we recently had a sighting of our neighborhood barred owl in our backyard. for years we’ve heard lots of owls behind our house, but we never saw one up close, especially in broad daylight.

its eyes were solid black and really beautiful. it was totally staring us down while we took photos. unfortunately it flew away too quickly, so i only got a blurry shot of its wingspan. we could still see it hiding in a nearby tree after it flew away though.

– ryan & gub

another picturesque boardwalk & beach town to visit in maine is old orchard beach, which is just north of kennebunkport and york beach. there’s lots of kitchy places to explore along the boardwalk and pier; from clam shacks & pier fries to awesome souvenir and gelato/ice cream shops. the old wooden pier is really awesome as well, although it was raining during our visit so i didn’t get photos.

there is also an old fashioned beach amusement park called palace playland. it’s been open since 1902 and looks reminiscent of coney island!

we’d love to stay at a bed & breakfast or a beach cottage in old orchard beach some day!

– ryan & gub

old orchard beach

old orchard beach, me 04064

growing up, my dad had this great heather grey t-shirt from a place called the blue goose tavern. i had no idea what the blue goose tavern was, but i really liked the shirt. by the time i was in high school the shirt had been passed on to me and made my regular rotation. it was worn thin and super soft after so many years of usage!

it wasn’t until a few years ago though that any of us stepped foot into the actual bar in lewiston, maine. we made it a goal to have a few beers there on a recent maine trip and followed through for a change!

the goose was a dark, low-key tavern with cold beer on tap and red sox games on the television. it was fun and laid back with a local new england vibe. it reminded me of manuel’s tavern in atlanta or pinkie masters in savannah. we enjoyed our drinks and my dad and i got new t-shirts before heading out.

after all these years, the goose definitely lived up to its t-shirt, wherever it may be!

– ryan

blue goose tavern

69 sabattus street
lewiston, me 04240
207-783-3287

if you are looking for a good old fashioned steak house on your travels out of boston, be sure to stop by hilltop steak house on u.s. 1.

besides serving great steaks since 1961, hilltop also has this amazing vintage sign out front that is worthy of the vegas strip!

here is their menu.

– ryan & gub

hilltop steak house

855 broadway
US 1 south
saugus, ma 01906
781-233-7700

a big part of any new england trip is eating lots of fresh seafood, preferably from a shack right on the dock! while in freeport, maine, we highly recommend heading down the road (3 miles) to south freeport for some delicious fresh seafood at harraseeket lunch and lobster company.

this dockside restaurant might not look like much, but it has some amazing food and offers great views of freeport harbor while you eat. you can order lobster fresh off the boats, or go with a delicious fried clam roll and seafood chowder (filled with lobster, haddock, scallops and more) like i did!

check out their menu and our previous post from a couple of summers ago.

– ryan & gub

harraseeket lunch and lobster

36 main street
south freeport, me 04078
207-865-4888

before there was rei and bass pro, there was l.l. bean. it was the go to place for all things outdoor/hiking/camping/fishing/etc, and everything had a lifetime guarantee. it’s still around, but it’s mostly an online/catalogue company with a handful of actual stores in the new england area.

during our maine adventures, we often visit the ginormous flagship l.l. bean in freeport. in fact, ryan has been visiting this store with his family since he was a little boy; his mom love’s their canvas bags.

there’s lots to do and see in the massive 100 year old flagship l.l. bean. from aquariums with live fish and running streams to a cafe & coffee shop, you can find yourself wandering the store for awhile. it’s also open 24 hours 365 days a year, so there’s plenty of time to squeeze a visit into your trip. and even though rei and bass pro have spoiled some of the novelty, it’s still quite an impressive place!

by the way, the l.l. bean kids department was super fun! they had lots of great books, including local maine selections, and an amazing faux-forest where the kids could run around. we loved the design of leaf mobiles hanging above the tree stumps in this room.

– ryan & gub

flagship l.l. bean

95 main street
freeport, me 04032
877-755-2326

when traveling in maine, you should save at least an afternoon to visit downtown freeport, the adorable little town filled with great shops and restaurants! most of the businesses are in renovated historic buildings, ie. abercrombie is in the super old library, so everything still has that old-timey new england feel. freeport is also home to the flagship l.l. bean store and other boutique shops like the abacus gallery, where we found lots of great treasures!

– ryan & gub

abacus gallery

36 main street
freeport, me 04032
207-865-6620

we recently went on another maine adventure, this time bringing clementine along for the ride! we flew into boston and then made our way up the coast via us 1, stopping along the way for some fun side trips.

one of the first places we generally stop on our maine adventures is newick’s lobster house in dover, new hampshire. this great seafood shack has been open since 1948 and offers scenic views of lobster fishing on great bay while you enjoy fresh local seafood! the sterritt’s have been going to this dockside restaurant for ages.

newick’s offers all sorts of options for trying fresh lobster. this includes steamed lobster, stuffed & baked lobster, lobster pie, lobster rolls, fried lobster tail, lobster stew and more. they also have a great draft beer selection and all sorts of other seafood treats, so you should definitely try and eat here if traveling to maine.

here is newick’s full menu.

if you ever find yourself in the new hampshire area and have time, you should also drive through historic portsmouth, new hampshire, which is only a few miles from newick’s. this beautiful seaside town and has the look and feel of an an old english town and is totally worth visiting!

keep checking back for more new england travel posts!

– ryan & gub

newick’s lobster house

431 dover point road
dover, nh 03820
603-742-3205

happy 4th! we just got back from visiting maine, so expect lots of fun travel posts to come!

– ryan & gub