WICKED GAME

We spent a couple of weeks in Maine. We didn’t get to see all of the state. That would take some time. We stuck fairly close to the coast on most of our ventures. The locals call the coastal area Down East.

We went to Ogunquit. I know. Try this, O GUN quit. Before we went, we ran across so many people who presumed that if someone was going to the coast of Maine, then they would visit Ogunquit. We went there and found out why. Ogunquit, which means "beautiful place by the sea" in the indigenous Abenaki language, was settled in 1641. The town has an old, beautiful, quaint downtown. We were there in the fall and it was still full of tourists. We can picture the wall-to-wall tourists and vacationers in the summer season. In 2023, Tripadvisor ranked Ogunquit Beach as among the United States' top 10 beaches.

Next, we went to Kennebunkport. Historically, Kennebunkport was a shipbuilding and fishing village, but for well over a century, the town has been a popular summer colony and seaside tourist destination. If you were paying attention during the Bush years in the White House, you will recognize this town as the Bush’s summer White House. Their property is on Walker’s Point. Besides the Bush family, scads of vacationers make the annual visit to Kennebunkport. It, too, has a beautiful, quaint downtown. We asked a local for a recommendation for the best lobster rolls in town. He directed us to Mabel’s, a restaurant attached to Mabel’s Inn. Oh wow! The lobster rolls were incredible.

The next stop was Kennebunk, which is just up the road from Kennebunkport. The town is a popular summer tourist destination, which drives the local economy. Summer Street was Maine's first Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kennebunk has a population of about 11,500 people, so it has a much more workaday feel than Kennebunkport.

We left Lebanon which is where our first park was located and drove to our next park near Bangor. This one is Bang-OR rather than Bang-er. The drive was filled with hills, trees, water, and some fall color. We set up our house and then the next day, we drove to Lubec for a day adventure. In Lubec, we ate lobster rolls at the Wharfside Restaurant. The lobster rolls were wicked good. If you’ve been to New England or heard New Englanders speak, you’ve probably heard them refer to something as “wicked” or “wicked good.” You may even enjoy wearing your wicked good slippers from L.L. Bean. We can testify that the lingo is real. Of course, it reminded us of Chris Isaak’s song, Wicked Game. We enjoy a good bit of his music. That song is particularly enchanting.

While we were enjoying our wicked good “lobsta” rolls, we chatted with some folks. We learned that we could drive across a bridge into New Brunswick, Canada and see the Roosevelt National Historic Site on Campobello Island. Yes, please. British naval officer John James Robinson was took ownership of the island in 1857. In 1881, it was sold to a group of American businessmen, including James Roosevelt. In the 1880s the island was developed as a resort summer colony for wealthy Canadians and Americans. From 1883, the Roosevelt family made Campobello Island their summer home. The cottage, built in the Shingle Style and completed in 1897, was designed by Willard T. Sears. It was given as a wedding present to Franklin and Eleanor in 1908, by Franklin's mother Sara Roosevelt. We took the short drive from Lubec, passed through customs, crossed the bridge, and went to the Roosevelt Cottage and Park Center. It’s a beautiful old house which has been restored to its original state in the 1930s and 1940s. Thirty-seven rooms qualifies as more than a cottage for we domestic cats. Eleanor refused to allow the installation of electricity and telephones. A true retreat right on the water.

On our way out of Lubec we went to West Quoddy State Park and the lighthouse located there. This place is the easternmost point in the U.S. We were a little confused that this is named West Quoddy, but we learned that East Quoddy is in Canada! We visited the lighthouse, which is reputedly the last lighthouse still painted in a candy stripe.

We went into Bangor and toured the town. We saw author Stephen King’s house. It’s a big old rambling house. He has decorated his house and grounds with whimsical art and features that play on his enthusiasm for all things spooky. There’s a huge spooky tree carving on the lawn, ornate spooky ironwork for a fence, and things that will cast great spooky shadows. We also saw Mount Hope Cemetery, the second oldest cemetery in the nation. It was so pretty with the graves spread out over rolling hills and into ravines in the land. We took a break and had coffee at Wicked Brew, a woman owned shop – it has really cool décor. Then we had lunch at Paddy Murphy’s, a proper Irish pub, right on the town square.

Next, we traveled to Bar Harbor. We put our house in a park which was right on the water. It was so beautiful. We got to enjoy several sunsets with the sun disappearing out over the bay. One day, we went into the town of Bar Harbor to explore a bit. What a treat. Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island. It has a population of about 5,100. Bar Harbor is also home to the largest part of Acadia National Park, including Cadillac Mountain. There was a lot of tourists roaming around downtown. The area has a lot of historic buildings. We walked around and took a few photos. One store we liked in particular was a bookstore with a window display of some of the famous books which really smart people have banned at one time or another. Seems to us that people who ban books always seem to end up on the wrong side of history.

The next day we drove into Acadia National Park. This has to be one of the most beautiful of the national parks. We reserved a spot in advance to drive up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was a great drive up and a beautiful view. Later, we drove the park’s road loop and saw scenic views all around. We stopped at Thunder Hole, which is a rock formation where the waves come in and blow into the crevasses with such force that it sounds like, you guessed it, thunder. It was low tide when we were there, so we didn’t see any of the huge water breaks.

We had to leave Bar Harbor and start south. We stopped at a park near Gardiner for one night. We were there around the sixth of October. We later realized that this stop was about 20 miles from where the asshole killed and injured a lot of innocent people less than three weeks later in Lewiston. We think that we need reasonable gun regulation. There aren’t enough lawmakers with the integrity and spine to take the necessary action. Unfortunately, we think that some of these lawmakers are going to have to experience a similar horror in their own families before they’re willing to do anything. We’ll be sure to send some thoughts and prayers when that happens.

Betty and Buster

Home Blog

Contact Subscribe