Beginning in July, Jon had work travel for 10 straight weeks. Somewhere around week four or five, I told him that I needed a silver lining—something to plan for and anticipate and look forward to at the end of this interminable stretch of nontogetherness.
“Why don’t we take a trip for fall break?” I suggested, knowing that Jon was racking up mega Southwest and Hilton points.
He agreed, and I started researching options. I wanted somewhere we’d never gone before and something I would be super excited about planning. We kicked around a few ideas (Puerto Rico? Yosemite? The Keys?) before landing on Maine. I’d always wanted to visit New England in the fall, and while Jon had been in Providence, Rhode Island, for work last year, neither of us had spent much (or any, in my case) time north of NYC.
The bones of our itinerary were simple: fly in and out of Boston Logan Airport for cheap, direct flights; stay near Acadia National Park; take as much of the trip on points and perks as possible.
We used Southwest points for the flights (I fly free because Jon has the Companion Pass—did I mention he does a lot of work travel?) and I also discovered SWA points could be used for Hotels.com gift cards. We used a combination of Jon’s Hilton points and gift cards to completely cover our hotel stay, and we had five free rental days with National Car Rental. With the big ticket items covered, we were just on the hook for food and fun expenses.
(I disclose all of this because we are not Big Vacation Funds people. This trip was only possible because we had to pay actual dollars for such a small part of it. That’s not to discount the other, very real ways that Jon’s work travel costs our family, but being able to take a trip like this is the proverbial lemonade from lemons. We’d rather have him around all the time, but his work is his work, and we’re grateful for the chance to enjoy the fruits of all his long-distance labor.)
Here was our itinerary:
Sunday: Salem + Drive to Maine
We flew into Boston on Sunday morning. It’s a roughly four hour drive straight through to the Acadia area, and Jon and I had kicked around a few ideas on how to make our way up the coast. Since it’s October, we landed on spending the afternoon in Salem, Mass., which was about 45 minutes from the Boston airport along our route. We prepped the kids by ordering “What Were the Salem Witch Trials?” off Amazon, which Nathan read on the plane.
When we got to Salem, our first order of business: lunch at Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall, which we found with the highly technical method of Googling “nearby lunch options.” It turned out to be a super cool historic spot (location of Alexander Bell’s first long distance phone call!) and the food was outstanding and reasonably priced. Plus, they had a handy supply of brochures listing all of Salem’s Halloween-oriented activities, which Nathan promptly devoured.
After lunch, we headed to the street festival that goes on every October weekend in Salem. We also explored the Town Hall and corresponding museum, and strolled past the cemetery and memorial of the Salem trial victims. The city was packed with tourists and visitors, but it was all super walkable and easy to navigate. The daytime activities had a family-friendly vibe, but most of the materials suggested things took a more adult turn after dark.
The Salem Public Library was a highlight—as was the table of free books in the kids’ area. Nathan and Ellie were pretty thrilled to bring home books stamped with “Salem Public Library.”
Ice cream break at Maria’s Sweet Somethings on Front Street. Jon and I refueled at the Front Street Coffeehouse next door.
We stayed in Salem until around 3 or so, then continued our drive north. The plan was to stop in Rockport or Camden, Maine for dinner. We ended up at Cuzzy’s in Camden (which we chose by virtue of it being a) open on a Sunday night and b) willing to seat us), where Jon and I split a lobster pizza that was excellent and the kids’ menus came with a whole basket of crayons for coloring and drawing. Camden looked like a super cute town, and we made a mental note to pass back through on our return trip during daylight hours.
After dinner, we headed for our hotel: the Hampton Inn in Ellsworth.
Monday: Acadia National Park and Jordan Pond House
We woke to an overcast, windy day and by the time we finished breakfast it was raining steadily. We decided to drive the 30 minutes to Acadia National Park and play the day by ear. Our first stop was The Naturalist’s Notebook, equal parts shop and learning experience. We spent over an hour here exploring the different rooms and exhibits. It was such a fun spot that encourages kids to touch, play, and learn.
On the advice of my friend Sarah Hauser, we had secured a lunch reservation at The Jordan Pond House, the only restaurant inside ANP, where we put away hot popovers with strawberry jam at an alarming rate. (Pro tip: the sandwiches are so large, Jon and I easily split one!) By the time lunch was over the rain had stopped, so we decided to hike the trail around Jordan Pond and I’m so glad we did. It was absolutely stunning.
