Spent hours at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.  It included a little cruise on the Kennebec River for a close-up view of the Bath Iron Works, a working shipyard.  We are crazy about viewing any kind of manufacturing.  Shown above is just a little something they’ve been working on.

I loved hanging around Bath.  They are the home of Halcyon Yarn; it was actually open and I browsed, but was too overwhelmed to buy anything.  Also in Bath and open for business was Now You’re Cooking catering to another of my weaknesses, Kitchen Crap.  (X and I always exclaim “Kitchen Crap!” whenever we are in a new town and spot a kitchen crap store.)  They had a pierogy-making class scheduled that night (fully booked, alas).  Other cute shops, and finally, the lovely Bath Brewing Company where we had a flight.

We went to Boothbay Harbor just to visit another coastal town, and to track down another brew spot, but they turned out to be closed.  Boothbay is not somewhere to which we’d return.  We had a nice dinner in a tavern, but it was the most Tourist Central place we found on the whole trip, much worse than Bar Harbor (except maybe when the cruise ships come in).

1 brewpub and no biking on this day.  Totals:

Miles biked: 44

Brews: 15

Here we are listening to the audio during the Allagash Brewery tour.  X organized this.  X normally doesn’t plan a thing, so this was a rare event indeed, which I enjoyed!  It was a great tour.  Allagash White is a fine beer.  And the brewery is in a district with 4 or 5 others, so we hit about 5 total for the day – I was starting to think I really could get that t-shirt!

Miles biked, total for trip, stands pat at 44.

Brewpubs total for trip jumps to 14.

Last full day in Portland, we biked to nearby Mackworth Island, a peaceful place without cars.  Portland has good bike infrastructure and it was easy to get to.  On the way back we hit several breweries in a little hipster district and ate good food truck.

Miles biked Day 5: 12, bringing total for trip to 44.

Brewpubs Day 5: 3, bringing total for trip to 8.

It doesn’t get much more scenic than that, making Portland Head the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.  Guilty as charged.  September 14 was Open Lighthouse Day, with a large number of lighthouses open to the public.  The day exceeded X’s expectations as we got to enter not zero but three lighthouses.  He had been discouraged by how many required reservations or boats.  But we got to climb up Portland Head, Spring Point Ledge, and Bug Light.

Miles biked: 0.  Total for trip stands at 32.

Brewpubs: 1.  Total for trip now at 5.

Empanadas, obviously; champinon, frijole, and puerco, specifically.  And obviously – it’s stamped right on them!

Quiero Café, Saco, Maine

BEST food of the whole trip.  You know when something tastes so good you just keep going, “Mmm!”  And “Mmm!”  AND they have a location in Portland, which I didn’t know at the time – we could have eaten SO many more empanadas!

Above is from Day 3.  I actually didn’t take pictures Day 2.

Miles biked: 12 on Day 2, ~20 (I really think more) on Day 3.  Total for trip so far: 32.

Brewpubs – 2 on Day 2: 1 more on Day 3.  Total for trip: 4

Day 1: You actually get a picture of New Hampshire, because Day 1 was driving to Portland.

Route 302, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire

Miles biked – Day 1: 0; Total: 0

Brewpubs – Day 1: 1; Total: 1

Howdy friends!

Welcome to the Maine 2019 Page-a-Day Calendar.  A two-week extravaganza of bicycling and beer tasting and throwing lobster on everything in Coastal Maine.

We pose for you in front of Portland Breakwater Light, better known as “Bug Light”, South Portland.