26 hours & 1500+ miles later, we finally made it to Maine.
I was born in Mississippi, but lived in Maine briefly before moving to Massachusetts for a little while. I did a lot of my growing up in New England, & my family & I have always felt like we left a little bit of ourselves on the East Coast. This was my first visit to Maine since I was a Sophomore in high school. It's SO different traveling to a place you grew up when you're an adult! Our trip basically went like this - late breakfast or lunch with Z's brother, sister in law, & (new!!!) niece, an outing all together during the day, a break/down time after that, & then chasing the last light of the day with our cameras.
Z & I have always known that we would end up back in Maine to "settle down", but I have always wanted to live somewhere else for a year or two first. Somewhere like Birmingham or Chattanooga. After this trip, i'm like f it, let's go straight to Maine lol.
If you're my friend on Facebook, you've seen all of these photos. But I figured I will give a little more back story to them & give yall a play by play of our amazing time in the Pine Tree state.
We are lucky that Z's dad lives halfway between Mississippi & Maine. 14 hours the first day, 10 hours the next. Give or take some time for traffic (lookin' at you, New York).
We spent every single day exploring and taking photos. Zander's brother is an amazing landscape photographer & took us to all his favorite spots for me to take photos with my camera & for Z to do some work with his drone. Our first stop was Portland Headlight. There were a lot of places we went during this trip that I kind of remembered from my childhood, this was one of them. We spent our time here scaling the rocky coastline & walking through the gardens near the lighthouse.
After every adventure, we took a break at Z's brother's house. I spent a lot of this down time outside in the fir trees & cold air. I wanted to soak up every second of actual FALL weather... it's still in the high 70's in Mississippi this time of year.
That evening we set out on another photo adventure - this time at Lookout Point in Harpswell. It's so fun to be there in the evening because it's low tide, so you can walk right out to the little islands and watch the sun set.
The next morning Z, his sister Caroline, & I went out to get coffee & walk the streets of his old hometown, Brunswick. Brunswick (like a lot of towns in Maine) is basically the equivalent to Stars Hollow. Cute coffee shops, street vendors, & happy people walking dogs & reading books. It's perfect needless to say.
We went mother. f-ing. apple picking. This was a dream come true for a Fall enthusiast like myself. We went to Willow Pond Farms in Sabatus. If you're wondering where a Fall wonderland is - this is it. Apple picking, a pumpkin patch, & a cute little shop with fresh veggies & cider.
We ended the day with another photo adventure - this time to take photos of this stunning bridge in Brunswick near Sea Dog Brewery, where Z used to work when he lived in Maine. Z got some amazing aerial shots with his drone that a lot of people were excited about because this bridge will be replaced/updated here soon.
The next day we went hiking at Morse Mountain. I dont think i've ever been hiking before. I wouldn't consider any extended amount of walking in Mississippi "hiking", so this was a first for me & I loved every second of it. This hike is amazing. We climbed to the top & could see Mount Washington, the highest point in the Northeast. When you climb down the other side, you end on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. You literally do not have to choose between the mountains or the beach when you're in Maine! The trees on the trail of the mountain were red, yellow, & orange, the sand of the Atlantic is sparkly from the quartz in it, it's a dream for people who love being outdoors.
Another photo adventure to end the day. We headed to Bailey Island, a place very familiar to me. I remember coming here as a kid & eating at Cook's Lobster House with my parents. We sat on the hill above Mackerel Cove & watched the boats floating in the water. It was cold & breezy. I took photos of the buoys hanging on the lobster hut across the street while Z got some great footage of the Cribstone Bridge (that got picked up by Down East Magazine's Facebook!!).
We woke up early the next morning & walked to the farmers market with the amazing people that let us crash at their house the whole week, Dan & Nancy. We got coffee & pastries & some fresh vegetables. I lost my mind at how cute it all was.
Afternoon photo stop 1 - Five Islands. I loved climbing over all the rocks & driftwood in my basic bitch Bean Boots (Z likes for me to let everyone know we had Bean Boots long before it was trendy).
Doubling Point Light - the cutest mini lighthouse you ever did see. This was great & beautiful until I found a tick on me.
Our last day in Maine took us back to Bailey Island, this time to the Giant Steps. The Giant Steps is exactly what you'd think - giant steps, a stairway that formed in the rocks along the coastline. It was so windy & cold there. After Z & his brother scared the hell out of me scaling the cliff, we went to Lands End & bought a ton of useless (but necessary) tourist-y shit - Christmas ornaments, sweatshirts, & art.
The whole drive back home, & even now, I am missing New England more than I ever have. I kind of knew once I was back up there as an adult I would fully notice just how perfect & picturesque it is. I didnt know I would be longing for it this badly after though. Our goal is to live here another year & then move. Who knows if that will happen, but it will hold me over (i guess...). If you've never been to Maine, I cant suggest it enough. It's truly a dream.
If you made it to the end of this blogpost you are 💯
- s