The view of Jordan Pond from the restaurant
Jordan Pond
Most of the trail was this boardwalk
We went to Bar Harbor after our hike and stopped in at The Coffee Hound (and took in a harbor view or two) before heading back to Ellsworth for dinner at Helen’s with a slice of homemade pie to go that we absolutely reheated in the hotel room microwave and savored quietly in bed once the kids were asleep at 10 p.m.
The harbor in Bar Harbor
Just a low key view between Bar Harbor and Ellsworth
She was obviously very impressed
Tuesday: The Ocean Path Trail in Acadia National Park + Boat Tour
Tuesday promised clearing skies, so we stopped at a grocery store for lunch supplies and spent the first half of the day hiking the Ocean Path Trail—a four mile loop from Sandy Beach to Otter Cliff that hugs the ocean through Acadia National Park. We picked the trail because it’s an easy path with not one but TWO bathrooms along it and lots of places to take a break and enjoy the scenery.
Sandy Beach—we spent a good chunk of time at the beginning and end of the hike here.
The view from just past the Sandy Beach parking area, where we began
We stopped for lunch on some cliffs about halfway between Sandy Beach and Otter Cliff. This was Jon’s favorite part of the trip, and I think maybe mine too.
The view from the top of Otter Cliff.
When we first got to the cliff, people were repelling down that crevice. Ellie was, of course, very intrigued.
In addition to the Jordan Pond House reservation, I’d booked one other thing ahead of time: a boat tour. We did a 1 1/2 hour nature cruise with Acadian Boat Tours and saw harbor porpoises, harbor seals, and two bald eagles. The kids absolutely loved it and said it was their favorite part of the whole trip. Jon and I were relieved it was only 90 minutes and tried very hard not to get seasick.
The boat left from the Atlantic Harborside Hotel, and we made a note to check it out for our next trip to Bar Harbor—it’s right on the water, the room rates aren’t outrageous and a few of our fellow boat goers were staying there and had great things to say about it.
Four minutes in.
Twenty minutes in. She slept about half the time.
After the boat tour, we had a low key dinner at 59 Cottage … or rather, Jon had dinner and the kids and I had breakfast for supper (the lobster hash … so good) then walked to the Choco Latte cafe for coffee and dessert.
Wednesday: Meandering Back to Boston
We took all of Wednesday to work our way back toward Boston. First up was Camden, where we had stopped for dinner on Sunday night. We made a beeline for the Owl & Turtle Bookshop and promptly set up camp in the children’s section.
I love a local bookstore, and this one was set up to make yourself comfy and stay awhile … so we did. (We also spent a ridiculous sum of money on books and t-shirts.) Eventually, our hunger dragged us away and we walked down to the Camden Deli where I had the best grilled cheese of my life. It was a bit windy, but they had an awesome deck overlooking the harbor that would be a perfect spot for a sunny day.
After a stop back in the Owl & Turtle for coffee (thank goodness our flights and hotel were paid for because we spent the rough equivalent on caffeine), we hit the road south again. I’d originally thought we’d stop in Kennebunk too, but after spending a little extra time in Camden we needed to keep driving to make it to Nubble Lighthouse before dark.
Luckily, the roadside views eased the disappointment. Seriously, New England. Your leaves are the prettiest.
Our very last stop in Maine was literally the last stop in Maine—Nubble Lighthouse in York, which is about as far south as you can get before you cross the state line into New Hampshire.
It was freezing cold and unbelievably windy on the cape, but we ended up staying for about a half hour as the kids scrambled over the rocks and generally made my heart leap into my throat repeatedly with their risky moves.
We had dinner at Petey’s in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Fun fact, there are two Petey’s in Portsmouth and this is not the one we were supposed to be having dinner at but it is the one Waze directed us to:
Fortunately, we found the right Petey’s, had dinner, and made it to the Hampton Inn in Cambridge for the night before catching our flight home the next morning.
And that’s it! It wasn’t all perfect scenery and crisp fall weather of course—both kids had colds and got tired and grumpy. Jon and I might’ve bickered once or twice about directions. But it really was mostly magical. I’ve looked forward to going to Maine for years, and it didn’t disappoint.
Now we’re back home again and Jon is gone for work again and I find myself trying to hold onto what it felt like when we were all together, seeing someplace new for the very first time, and marveling at what God assembled along the coast of Maine.