from our instagram feed!

– 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

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