Northeast Travels 2023 – Checking in on the Bush family, Rockland, B & B, and Lighthouses

Our second full day, we did sleep in a bit since the rain delayed Red Sox game the night before made for a long day and we were tuckered. 

Even though we did enjoy that sweet upgrade, the hotel did not have a breakfast included so we bid them a fond adieu and hit the road. Our goal was to get out of the busy Boston metro area and then find a breakfast stop. 

Thanks to the Maps app, I located a place called Nick and Andy’s.

We pulled in the parking lot and could tell we had made a good choice. Plenty of cars and a clean and warm atmosphere that reminded us immediately of our favorite breakfast haunt here in our hometown. Like Diamonds, the breakfast was delicious and the staff was so kind. 

I particularly loved seeing the verse from Deuteronomy that promises “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out” over the counter and an Albanian flag was a sweet tribute to the owners country of birth. 

We enjoyed our visit so much and were pleased with our choice as it held us for the rest of the day. 

Okay. We had some Dunkin Donuts blueberry munchkins and iced tea mid-afternoon, but still…

Our drive up the coast included a pass through both Kennebunk and Kennebunkport where we saw the cute, bustling downtown with shops, inns and restaurants. We drove along the coast there and could actually see it. 

Much of our drive up the coast in Maine was between heavy tree lines that prevented us from seeing the ocean, but we certainly enjoyed the view in these towns. We saw so many sailboats, huge rock formations and beautiful homes and gardens of all sizes. 

One house really stood out. It was large and had an impressive view of the coast as it was perched on a point jutting out into the water. Russ asked if it might be the Bush Compound and immediately we recognized the familiar flag of Texas flying under the American flag. Sure enough it was the most famous resident of Kennebunkport and we just kind of stumbled on to it. 

Since time was an issue we didn’t stop to say hey, but maybe next time. 

We also drove along Summer Street, which is where you find the impressive homes of the old sea captains of the area. One was so incredibly ornate and had a sign out front with “The Wedding Cake House” on it. 

Again we found out later, this is well-known landmark of the area. The original builder ended up adding more and more gingerbread to the house and it does, indeed, look like a wedding cake. I didn’t snap a picture since we were driving and it would have been a blur.

We got back on the road and headed to our stop for the night – Rockland, Maine. 

This little burg is the home of the Maine Lighthouse Museum. Russ knows how much I love lighthouses and he found this in his research of things to do along the coast. 

The museum is not very big, but we really did enjoy going through it and picking up even more facts about these amazing beacons that were manned by men, women and children for many years along the coasts of this country. 

The lenses and lights were so beautiful and we learned more about the importance of fog horns and the mechanics behind these as they progressed with technological advancements. They also had a small section dedicated to the Coast Guard as a life-saving and protective branch of the military. 

We found out from the curator that there was an old lighthouse still standing called Breakwater Lighthouse right in the area, so we too a short drive to the parking lot only to discover that we also had to make just a little less than a mile walk out on a bridge made entirely of huge rock blocks to get to it. 

My fear of heights had a struggle as the passage way looked rather daunting and narrow, but we walked out to it and realized it was quite wide. The rocks were puzzled together in the most intricate and interesting way and it was just a marvel to walk along it. It was very uneven and there were gaps here and there, but we felt perfectly safe. 

Sort of. 

There were people fishing off the jagged rocks that led down into the water and other people coming and going. The old lighthouse is perched on the end of this bridge. We made our way up to the small building that is the original lighthouse and walked all around that. 

I suggested we walk out on the break front at the bottom but as we started to make our way out on to the point, a ship passed and the wake crashed against the rocks and my poor husband took the brunt of the splash. Are we noticing a theme yet with how my suggestions tend to turn out? 

Spoiler alert, it will continue throughout the trip. 

We decided we had explored enough and headed to back to the car in our soggy shoes. 

Russ had made reservations at a bed and breakfast called “The Granite House” which had a history of its own. The decor was so unique and artsy. Our host explained that his wife’s mother and father had both been architects and they had inherited an eclectic collection of furniture, paintings, art and books. 

While the main area of the lodging was not air conditioned (like most places in Maine), our room had a window unit for which we were deeply grateful. 

We walked to a cute restaurant called the Trackside Grill. It was aptly named as it was the old train station. The unused tracks were still there next to the entrance and it was such a fun place to eat. The staff were super nice and our food was delicious. I was determined to eat nothing but seafood so I had the shrimp tacos. They were so good. 

Russ opted for the Sausage Grinder and I heard no complaints as he joined the complete plate club. As did I. 

We walked through the little downtown area back to our inn and charged our phones a bit. Since it was still daylight out and we had spent so much time in the car, we headed back out and walked along the scenic water front and through the little downtown one more time before heading back to read and hit the hay! 

Since it was a bed and breakfast, we had such a nice visit in the dining room with the owner the next morning. He shared interesting stories about the music we were listening to – an Irish Band that had played in their local theater a few years before and stayed at the inn. 

There were books laid out all authored by natives of Maine and the most creative breakfast dishes. Along with a pretty fancy Quiche, he had made buckwheat walnut pancakes, blueberry buckle and fresh fruit. 

We did not leave hungry. 

It was overcast this day, and a long tree lined drive up to Acadia National Park. We did see quite a feat of engineering as we stopped and first viewed and then crossed the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. 

There is an observatory in the top of the left tower. We opted to not face another of my giants so soon after the walk to the Breaker Lighthouse…so we took a pass.

I think this is a good place to stop for today…hope my words and pictures have given you a glimpse of the flavor of the area. Tomorrow I will share about our stay in Bar Harbor and forays into the Acadia National Park. 

Blessings,
Laura