Summertime Fun in Kennebunkport Maine

Visiting Maine was high on the list for Kandace, but for me, it was never one of those ultimate destinations that would pop up when planning my spring or summer vacations. Typically, I would be dreaming of warm waters, soft white sand, palm trees, and fancy cocktails in a tropical location like Hawaii or Mexico or Jamacia or the Bahamas.  But after our weeklong stay in Maine this past summer, it completely changed my perspective, and I can’t wait to go back and explore more of this beautiful state.

We stayed at Sandy Pines, an awesome RV resort just a few minutes north of the charming dock square area of Kennebunkport.  This is a popular destination for RVers and outdoor enthusiasts from as far away as Quebec to Florida to California, so we had to be on the ball with our reservation and booked our stay 6 months in advance.  Sandy Pines has all the amenities of a quintessential summertime resort with heated saltwater pool, laundry facilities, outdoor gaming area with cornhole and other lawn games, playground, disc golf course, kayak rentals, cabin rentals, yurt rentals, vintage Airstream rentals, seasonal homes and of course RV sites for rent – pretty much something for everyone. The pool seating area is taped off into numbered sectioned that can be checked out by the hour – which seems to be a byproduct of COVID or it could be to keep the area from overcrowding allowing everyone the chance to have lounge chairs when chilling at the pool. And lastly, the mosquitos are relentless mostly at dawn and dusk, but if you are like me, they bite all day long, so stock up on plenty of bug spray if you are vacationing near the Maine coast!

Now on to the fun stuff…..one of our first stops was to check out the beach. After a quick search, we learned that dogs are allowed at Goose Rocks Beach, so we jumped in the truck and in about 5 minutes, we were putting our feet in the water.  To our surprise, the water is very warm in Maine in the summer.  By very warm, I mean it’s warmer than the waters in California and that seemed odd to us, but we learned there is a simple reason for this. The ocean currents flow in a clockwise direction which means cold water from the Gulf of Alaska flows down the California coast and warm waters from the equator flow up the east coast toward Maine.  Even with Maine being so far north the water is very tolerable, like no wetsuit or rash guard tolerable which was a welcome treat.

Once we had our fill at Goose Rocks beach, we popped over to The Tides Beach Club right across the street for a sunset cocktail. One of the things we really enjoy about checking out new places is talking to the locals and getting first-hand recommendations from them.  As we were sipping on our dirty martinis, we struck up a conversation with the locals at the tables next to us and they offered up some great advice. One of their recommendations was to dine at Earth calling it “the best food ever” and they weren’t lying!  Earth sounded like a must do, so we looked up the reviews and made a reservation for the only timeslot they had available at 5pm the following night.  Earth is a farm to table restaurant with food and drinks that are just as unique as the décor.  As we walked in, there were several green plants around the entrance and bar area, Edison bulbs stung from the ceiling and circular cross cuts of logs of various sizes that lined the wall above the windows and around the bar giving the feeling of an upscale outdoor dining experience.  We sat at a wooden table with a natural finish and solid 6-inch-thick tree branch logs for legs.  The décor made us feel like we were eating outdoors and fit the Earth theme perfectly.  Earth is a farm to table establishment with two organic gardens that they harvest from and incorporate into the menu daily.  It’s by far the best food we have eaten on this trip, and not only is the food amazing, but the artistic presentation is equally as good. (My mouth is watering just writing about it – so amazing).  They have 3 course and 4 course menu options, and if you are not convinced yet that the food is as good as we thought it was, just check out these pics!

Drinks:

I don’t remember the names of these drinks, but they were fantastic:

Food:

Burrata (peaches – bing cherries- mizuna – candied pistachios)

Bluefin Tuna Sashimi (chipotle mayo – avocado – salsa macha – tortilla)

Wood fired Carrots (eggplant – citrus yogurt – spiced nuts)

Octopus (soy glaze – pickled vegetables – chili oil aioli – broccolini)

Day Boat Cod (crab stuffed squash blossom – bacon corn hash)

Thai Seafood Stew (scallop – mussel – lobster – cashew – sticky rice)

Cheesecake (maine blueberry compote – graham cracker crust)

Maine was amazing and here are some our favorite stops while we were there:

Historic Landmarks

• We had a fantastic day trip traveling from Sandy Pines up the Maine coast. On the way we made a quick stop at Fort Popham, a granite stone and brick fortress built by the US War Department in 1862.  It was a super cool experience walking through the archways and spiral staircases than have stood the test of time.  It’s an eerie feeling trying to imagine the sights and sounds of the fort when it was fully staffed with soldiers and huge cannons ready to fire at any enemy ship that dare come within striking distance. Despite the fort being active during The Civil War, The Spanish American War and WW1, it was essentially built as a precautionary measure as it was never attacked.

