R and J in the USA

Time to hit the US’s most easterly state – Maine! We snapped a picture of the state sign and were impressed by the bravado of the Maine slogans we read as we entered the state. “Maine – Welcome home.” And, “Maine – The way life should be.” All right, Maine. We see you. The gauntlet was set, and Maine VERY quickly showed she was more than capable to throw it down with force.

Our first issue to encounter as we made our way to our first stop in Portland was that we were out of runway. We had zero itinerary. We only knew a handful of things. 1) We wanted to see as much of Maine as possible. 2) Julie’s favorite gluten free, dairy free pizza option ever was a company from Portland, ME – and there would be pizza that night. 3) We were exhausted. Well, really, Julie was exhausted.

We needed to press pause on the trip and try to catch up on rest, get Ryan’s ongoing computer situation resolved, and see if we could get ahead on the blog and the itinerary before reengaging the “official” activities of the trip. Luckily, we answer to no one on this trip but ourselves and the big twin bosses – time and logistics, both of whom are, of course, the most strict and unforgiving of bosses. We decided to extend our time in Maine to 10 days and put some time into rearranging the state order accordingly. We’d spend the first three days just catching up and the remaining seven days “doing Maine”.

We found a parking spot in Portland using the app IOverlander, a massive map populated by fellow van lifers telling each other about the various free and legal overnight parking spots they’ve successfully or unsuccessfully used. This spot was a DREAM spot. No reservations needed, close to everything in Portland, and with the most beautiful view of the water and the sunset that we could ask for while we gathered ourselves. 

Our boss “logistics” piped up with some demands on our second full day in the spot when, with no place to plug in the van and not enough sun in that spot to stave off a steady reduction in battery power, Julie occasionally had to resort to turning the car battery on for a few minutes here and there just to keep the battery above the alert line. But, still, the two days were glorious. Rest was had. Other trip projects were caught up on – if not fully, at least a little. Ryan bought a new computer and found a company to start the long journey of recovering the data from his old one. Cookies were baked. Sunsets were watched. Itineraries were adjusted and plans were made for the state in front of us and the one after that.

We were still running to catch up with a moving train, but at least we were running alongside it now. It’s all part of the fun, all part of the adventure, all part of the puzzle of it all. Part of the fun of having ambitious goals is that it is not necessarily easy to achieve them. The obstacles and efforts to overcome them make the victories sweeter, the respites deeper, and the journey more interesting. And things were plenty sweet, deep, and interesting for us already.

Though we wouldn’t get to see much more of Portland than this gorgeous parking spot, the porta potty just down the road, the inside of Julie’s favorite pizza shop, the Whole Foods market down the street, and the nearby kombuchery (yes, not just a bar that HAS kombucha, a bar that is DEDICATED to kombucha) where Julie bought a growler full and Ryan winced at the thought of her delighting in that vinegary sweetness on purpose (we clearly fall on two sides of the Kombucha line), we moved on from our wonderful spot after two days and headed to the state capitol in Augusta. 

As always, we loved exploring the architecture and history of the state capitol building, and Julie got her grubby little hands on yet another complimentary state constitution. A highlight for us both was sitting on the rocking chairs on the second-floor front porch of the building. Every state’s capitol tells a little bit of the story of not just the governance and history of the state, but of its character too. We were fully feeling the Maine vibe sitting in those rocking chairs surrounded by massive columns of solid stone overlooking the scenery of Augusta.

That night we stayed at an alpaca farm Harvest Host run by Connie and Red (read more about them in our People Along the Way section), who absolutely delighted us with both their Maine accents and Maine hospitality in full force. Julie had some of the best sleep of her life parked in between the barn where Red makes his own homemade baseball bats and a massive pile of alpaca manure compost, all surrounded by beautiful green fields of grass with alpaca roaming in them. It was an absolute delight. We then did about 85% of our holiday shopping in their alpaca store the next morning. We were happy to check holiday shopping largely off our list six months ahead of time, and Connie and Red were very happy to see the bill. Getting a chance to meet great people like them is quickly becoming one of the highlights of this trip.

We drove two and a half hours to our destination for the next three nights, the stunning Acadia National Park. When arranging our Maine itinerary, we had wanted to fit in a trip up north to Baxter State Park and attempt to climb Mount Katahdin, the state’s highest peak. But we quickly realized that such a trip would require a lot more research and planning then what we were bringing to the table. We decided if we couldn’t get up north, we could still go east (which was also at least a little north). Three nights in Acadia sounded great to us.

We spent our first night on the Quiet Side of Acadia, as it is known. That is its official name, not just a nickname, as we first thought. We had a defining experience the next morning that showed us a whole lot about what Maine is all about. You can read about it here in another Maine blog post. 

Before long we found a lake to jump in. It was a cold day, and the people on the beach were dressed in pants and sweatshirts. It was kind of a funny scene. All the activities of summer beach life were occurring, but everyone was dressed for fall. We went in the water, and it felt great. 

That evening we had dinner at a roadside lobster shack. Julie had her first lobster roll and Ryan his first boiled lobster. Luckily the plate had instructions on how to eat it. We knew we were in Maine when the full lobster dinner was only $22. Still expensive for a meal, but cheap compared to the $60 lobster roll in Provincetown. In keeping with the Maine theme, we washed our lobster and corn down with a delicious blueberry lemonade. 

