I just returned from a long sail along the coast of Maine from Portland to Bar Harbor with lots of stops at small villages in between, among them, Boothbay Harbor, Bucksport, Castine, Rockland, Rockport, and Belfast. Each place has its own charm, so it would be impossible to pick a favorite.
All too soon summer people here on the island will be packing up for the trip back to wherever they spend the rest of their lives and the island will turn back into a quiet village of 100 souls who will start preparing for the fall holidays and then for a long winter ahead. But there’s time to think of that later. Right now it’s time to finish up the day’s work in my office, do a little weeding in the garden, pack a picnic, and head for the beach for a late-day swim.
Enjoy the fleeting days of summer, and if you have a favorite Maine vacation spot, please let me know and we can share it with other readers.
Tag: Maine
Life on a small Maine Island — July
Perhaps this summer you’ll travel to midcoast Maine and visit some of the islands that attract so many writers and artists. Monhegan, “the artists’ island” is perhaps the best known, with seasonal ferry service from Boothbay Harbor, New Harbor, and Port Clyde (in winter, there’s only service out of Port Clyde). But there are other wonderful islands to explore, including Isle au Haut, Matinicus, and several islands in Casco Bay, off Portland. Don’t expect big-city amenities, but do expect comfortable lodgings, New England comfort food, and a chance to see a part of Maine that many visitors miss. If you plan to stay overnight, do make advance reservations since hotel or B&B rooms are limited.
If islands are not your thing, try a drive along the midcoast region and explore some of the fishing villages like New Harbor and Tenants Harbor for a look at a traditional Maine way of life.
From my office on my own little island I’m looking out at glass-calm seas, with sailboats scooting along and lobster boats starting to come into port with the day’s catch. The little village is bustling — at least compared to winter when there are only 100 of us out here — and it’s nice to see summer residents and visitors in town again. By September most will be gone and the island will fold back into itself. Life ebbs and flows on my small Maine island, much like the tides that surround us.
I hope everyone is having a great summer thus far and one that will include a trip to this lovely part of the country. Enjoy!
Summer on a Small Maine Island
From my office window, I’m watching the lobstermen come and go over water that today is bright blue and tranquil. But I know how quickly that can change and how hard they all work every day. It’s the start of the busy season for them as well, hauling up thousands of pounds of lobsters to feed hungry travelers to Maine. Last week I took my visitors to see a rare blue lobster that had just been caught nearby. A bright, crystal blue, to me they’re the prettiest of the occasional lobster oddities that crop up — there are also yellow (very rare), calico, red (before cooking), and even albino lobsters, and even some that are half one color and half another. With the exception of the albino lobsters, they all turn red in the cooking pot….not that the rare ones will be eaten. Almost always they are donated to an aquarium for educational purposes.
I’ll be back soon with more news about summer in Maine and some highlights from my recent Canada jaunt. Happy summer everyone! It’s all too fleeting, so enjoy every moment!
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse
Several people have asked for more information about Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, proving that summer really is around the corner and we’re all making plans at last! The lighthouse is located in New Harbor, Maine, 
Photo (c) Nathaniel Hammond
Built in 1827, the lighthouse was first illuminated with whale oil during the heyday of the New England whaling industry, and later by kerosene. It was automated in 1934, ending a need for a lighthouse keeper and his family to be on the premises at all times. If you visit, check out the brick building for the fog bell. When dense fog rolled in, as it often does here, early keepers rang the bell by hand. Later a steam system was set up to ring the bell, and later still, a system of weights. When you see the rugged cliffs on which the lighthouse stands, you’ll understand why mariners appreciated both the light and the bell on the foggy evenings for which Maine is so well known.
Enjoy your visit, and perhaps you’ll even see the resident ghost, a red-haired woman who is said to haunt the keeper’s house from time to time!
Thanks for stopping by, and best wishes to everyone for a happy and thoughtful Memorial Day weekend.
Springtime on a Small Maine Island
It took a while this year, but spring is now most definitely here. Tulips are blooming, lilacs are budding, and over the last few days a couple of sailboats have drifted past my office window. It’s all the more enjoyable because it took so darned long to get here this year.
Now’s the time to start thinking of summer vacations, so why not consider a tour of some or all of Maine’s iconic lighthouses? One of my favorites is Pemaquid Light, located in New Harbor on the Pemaquid Peninsula. This is lighthouse on the back of the Maine state quarter. Nothing beats seeing it in person, however. Pemaquid Light sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Waves crash over the rocks below, and the whole scene is a photographer’s dream, especially at daybreak and at sunset. The former keeper’s house is now a lovely little maritime museum run by volunteers. And all but the shortest visitors are welcome to climb the steep stairs into the light itself for some incredible views. (Alas, for safety reasons very small children will have to wait until they grow a bit.) A little park surrounds the lighthouse and there’s usually ample parking at a minimal per person fee. 
I’ll write about some of Maine’s other lighthouses in future posts. Until then, have fun planning a visit to beautiful New England where spring has sprung at last!
