WRITTEN BY RICHARD SHAW
Who doesn’t love a good day trip? And what better place to begin a short jaunt than in my home town of Bangor? Woods, lakes, mountains, and coastline are not far from this centralized Maine city. My late mother, a one-woman chamber of commerce, never stopped singing her state’s praises. So, as a child growing up in the 1950s and ’60s, my weekends were often spent exploring scenic and historic spots.
Armed with a road map and picnic basket, our family visited many places with exotic-sounding names. Schoodic, Moscow, Corea, and Misery Gore haven’t changed much since those days, and are still worth a visit. Mom’s rule of thumb was, as long as we could be home by 7 p.m., any location was fair game.
Here is a sampling of some favorite destinations. If you decide to visit, pack a camera and sketch pad to mark the occasion.
WALDO & KNOX COUNTIES
One of our favorite day drives was along Route 1, ending in Thomaston. The villages of Searsport, Belfast, and Rockland, now trendy destinations, were once gritty sea ports, famous for chicken- and seafood-packing plants. Camden seemed like a storybook town, where Mount Battie met the harbor dotted with boats. Thomaston had a state prison, now relocated in nearby Warren. The Maine State Prison Showroom, opened in 1957, still sells lobster traps and coffee tables. Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde is a fun side trip.
HANCOCK COUNTY
The quaint community of Castine, with its Revolutionary-era forts and Dyce Head Light, is a photographer’s dream. Not far away is Blue Hill, another old gem. A 20-minute drive takes you to the town of Brooklin and a land’s-end fishing port named Naskeag Point. Deer Isle and Stonington can round out your visit. Driving over the 1939 Deer Isle-Sedgwick suspension bridge, due for replacement in the coming years, is a historic experience. Mount Desert Island’s attributes are worth a separate article.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Route 1 towns east of Ellsworth never seem to change, even after sometimes being bypassed, as was the case with Columbia Falls and Steuben. The former has the Ruggles House, completed in 1820, and the Wreaths Across America national museums. Machias, the shiretown, boasts the 1770 Burnham Tavern, also open for tours. Our family liked to picnic at Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, and to explore Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, across the bridge in New Brunswick. Eastport, the nation’s easternmost city, lies 45 minutes to the east.
PENOBSCOT AND PISCATAQUIS COUNTIES
The arrival of autumn weather meant a drive north to the Real Maine, with its plethora of country churches, tidy towns, mountains, and lakes. Dad and Mom’s families came from that part of the state, so in some respects traveling there was like going home for them. Route 15 out Broadway in Bangor, through the villages of Kenduskeag, Corinth, and Charleston, eventually took us through Dover-Foxcroft, Guilford, Abbot, and to Greenville and Moosehead Lake. A trip to Baxter State Park and Katahdin was reserved for a separate weekend.
SOMERSET COUNTY
After stopping for penny candy at Titcomb’s store in Abbot, Dad would head the station wagon across Route 16, through Kingsbury Plantation, to the village of Bingham. One town to the north is Moscow, with Central Maine Power’s Wyman hydroelectric dam as its principal landmark. Security measures wouldn’t allow it today, but we children used to scamper to the top of the dam and gaze out across Wyman Lake. A drive up Route 201 along the Kennebec River to West Forks and 90-foot Moxie Falls reveals roadside markers outlining Benedict Arnold’s perilous 1775 march to Quebec City.