We wanted wi-fi that night, so we sacrificed our second state park reservation in favor of a private campsite where we would not only have wi-fi, but would also get a much-needed chance to do laundry. 

The next day we headed to the not so quiet side of Acadia and had the most awesome day. Having at this point fully caught up on rest, we figured it was time to wipe ourselves out again! And it was glorious. 

We started with a gorgeous bike ride on the carriage roads running through woods and past one gorgeous lake or beaver pond after another. We had originally wanted to hike Cadillac Mountain as well, but after getting a later start than planned thanks to some laundry complications we figured we’d have to say goodbye to yet another hike. When we finished our wonderful bike ride, Ryan looked at Julie with a glint in his eye. “Wanna do it?” Never one to turn down a glint-in-the-eye-wanna-do-it adventure, Julie was on board.

We biked the mile (mostly uphill) to the trailhead, locked up our bikes, and were on our way to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the first place in the United States to be touched by morning sun. We hiked fast and hard and made it to the top in just over an hour. It was a surreal experience hiking hard, arriving to the peak in glorious triumph, and then coming upon…a big parking lot and lots of energized people getting out of cars and joining us and the other sweaty hikers on the top. We were glad such a spot was available to so many, but not as excited to share the peak. Sitting on top of a mountain with a bunch of people who got there the hard way has a different kind of din than one filled with people who could fit it in between a few errands and a dinner reservation. Once we adjusted, it was a fun scene to be in. It was a truly gorgeous hike with spectacular views the entire way up. And though it wasn’t Mount Katahdin, at least we could check “hike in Maine” off the list. We still were deep in debate and rumination about what does and does not qualify as a hike, but we were sure that whatever we just did counted. 

We descended as quickly as we could, making it down in a little under an hour, then headed into Bar Harbor for an evening of wandering and dinner. We entered the town and immediately fell in love. We walked the streets, and, big surprise, had Mexican food (but Maine style, Julie ordered the lobster tacos) and, of course, ice cream. Though the trip had already been filled with plenty of good days and lots and lots of great days, we both agreed that this was the first one we could crown a perfect day.

With our bellies and hearts full and our bodies tired in the best of ways, we made our way to our campsite, stopping at the pay showers along the way. In a big role reversal, Julie overcame her tired to shower, while Ryan gave in to the laziness and forewent it. Before long we were fast asleep in a parking spot that had our van tilted at a solid incline. We slept feet down to keep the blood from rushing to our heads. Maine had won us over BIG TIME by now. And we were still only getting started.

In the morning, we headed east to the town of Lubec and Quoddy Point State Park, the eastern most point in the United States of America. We were glad to be journeying deeper into Maine than most tourists get. We passed a lobster shack that advertised $13.95 lobster dinners. We didn’t stop at it, and Julie didn’t stop talking about it for the rest of Maine. Quoddy Point State Park was gorgeous. Ryan loved the lighthouse. While Ryan explored the park, Julie passed out in the van with the doors wide open to the windy, rocky, beautiful ocean below. She woke up to a chipmunk that ran into the van and onto the table. It took a moment to lock eyes with Julie before promptly freaking out and escaping out the way in came in after Julie did a little shooing.

Heading out of Quoddy, we were so glad we made the trip that far out there. We swung by the town of Lubec. Lubec is hard to describe in a word, but wonderful comes close. We both loved it, and pondered what it would be like to live in such a remote spot. Oh, and also, there was a gift shop called the most eastern gift shop in the United States. Of course, we stopped there.

We made our way back past Acadia to sleep for the night at a tree farm in Orrington, where we had a fascinating conversation with the proprietor, Mark. The next day we hopped from one harbor town to the next, hitting Belfast, Camden and Rockland. We stayed overnight in an organic grocery store parking lot.

In the morning we headed to Port Clyde, where we caught the ferry to spend the day at Monhegan Island, a gorgeous walking island twelve miles off the coast. No bikes. No cars. A haven for artists. It was quite something. Coincidence struck when we were walking along one of the gravel roads and got into a conversation with another couple. It turned out the woman went to the rival high school in the same town as Julie’s high school. And, she went to college right next door to where Julie went to college. Here, on a carless, one-mile-long island twelve miles off the coast of Maine, is where they finally crossed paths. Julie had her first boiled lobster by the water on Monhegan Island and went swimming in the very, VERY cold ocean water. We bought more Christmas presents in the local coffee shop, hopped the ferry back to the mainland, and wrapped up another fantastic Maine day.

We didn’t think things could get any better until we arrived at that evening’s parking spot, Duck Puddle Campground. We pulled into our site to find that we had our own personal little beach on a lake. Julie’s brain exploded. Being in our van, together, in the woods, on a lake – that is her happy place. We stayed there all of the next morning as Julie worked to square away the itinerary for Ohio and Michigan, having Vermont’s already set. We had only one stop left to make.

We made our way to Waterville to join a nice small local trail run. The hills were hard and the heat was unforgiving. You can read about it in our 5K section. We ran it, doused ourselves in the outdoor shower before overheating, and headed to our last Harvest Host in Maine, which was every bit as friendly and warm as the first.

Well, Maine. You did it, and you did it effortlessly. You lived up to your slogans and then some. Who knew home could be a place you’d never been before? You win, Maine. We are on board. That is the way life should be, and, thankfully, the way life can be and often is – pretty darn great.