Spring Comes to a Small Maine Island
March is certainly not going out like a lamb here on my small island in Maine. On Wednesday high winds blew down trees and took out electric lines for more than 12 hours, as if winter were not giving up without a fight. But I’m happy to report that as I walked around the island today, still bundled in a winter coat, hat, gloves, and two scarves, I could just feel the soft fingers of spring beneath all that bluster. So, maybe, just maybe, we can talk about something besides the weather.
First, though, I do want to give a shout-out to all the small towns like mine across America where people pitch in to help each other. I routinely check in on an elderly widowed neighbor, but it was my turn to accept help during the recent lights-out. My husband was out of town on a business trip, the temperature was in the 20s, and I couldn’t get our cranky generator started. Thank goodness for the mechanically-inclined lobsterman up the street who came to my rescue. When you live in a remote area like this, everyone’s talents are needed and appreciated.
On to April. A few more lobstering boats are showing up in the harbor although our summer visitors are still keeping their distance until the snow disappears and it warms up. We really won’t see most of them until June, although a few will rumble across the bridge late next month and throughout May. Finally, it’s time to at least think about gardening, boating, and all the good stuff that comes with living in Maine or elsewhere in New England. If you’re looking for vacation
February: The Longest Month
Photo copyright Nathaniel Hammond
Here on my small Maine island the deer are so desperate for food that they have devoured huge chunks of my holly bushes and I expect they are waiting ravenously for the first tulips to poke through the ground. That will be a while, however, as the snow drifts are still several feet high in the gardens. I can feel the mood around town lightening as the days continue to grow longer, the snowstorms grow lighter, and the sun shines more brightly. Today as I look out my office window, sunlight is breaking through the cloud cover and the sky is pale blue instead of gray. And on my early morning walk I heard a few birds chirping and actually spotted a robin. Spring is coming and my quiet island will awaken again.
Winter Wonderland in Maine
Photo c. Nathaniel Hammond
When you spend winter on a small island with about 100 other hardy people, you quickly learn to help each other out. Last week more than 100 people, including of course some who came over from the mainland, attended a benefit potluck supper at the little island church’s community hall. All the proceeds went to help a local family whose business recently burned down. That kind of camaraderie is one of the best things about living in Maine.
Cold or not, sunny days like this one bring out walkers, and this morning I saw people I haven’t run across in weeks, bundled up to their eyes but determined to get out and about. It has been a rough winter even by Maine standards, but with the end of February in sight, everyone is looking forward to spring….eventually. Meanwhile, we slide to the store in the morning for the newspapers, cross-country ski in our own back yards, and experiment with meals that take all day to cook and warm up the kitchen while they’re bubbling along. Pretty soon I should be reporting on the first returning birds and the first crocus sightings….just not this week, I expect, as another 4-8 inches of snow are predicted within the next few days.
The Joy of Winter
I’m tired of complaining about winter weather: time to focus on all that’s good about a winter that is not yet half over but seems endless. Let’s see…..there’s plenty of time to tackle a major project since days go by when it’s difficult or impossible to get out of a long Maine driveway covered in ice. Life slows down to a manageable pace. I actually had a couple of phone conversations over the weekend instead of resorting to hasty emails. The house is looking spiffy thanks to a mid-winter clean-up. And, I must admit, it is fun to get out in the snow now and then even if doing so requires multiple layers of clothing and boots up to my knees.
Here on my small Maine island, village life revolves around the local post office (arrive just before noon if there’s someone you’ve been trying to catch up with) where posters announce everything that’s going on in town, as well as the two small cafes. We check those out often for coffee and news — OK good-natured gossip. It’s a quiet life to be sure, but come spring — and it is coming, right? — I’ll be pleased that I’ve managed to get a pile of work done and had a little break from life’s usual hectic pace. But I will admit that a little sunshine at this point, after umpty-up gray days, would not hurt at all. We’ll just call that last thought 
Nathaniel Hammond photo
January on a Maine Island
Snow. Ice. Freezing rain. Repeat.
That’s pretty much how things have gone here on my small island, starting well before the winter officially began. Today sky and ocean meld into one continuous gray blanket punctuated with white snowflakes.
Life on the island moves slowly at this time of year. Social life consists of breakfast at the local cafe, potluck suppers at the village church, an exercise class at the fire station. On the plus side, it’s a great time of year to tackle a big project without any distractions. And although it’s not always fun to start the day with an hour of shoveling–or worse yet, thawing frozen pipes–the landscape dusted with sparkling snow is incredibly lovely.
Of course life in Maine in the middle of winter is not for everyone. I’m remembering a talk I gave last year to summer visitors, after which someone in the audience had this conversation with me:
Visitor: Do you really live in Maine?
Me: Yes
Visitor: Year ’round?
Me: Um, yes.
Visitor: Why on earth would you do that?
It was one of those times when one has to stifle a laugh. Wasn’t it Louis Armstrong who was once asked “What is Jazz?” He replied something ot the effect of, “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.”
Best wishes to all for the new year.