Americanophile and lover of the great outdoors Louise Parker, from Peterborough in the UK, has visited the US around 30 times and plans to go back again later this year, drawn to its shores primarily to catch up with a friend, but also its landscapes, coastline and warm welcome.
Having recently been made redundant from her art editor role at a UK hiking magazine, Louise and her partner took the opportunity to spend a month exploring the east coast of America, taking in the towns and coastline of Maine, famous for its lobster, blueberry pie and state parks.
So, what is it about America that appeals to her so much? Louise tells us why:
This trip was originally meant to be a sabbatical, having had a great one in 2019 to Yellowstone National Park. The east coast, which allows easy access through Boston, also provided an opportunity to hook up with travel buddy from California, who did most of the planning and booked accommodation (mostly through Airbnb).
What appealed to us about this part of the US, where you find very few British tourists and which we’d never been to before, was the ability to make it a road trip through intriguing little places without having to spend long, dull stretches on the road.
Maine is a north-eastern state in the New England region of the United States, bordering Canada. It’s the largest state in New England, although it’s the 12th smallest in the US, the ninth least populated and the most rural.
It’s known as the ‘vacation state’ and the people are very friendly and proud of their state. I found it noticeably litter free, with spotlessly clean beaches and freeways.
The main reason we go to the US so often is that I met a friend a few years ago and so the long distance friendship thing involves a couple of trips there a year, and usually one to Europe…. but that’s a longer story!
On this trip, we flew into Boston with Virgin Atlantic (flight approx £400, but I had some miles to spend) and stayed in the city for one night, due to flight times, and picked up a car there because it was cheaper to do so there. Car hire starts for around £900, but remember to add on your deposit, extra insurance and any other extras. On the upside, fuel is much cheaper than in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
London Heathrow is so expensive re parking and, in future, I might look at another departure airport as Boston has more options than my usual west coast flights. I always try and fly direct as US internal flights are quite prone to being cancelled.
From there, we drove south to Cape Cod, Provincetown, for four nights, where we rented a small unit with kitchen off Ravenwood (approx $240 per night), which included parking. Cape Cod is famous for quaint towns, unique shops, lobster dinners, seaside festivals and whale-watching. The beaches there were beautiful and only after a swim did I see the great white shark warning sign (the film Jaws was filmed along that coast).
From there, we drove north of Boston for another night so that we could visit Salem – home of all the witchy stuff. We could have just carried on to our next stop, but Salem is fun, with cop cars decorated with witches and a lot of gothic and themed shops. It’s well worth a visit.
Salem is a city on the north coast of Massachusetts, above Boston, and it’s famous for its 1692 witch trials, during which several locals were executed for allegedly practicing witchcraft. Landmarks from this episode include the Witch House, the former home of a trial judge. Salem has become synonymous with witches and is a popular destination for ghost tours and spooky sites.
We stayed in an 2022 Flying Cloud Airstream van on a goat farm about five miles from the strangely-named Kennybunkport. It was picked for fun and budget (approx £93 per night) and came with use of kayaks, as it was situated next to a river, as well as passes for beach parking.
The van was about 150ft from a boat launch to the Mousam River and the farm is home to 21 goats which are rented out to clear invasive plants around Southern Maine from May to October.
The airstream had a double bed and a fully stocked kitchen, including a smoothie maker, coffee pot, toaster and basic cooking necessities. There was a full bathroom with stand-up shower. Yes, there was hot and cold running water! There was also an outdoor propane grill plus a yard with a smokeless fire-pit, comfy chairs and a picnic table.
It was really well equipped, with free wifi, a bluetooth sound system, a smart TV with free access to Netflix, basic cable and a blu-ray player, if you wanted any of those things.
There’s lots to see and do around here. We had four nights in the airstream, but could have easily had another. While we were there, we went on a lobster boat trip, sought out blueberry pie from farm stands and explored secluded nooks of the coast, where the family of former President Bush have a compound.
The Maine peninsula is characterised by harbours and antique shops. Ice cream and lobster are the king in this neck of the woods.
Next, we went up to America’s North Atlantic coast, to see the wilder parts of Maine, including Acadia National Park, with lots of hiking and cycling. Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine’s Mount Desert Island.
Its landscape is marked by woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast. Among the wildlife are moose, bear, whales and seabirds. At 4 million visits a year, it’s one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States, with 158 miles of hiking trails.
We stayed in the Schoodic part of the park – the only part of Acadia found on the mainland – for budget reasons, which was so much quieter than other parts. I was surprised how busy it was and can’t imagine summer!
We also went after Labor Day, as kids had gone back to school, so there was more accommodation available and places were less busy, but it can mean that some things close or have limited opening times.
