3 Lobsters and a State Park: Making Some Maine Memories

On our extended week-long tripin 2019 that included the Catskills, Vermont, and Walden Pond, Liberty said she wanted to go to Maine and have a lobster. While in Vermont, we had dinner with my former professor, Ed, and his husband, Steve. When Ed learned that we were headed to Maine, he quipped, “Maine’s not far away, but you can’t get there from here.” I did not understand what that meant in the moment.

On paper, the trip did not seem long. But there is no direct east-west route from Vermont to Maine. One suggested route took us all the way down to the Massachusetts Turnpike. Still, we prefer the more scenic, slower way, so it ended up taking us about 5 hours to reach Freeport as we wound through secondary roads in New Hampshire and on to Interstate 95.

Never having been to Maine, I chose Freeport, mostly because it is home to L.L. Bean. With the same anticipation I had as a kid waiting for the Montgomery Ward and JCPenney holiday catalogs, I still look forward to the arrival L.L. Bean Christmas catalog each year. Like many, I wore their flannel shirts and field coat through the ‘90s and beyond.  For me, there is a mix of comfort and nostalgia in the items they make.

Visiting the flagship store was a treat. The kids climbed on the giant boot that greets visitors and explored the fish tanks inside the store, ducking into clear observation domes to get a closer look. There was even an area to practice tying knots, though I had no skills to show off or improve.

After about an hour of exploring, I told the kids they could each pick one thing to take home. Cade chose a blue insulated lunch bag, which he was still using daily as of last school year. Liberty picked out a cranberry-colored fleece that was warm and super-soft to the touch. Standing in the checkout line, I realized I had not gotten anything for myself. That felt wrong because this was a trip worth remembering. Near the registers, I found the perfect item: a blue pottery-style mug that had the L.L. Bean logo, made by a regional potter. It was perfect and I still enjoy using it for my morning coffee often.

After dropping our bags in the car, we wandered around the rest of the campus. The scale of it surprised me. There was the headquarters, the flagship store, the outlet store, and multiple other buildings and pieces of public art. Liberty especially enjoyed trying out different furniture pieces in the home goods store, and I picked up a Christmas ornament for our tree.

By then we were hungry, and being in Freeport, it seemed like every other place to eat was offering lobster. We all agreed it was time to find the place to eat a lobster. We opted for the Lobster Cooker, right on Main Street, with air-conditioned seating. We ordered three lobsters. The kids had eaten steamed crabs before but never a lobster. Bibs on, we went through it together getting the meat out of the claws and the tail. It was all delicious and the kids had so much fun. Cade especially was trying to get every hidden piece of meat he could out of the lobster.

As the day wound down, we checked in to the hotel. That evening, I chatted with a family whose kids were about the same age. One of them highly recommended Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park. Up until this point, our Maine experience had been pretty commerical, so I liked the idea of a park with woodlands and nature walks, as well as rocky coasts.

The next morning, we packed up and made our way to the park, hoping for a kind of “Maine-in-Miniature” experience. It really did not disappoint. We followed a nature trail lined with hemlocks and stepping stones. The ocean breeze carried the scent of salty water, and we caught glimpses of the water through the trees.

Eventually, we reached a rocky beach with no one else in sight. The kids started exploring as they climbed over rocks. They were searching for  shells and tide-smoothed stones. We saw mussels clinging to rocks, and out across the water small islands and peninsulas stretched into view. It was exactly how I had pictured Maine. The kids were on the water’s edge when a large group of school-age children arrived, and our quiet solitude came to an end.

We made our way back to the trail, satisfied that this had been the perfect way to spend our morning.

As I reflected on this trip, I am reminded of the value of chance moments like speaking with the family at the hotel who provided the recommendation of Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, as well as having the flexibility to take advantage of that good advice.  Thank you to them and all those who share their experiences while traveling both good and bad.