• Our next stop was for an incredible lunch at (dog friendly) Sprague’s Lobster in Wiscasset Maine. Our intention was to dine at Red’s Eats which came highly recommended, has won numerous “best of” awards, and is a local favorite, but they were closed so we enjoyed a lobster roll and crab roll at Sprague’s and we were not disappointed.  One of the best lobster rolls we had on our trip hands down.

• Lastly, we made it to the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol Maine. There is a small fee to pay when arriving at the parking lot and the grounds are dog friendly with the exception of the lighthouse and fisherman’s museum. The tour of the lighthouse is just okay. The wait is longer than the tour, but it’s worth walking up the steps to the top and checking out the beacon and the view. The real star of the show however is the Fisherman’s museum, which has all sorts of interesting bits of history. A record 28lb lobster caught in the 60’s hangs on a wall behind a glass case. Along one wall there are old fishing hooks in a display case and on another wall, you will find wooden lobster traps that were used in the early days to catch the delicious crustaceans. One poster explains the process of catching a lobster and how competitive it can be and there is even a sheet posted that shows the number of pounds of lobster caught with the average price per pound. 1880 – price per pound $0.02 and in 2021 it was $6.71!  in 2016 there was a state record in Maine with a haul of 132,536,606 pounds!!  That’s a lot of lobster rolls! One last note – if you are a quarter collector, and you have a quarter from Maine, the Pemaquid Lighthouse is the featured image on the back.

Beach Days

• Most beaches do not allow dogs during the peak summer months, and we wanted to get the full beach experience, so we ventured out sans Sato and checked out a couple of the beaches in Maine. Parking is limited and is priced accordingly, expect to pay between $25 and $50 if you are lucky enough to find a spot.  We went to two different beaches that offered two vastly different experiences.
  • The first as at Gooch’s Beach where there is little to no beach at high tide, and 40 to 50 yards of sand to relax on before you reach the water. There is not much to do or see close by so it’s a perfect place to relax, read, go for a swim, or make a “sand dog” replica of your pooch who couldn’t come.

• • Our second beach experience was at Old Orchard Beach, a traditional beach town experience reminiscent of Santa Cruz as it has a busy downtown area with surf shops, restaurants, bookstores, and art galleries in addition to a family fun area with carnival games and rides. The wooden pier is full of T-shirt shops, souvenir stores, a restaurant and of course a fun bar offering summertime libations. The beach itself was packed with people for as far as the eye could see, and the water was a refreshing escape from the heat with perfect waves for body surfing or quick swim.

Kennebunkport

• If shopping, eating, and drinking are your thing, then Kennebunkport is the place to be. The dock square area is quaint and charming, dog friendly and typically full of tourist doing touristy things. We enjoyed the tourist experience as we walked around town, popped into every retail store, ate lobster rolls and clam strips at The Clam Shack, enjoyed a cocktail on the Spirit of Massachusetts, a sailboat converted to a restaurant/bar, and ate the best ice cream ever at Rococo Ice Cream – Yum!

Ogunquit

• There is just something so calming about being near the water and the boats and Ogunquit is another one of those super quaint port towns that offers the perfect setting for a coastal escape. A dear friend and former colleague of mine sent me a bunch of recommendations for Maine and Ogunquit was high on her list. She had several fond memories of dining on the deck at Barnacle Billy’s with her mom at Perkins Cove, so we made sure to make it a must visit. After walking around town and capturing memories of our own, we found ourselves on the deck at Barnacle Billy’s eating a lobster roll, crab roll and topped it off with a rum punch. It was an awesome experience and Ogunquit is high on our list of places we would like to see again on our next visit to Maine.

We also enjoyed a lobster roll at Foot Bridge Lobster Shack:

Until next time Maine!

Cheers,

-Tiny Trailer Trips Crew