we heart a-frame homes and holden beach, nc! on our recent holden adventure, we went on an outing to find the various a-frames on the island for a future beach getaway.

in the end we found one that was really amazing at the north end of the island, although it didn’t appear to be a rental. it was super cute with great nautical decor, and it was right on the beach! the other few we found weren’t anything to write home about. they had potential, but weren’t really our style.

– ryan & gub

clementine fit into this tiny pot for some hilarious photos on our recent holden beach trip! gub has a similar photo of her brother cullen in the same pot when he was little!

– ryan & gub

clementine has really gotten into accessorizing; whether it’s with sunglasses, buckets or even mixing bowls!

– ryan & gub

i used a long exposure and was able to capture some night lightning in the distant clouds while at the beach. some of the photos turned out really great!

– ryan

we headed to holden beach, nc to celebrate gubs mothers birthday. there will be lots of beach posts to follow.

in the meantime, check out these great vintage post cards we found at the beach mart! looks like they’ve been on the shelf since the store opened 30+ years ago.

– ryan & gub

although not as exciting as our other lighthouse posts, we did take some photos of marblehead light while staying with family in swampscott, mass. we passed by on a driving tour of marblehead, which is an adorable little coastal town, and salem, home of the witch hunt.

we’d love to spend more time in swampscott and marblehead on our next maine adventure! we are normally in a rush to get up to maine and don’t spend much time in these cute new england towns. marblehead has lots of shops and restaurants along picturesque narrow streets, all of which are surrounded by historic buildings. it’s really beautiful!

check out our previous posts on lighthouses and this great map of maine lighthouses.

marblehead lighthouse

marblehead, ma 01945

another great lighthouse you should visit if ever in maine is portland head light. we ended up going there right after freeport on our recent maine excursion. the lighthouse offers great views of portland , me and the rocky coast of cape elizabeth. on a clear day, you can also see ram island ledge lighthouse, spring point ledge lighthouse and cape elizabeth lighthouse.

the drive to portland head light is very scenic as well! there are gorgeous mansions along the coast and picturesque views of cape elizabeth. it’s well worth an afternoon treck!

portland head light is on the grounds of fort williams park. besides the lighthouse, the park has lots of green space for walks and picnics and old forts to explore. it’s a pretty huge place, 90 acres in all, and is totally free, so you can’t go wrong!

there is a marker for henry wadsworth longfellow next to the lighthouse. he was frequent visiter and used the views for poetic inspiration.

check out our previous posts on lighthouses and this great map of maine lighthouses.

portland head light

1000 shore road
cape elizabeth, me 04107
207-799-2661

as you may know, we are big fans of lighthouses, especially ones along the rocky coast of new england. one of our first stops in maine this year, as per usual sterritt family tradition, was nubble lighthouse.

it’s really quite a beautiful lighthouse, with plenty of rocks and benches to sit back and take in the scenery. you can’t actually go over to the island and climb it, however the surrounding rocky coast provides enough entertainment. the sky rail to the island looks pretty intense anyways!

if you are ever in maine, you should definitely visit nubble lighthouse, aka cape neddick!

check out our previous posts on lighthouses and this great map of maine lighthouses.

– ryan & gub

nubble lighthouse

sohier park road
york, me 03909

people in new england take their window boxes pretty seriously! you see beautiful, lush boxes everywhere; from dockside lobster shacks and trailer parks to elegant century-old homes.

– 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