Clearly, I’ve struggled to keep up with my Wednesdays at 9am postings. I’m hoping you’ll overlook my inconsistency (just this one time) so I can tell you about our most recent trip to a new state, Maine!

Pushing about 7 years ago at this point, I decided I wanted to visit all 50 states before I turned 50 years old. I’ve been working on this solo, Lane has adopted my goal, and now I have friends in on it too – with their own goals in mind, of course.

Because I’ve never told a short story, here’s the full version: When Lane and I got married last October, we decided on Hawaii as our honeymoon. That added a new state to both of our lists. A few days after landing back in Texas, I stood beside my best friend, Morgan, as she married Ty. We decided shortly after that since we got married so close together, we’d celebrate our anniversaries together too with a trip. I can’t remember when or why we picked Maine, but we did and I want to tell you about it!

Back in June, we booked our flights during Southwest’s 40% off deal. We spent $323.16 on round-trip airfare for Lane and me to fly from DAL to PWM. I’ve talked about Southwest’s deals in June before and I’ll say it again, sign up for their email newsletter so you can book flights at insanely low prices. We flew two to Hawaii for the cost of flying one (you can read about that here).

Okay, back on track, we pulled out of the driveway in the pitch black of a 1:30am night on Tuesday, October 29th (it was more like 1:40 because I had to go back in twice for things..oops) to arrive at DAL with enough time to park, check bags, go through security, get a coffee, and board our flight before 6:10. After a few beers in Baltimore for Ty and Lane, we landed in Portland, Maine around 2:30pm.

Before checking into the Bar Harbor Grand Hotel that night, we stopped at the oldest lighthouse in Maine, Portland Head Lighthouse. It sits on the shores of Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and for centuries it has been a symbol of safety and American resilience. In the late 18th century, the lighthouse became a vital navigational aid, weathering storms, guiding ships, and witnessing countless acts of bravery, like the daring rescue on Christmas Eve. Despite clear visibility on December 24th, 1886, Annie C. Maguire crashed into the rocks near Portland Head. Keeper Joshua Strout and his family, along with some brave volunteers, created a makeshift bridge using a ladder to rescue the shipwrecked crew. The ship’s captain and crew couldn’t explain how the accident happened, making it a mysterious event in the lighthouse’s history. Trading a historic lighthouse for historic downtown, Old Port offered shopping and dinner at Luke’s Lobster before heading up to Bar Harbor with our Coastal Creamery blueberry ice cream in hand.

On Wednesday, we walked over to Choco-Latté Cafe for a maple latté, which was a little sweet for my usual liking but it tasted like vacation so I stuck with it. I’m not sure there’s anything better than strolling through downtown shops with a hot coffee in hand. The only thing that pushed it to be even more enjoyable was that Morgan and I could say “Oh, that’s cute” and put it back in unison instead of on Marco Polo. It was a very cold and drizzly day on the water but we made the most of it. We ate lunch at Side Street Cafe and made the quick drive over to Tremont, Maine, for the Bass Harbor Head Light Station. This lighthouse was featured on a US postage stamp in 2016 to celebrate the National Park Service centennial and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It was all it’s cracked up to be. We topped the night off with everyone’s favorite meal in Bar Harbor at Geddy’s.

Dark and early on Wednesday we started our climb (some would say hike) up Cadillac Mountain to view the sunrise. I don’t have much to say about the hike as I think the lack of Oxygen to my brain has made me forget most of it. Anyway, the view from the top was great and the walk down was much easier on the lungs, but rougher on the ankles. I would recommend the hike knowing the view at the end and the delicious blueberry pancakes and bowl of butter I rewarded myself with at Jordan’s Restaurant after. I think all breakfast restaurants can take note at how they bring butter to the table. I’d like to see y’all doing better.

We went back to the hotel to pack our things and to also forget a few things in the closet (I won’t name names, but it wasn’t me). Shoving all our suitcases in “the Bu,” we rode around Acadia National Park before taking the 3.5-hour drive to Kennebunkport.

Arriving at dusk on Halloween probably wasn’t the grandest idea here because Kennebunkport goes all out for dressed-up children and their parents. I love that for them but it did make driving in a bit stressy. We (mostly Lane and Ty) hauled our belongings up two steep flights of stairs in the Wharf House at The Boathouse, which sits on the Kennebunk River. The Boathouse and I were a match made in heaven, and I know Lane would agree with me because he gave it the “best Old Fashion he had in Maine award.” Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant (which is open to the public), it was good, but the view of mums and glistening water was the best part.

I think we all deserved a bit of a sleep-in after the long day we had before, we rolled down to Doc Square Coffeehouse around 9:30am for coffee and took about a mile walk through downtown to Mike’s All Day Breakfast, for you guessed it, breakfast. After that, we leisurely strolled back through downtown, stopping at all the shops. I think Lane and Ty spent most of the day at Batson River Brewery, Considering we spent another few hours the next day here, I think they’d give it a 10/10. The weather was absolutely beautiful; sunny and 75, probably, with a perfect coastal breeze. Before dinner, we took this opportunity to take some Christmas card photos, around town and overlooking the islands of Cape Porpoise Harbor. They are among the jewels of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust’s holdings. For centuries, these islands have contributed to the history and beauty of their community.  The Trust has forever protected 12 harbor islands and maintains them with the help of volunteers.  The islands vary in size, topography, and use including four primitive campsites, Goat Island Lighthouse, historic forts, important flora and fauna, and wildlife habitat. Our last dinner in Maine was at The Lost Fire and was absolutely impeccable. Lane and I shared the meat board which came with beef, pork, and chicken, plus a side of broccolini and mashed potatoes. Morgan and Ty shared a t-bone I believe with mashed potatoes. There wasn’t much leftover from dinner and we cleaned our dessert dishes; bread pudding and passion fruit sorbet.

Saturday morning we stopped by Doc Square Coffeehouse before taking a 2-mile walk through Parson’s Way. Wave’s crashing on the coastline to our right and autumn leaves falling in front of beautifully architectural homes and landscapes on the left. We walked to the former president Bushes Compound and turned around to go back to Batson River Brewing before catching our flights back to Texas.

We had a great time exploring what the coast of Maine has to offer. Now all that’s left is to plan the 2025 second-anniversary trip!