular.
Worth cruising over from Fast Eddie’s to see; even better, plan to attend The Mikado.
Fast Eddie is cruising again
Happy Days are here again, at Fast Eddie’s, at least. The Winthrop, Maine, drive-in restaurant is back in biz thanks to Russ Angell and his wife, Barbara, who reopened the 50s-themed place earlier this year, according to a report in the Portland Press Herald.
I visited a few times during the last summer it was open, and I fell in love with the spot, complete with its interior Elvis and Betty Boop decor. Way cool, way retro; think burgers and shakes.
Once again, it’s a popular spot for classic car buffs, especially on Wednesday nights, when they arrive en mass for the evening cruise in. Find it on Route 202, west of Augusta.
To market, to market
I’m a huge fan of farmers’ markets, and whenever traveling I try to visit local ones. This morning, I visited the Damariscotta Farmers Market (Friday mornings, 9 a.m. to noon). What a fabulous location! Farmers set up at the Salt Bay Farm preserve, in a grassy field at overlooking Great Salt Bay. Plenty of organic produce, plus Borealis breads, Nanney Kennedy’s wool sweaters and blankets, Appleton Creamery cheeses (and a delicious sheep yogurt), Mainely Chicken poultry, plus Chase Farm’s baked goodies (scones, cookies, pies, doughnuts) and meats, and so much more.
One of the fun things about visiting various farmers markets is the serendipity of it all. You never know what you’ll find. Some have local artisans selling in addition to farmers, some sell specialty foods, such as chocolates. But everything is local, and the finds are fun.To find farmers markets, visit the Maine Department of Agriculture’s Get Real site.
Another great stop is Spear’s Farmstand, on Route 1, in Waldoboro. Nothing too unusual in produce, but it does carry some cheeses, Bold Coast Smokehouse products (garlic and pepper salmon sticks!), and it has a great kitchen that turns out very reasonably priced yummies, including cookies and pies. It’s nowhere near the size of Beth’s, in Warren (another favorite), but it sure is convenient when traveling Route 1.
Summer in Maine, finally! Carpe diem
Now this is Maine summer weather: sunny, breezy, dry, temps in the 70s. Ahhh, so sweet and as it’s late August, so fleeting. So seize it. Make the most of the next few predicted-to-be-perfect days. Put off that back-to-school shopping expedition and instead:
—While away the day at the beach or lake
—Pack a picnic. Hike a mountain.
—Slip away for a few days in the Rangeley Lakes, up at Moosehead or way Down East, perhaps in Lubec or Eastport.
—Hop a ferry to Peaks, Vinalhaven, North Haven or Monhegan and explore an island.
—Spend a few days totally disconnected at a Maine sporting camp.
But go, just go. Get outside and revel in the best Maine offers. Now. Don’t put it off. Because you know what this cool breeze means, don’t you? Yup, winter’s coming.
All in the Family
Previously I’ve blogged about the Oakland House, which has been in Jim Littlefield’s family since it was awarded in the mid 1600s as a king’s grant. It’s not the only Maine coastal property with such loooonnng family ties.
Nearby, in Cape Rosier, is Hiram Blake Camps. Like Oakland House, it’s been in the same family since before the Revolutionary War. It too is a family oriented, oceanfront cottage colony, where guests are served breakfast and dinner. It’s more rustic than Oakland House, and the dining room is less fancy, but it too has generations of followers who book for the following year before they depart each season.
Down in Kennebunk, Patricia Mason is the 12th-generation innkeeper at the Seaside Motor Inn, which occupies a spectacular, 20-acre, beachfront chunk of real estate bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Kennebunk River and Gooch’s River. She first realized how deep her roots here were while in high school. She was sitting on the beach reading Arundel, by Kenneth Roberts, and recognized not only the place, but also some of the characters. “It was eerie,” she recalls.
The property was settled in the mid-17th century, Mason says, when her ancestor John Gooch answered the call of Fernando Gorges, agent for King Charles II, to reside here in order to ferry travelers across the mouth of the Kennebunk River. Travelers often needed to pass a night or two, so Gooch provided rooms and operated a tavern. Although Mason can’t date exactly when he settled here, his will is dated 1667, which is the date the family uses as the inn’s beginning, although it’s more likely Gooch arrived in the 1640s.
As was custom at the time, the property passed down for generations to the first-born son. “My grandmother’s mother was an only child and a girl, so the first name change occurred with her,” Mason explains. “Then my grandmother was the eldest and a girl, a Severance.” That was another name change. “My dad was eldest, and he had two daughters.”
Mason and her husband, Ken, were living in Franklin, while her husband was stationed with the Coast Guard in Jonesport. “We got a phone call from Mom and Dad. They said, ‘Someday we want to retire, is this something you want to do?’” It wasn’t something the Masons previously had considered. “It was a hard decision, but one I couldn’t say no to. After 12 generations, you really can’t say, ‘I don’t feel like it.’”
Favorite Places: Nervous Nellie’s
Even on foggy, damp day (and Lord knows we’ve had enough of those this summer), Nervous Nellie’s Jams & Jellies is a treasure.
Located off the Sunshine Road in Deer Isle, it’s a combination tea room, jam kitchen, folk art gallery and fantasy land for kids of all ages. This is one of those off-the-beaten-path Maine treasures that make travel fun. Every time I visit here, I find something new.
Peter Beerits is the sculptor, creating critters of all types from found objects. The funky dogs welcoming folks to the property, crafted from old mailboxes, wood, and other dump finds, give new meaning to the term junkyard dog. Dragons, bears, knights in shining armor, even a castle, can be found in the woods behind the tea room. More characters—a bear, fox, people—litter the fields. Others peer out of windows or hide in the property’s nooks and crannies. Many of the whimsical characters Beerits constructs are drawn from his Nervous Nellie’s stories. He’s finished the fifth episode.
Beerits even has brought historical buildings to the property, including Johnson’s Market and the former Hardy’s store, bringing both back to fantasy life and populating them with characters. It has elements of a living history museum, preserving icons of island life right down to the pickled eggs on the store’s counter.
After a trip down south, Beerit’s has added a multi-cultural touch to his village with Red’s Lounge, a bona fide musical road house. Really, you must see it—and hear the music in this joint.
Peter’s wife Anne operates the jam kitchen, making delicious jams and jellies, conserves and preserves, 
chutneys and marmalades, which are sold at the tea room, through mail order and at a limited number of specialty stores, mostly in Maine. At one point, the products were carried by places such as Dean & DeLuca in New York. No longer, they’ve downsized, allowing them to keep making their products by hand in small batches.
In the self-serve tea room, you also can have tea, coffee or other sweets—which of course you’ll want to slather with jam. There’s also a tasting bar for the jams. Don’t be surprised if you end up purchasing a number of different flavors of jam; many are unusual and in limited production. Eat inside or our on the deck with the duo playing checkers.
If nothing else, this place is bound to make you smile.