What do you have to do to cross a state off your “been there” list? My friends and I have had this conversation in the past. If your plane flies into an airport and you change planes and never leave the airport, do you get to cross off that state? Have you really been there?
We actually have agreements and disagreements as to what constitutes having been “in” a state. By my definition, I had been to Maine before. I’d driven up U.S. Interstate 95, crossed the state line, parked my car, snapped a few pictures and put my hand into the water. Done.
Some of my friends might argue that didn’t count. But now, after having spent a week in Maine, I’m sure I’ve met the criteria of all my friends and can confidently say, “I’ve been to Maine.”
A few things you notice pretty immediately about Maine:
Iowa Staters will understand when I say Maine is like a giant version of ISU’s campus. Pedestrians reign, and cars better be prepared to stop for pedestrians walking into the crosswalks and assuming all vehicles will stop.
Their maps and signage could use a giant make-over. I guess Iowa has spoiled me. But if you go to the trouble to post a sign and list the nearby towns, why would you not also include the miles to those towns? Why would you not include mileage on your maps? Why would you not have detailed city maps as part of your state map?
Don’t get hungry between lunch and dinner or after 9 p.m. Restaurants seem to close between lunch and dinner and lock up for the night at 9 p.m. We were told that in July they’ll stay open until the late night hour of 10 p.m.
Mainers are incredibly friendly and nice. Unlike anywhere else. I’m pretty sure our no-accent Midwestern dialects gave us away as tourists, but Mainers will spontaneously pick up a conversation with you and start telling you wonderful places to go in their state and generally make sure you are having a fabulous time in their town.
It’s as if they all attended courses in how to be ambassadors for their state, and they are completely sincere about it. As one Mainer told me, “We really like it here, and we want you to like it, too.”
We did.
It’s hard to imagine being on the coast of Maine and not taking a boat trip or two, not seeing a lighthouse or two and not eating seafood daily. We obliged. Our first boat trip left from New Harbor with a destination of Eastern Egg Rock, where our boat circled the island multiple times as naturalists on board educated us about the National Audubon Society’s Project Puffin, answered questions and shouted out sightings of the lovable puffins.
They look like giant flying bumble bees and are relatively easy to sight in flight due to their distinctive quick wing speed.
According to the National Audubon Society website, the society “started Project Puffin in 1973 in an effort to learn how to restore puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine. The project began with an attempt to restore puffins to Eastern Egg Rock. Puffins had nested there until the early 1880s.
“Young puffins from Great Island, Newfoundland, were transplanted to Eastern Egg Rock when they were 10 to 14 days old. The young puffins were then reared in artificial sod burrows for about one month. Audubon biologists placed handfuls of vitamin-fortified fish in their burrows each day and, in effect, took the place of parent puffins.
“As the young puffins reached fledging age (the time when birds leave the nest), they received leg bands so they could be recognized in the future. After spending their first two to three years at sea, it was hoped they would return to establish a new colony at Eastern Egg Rock rather than Great Island.
“It worked. Transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock in June 1977. By 2013, there were 1,000 pairs of puffins nesting on five Maine islands.” Check out the National Audubon Society website for more information and puffin cams.
Our other ferry trip was to the famous Monhegan Island, where we hiked to Burnt Head and Gull Cove. Rain from the previous day made the trail a muddy, sometimes pond-filled pathway to our scenic vistas. Monhegan Island is an inspirational island cherished for decades by artists, writers and nature lovers, including American artists Rockwell Kent and Jamie Wyeth.
Approximately one square mile in size, the rocky island is 10 miles from the mainland and accessible only by boat. There are no cars or paved roads on the island and unlike the rest of Maine, trucks rule the road here, and pedestrians are to give trucks the right of way as they transport items from the dock to their delivery points.
While day-trippers and summer tenants increase the island’s population for short periods of time, those who stay on the island year-round rarely number beyond 65.
We visited five lighthouses: Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Pemaquid Point Light, Marshall Point Lighthouse and Museum, Moneghan Island Light and Owls Head Light Station, each offering stunning views and diverse architecture. The Marshall Point Lighthouse was made famous by a few seconds of screen time during Forest Gump’s cross-country run.
Maine’s Acadia National Park was a destination for one of our day trips. Located on Mount Desert Island, with views of the Atlantic Ocean, we ventured to Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, Otter Point and Seal Harbor for spectacular views, rocky shorelines and the rare sandy beach.
Acadia National Park exists due to the vision and donations of private citizens, including John D. Rockefeller Jr., who built the now famous carriage roads (which are free of cars) and who donated more than 11,000 acres of land.
As we drove home one day from another day trip, we spontaneously stopped at Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park and took in the view said to have inspired Edna St. Vincent Millay’s 1917 poem, “Renascence.”
One of our surprise finds due to a kind Mainer was Vesper Hill Chapel. The non-denominational chapel in Rockport offered a view of Penobscot Bay and beautiful gardens alongside the peaceful chapel.
Puffins, ferry boat cruises, lighthouses, delicious seafood and wine, an ice cream stop or two, an Elvis-themed bathroom in a quaint café, friendly information-sharing Mainers and the accompaniment of three cherished, long-time friends I’ve known since high school (or earlier) made for a fabulous trip to the coast of Maine.
Unlike visitors before me, the inspiring views didn’t move me to paint any famous landscapes or write any famous poems, but it did engrave within me more memories of fun times with my friends. I’ve been to Maine, and I’d return again.