On Davis Island, we stayed in a cosy waterfront retreat (£173 per night), overlooking the beautiful town of Wiscasset. While secluded, it’s conveniently located close to Rt. 1, just 15 minutes from Boothbay Harbor.
The town of Bar Harbor, was on our list of places we must see. One visit and we were glad that we’d got that out of the way, as it’s predominantly a centre for cruise ship shopping and not really for us. It is beautiful and you can escape the crowds, but I’m glad we stayed elsewhere. It wasn’t our kind of place.
We did, however, stay in a fabulous cabin (£122 per night) with a great deck for star watching, listening to the wildlife and good facilities for cooking. This area has a rugged Scottish feel. Despite its ‘out-of-the-wayness’, there are ample local shops nearby.
The cabin was perfect for lovers of the great outdoors, concealed among Maine’s mighty pines, overlooking five acres of private forest, with beach access just five minutes away. Be aware that a lot of the waterfront in this part of America is privately-owned, so unlike the area further south beaches, are rare.
This was our last booking and we had left the last week open with a view to nipping over to Quebec City (a six-hour drive) or Nova Scotia. We were only a five hour drive back from Boston, so, not wanting to cane it back, we decided to go and spend some time back near beaches. We explored Cape Ann, Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester, all by the sea – none of those with English names are anything like their counterparts.
We booked a big place in Gloucester – a typical cape house, with four bedrooms and a fabulous covered porch – but with Airbnb, one either gets a room or a whole property, and for six days, we opted for somewhere with plenty of room which was a five minute walk from two beaches.
While there, we got talking to some local people and one couple ‘kidnapped’ us and told us to ignore private road signs, showing us what we could see if we did so.
Our last day was planned and just about embark, when the cleaners turned up… whoops! Note to self: always check dates when booking lots an accommodation. We had already booked a place in Boston for our last night so called to add an extra night!
Anyway, this allowed us to return the car and walk around the corner to hotel. It was a great location and Boston is a very easy walking town (also, it’s less than $3 on the underground system to the airport, not like the rip off airports in the UK).
In Boston, we stayed at the Pineapple, a recently-renovated historic hotel on a beautifully brick-clad street, steps away from the iconic Boston Commons and Beacon Hill neighbourhood ($99 per night). It also has a cafe next door for breakfast.
What’s the food like in Maine?
We had good food wherever we went but overseas tourists need to be aware to tip 20%, which is expected. If you’re on a budget, you can keep prices down by eating at the bar, instead of at a table, which is generally fun as you end up chatting to bar staff and other diners.
My buddy always asks locals where they eat, to get the best local food. We never eat in chain restaurants and, given the size of portions, quite often we’ll have an appetiser or two and then split a main course. For anyone on a budget, lunch can be cheaper than dinner and happy hours are worth looking for.
Main courses with two drinks cost us around $80 dollars, plus tip. The east coast is famous for lobster, prices of which can fluctuate, but a good lunch is a lobster roll for around $20-35. A cup or bowl of chowder will warm you up on a colder day and it’s worth hunting out blueberry pie and various ice cream haunts.
Boston has fabulous Italian restaurants and people were queuing outside to top ones, so consider reservations and note that Americans are quite early eaters. We always made sure that we have some pasta and a sauce while we were on the road for emergency meals…and British tea, of course!
What are the people like in Maine?
We met some lovely people in bars. For example, one couple took us to show off their town so took us for a drive to the best spots. The lobster boatmen gave us tips for the best blueberry pie (they do often mistake me as an Aussie)! There are many language differences and I think I slip into slight Americanisms to make myself understood!
One day, we needed air for the tyres and some old dudes who were doing band practice in an old garage were super happy to help. While staying in the Airstream on the Goat farm, the people were not intrusive but like to know where you’re visiting from.
Tips for travel around Maine:
- Google maps is ace for scanning all sort of stuff from beaches to best pie shops
- Consider when you go – avoiding public holidays (such as Labor Day), but be aware that some places may be closed outside of peak periods
- Talk to locals in bars and grocery stores for tips on where to eat and what to see
- Always check dates when booking lots an accommodation. We got our last day wrong and had to book extra hotel day in Boston, but on the flip side, it allowed us more time to explore the city
- Google distances between locations and consider which days to travel, ie not Fridays, when it can be very busy
- Take into consideration that lot of the waterfront in Maine is privately-owned, so unlike the area further south, beaches are rare
- For anyone on a budget, lunch in diners and restaurants can be cheaper than dinner and happy hours are worth looking for
Where next? We are planning a winter trip to Palm Springs, to continue our passion with the US and to catch up with our friend again.
