Maine Delights - Beaches and Lighthouses - New England Part 5

Maine is definitely delightful and the weather has been great, although a little hot. We can’t complain since much of the country is warmer. I didn’t expect 90 degree weather in Maine but it isn’t bad when you are near beaches, quaint beach towns and have access to a very nice pool. We have been enjoying morning drives to various beach towns, coastlines, beaches, lighthouses, and seafood restaurants; then we hang out at the campground and relax at the pool when we can. Definitely a great place to stay for 2 weeks.

We are staying at Moody Beach RV Campground, in Wells, Maine, which is part of the Thousand Trails system. I tried to book as many Thousand Trails campgrounds as I could during our New England trip and in my opinion, this is the nicest one for this trip. We are in a newer section in the front of the campground with large back in sites and minimal trees. It makes it hotter but under the trees is challenging for a high fifth wheel and the pine trees drop too much sap on the RV.

Some of the sites at this campground require parallel parking the RV and they face the site across from them. It seems like an awkward set up to me and I am glad we didn’t have to do that. Other sites are pull through and are under large pine trees. We visited some other campers on the first day at one of those sites and in just a short time, Trent had sap stuck in his fur on his left hip. I have been trying to get it all out for a week and had to cut some of it out. I am really glad we are not under those trees!

Wells is in southern Maine along the coastline just a little north of Ogunquit which seems to be a very popular tourist town. The only difficulty in these towns seems to be parking; there just isn’t that much of it and it is expensive. Luckily the campground offers a shuttle service to the beach for $3 each way. It drops you off near Footbridge Beach starting at 10 AM which is definitely convenient. I wanted to spend some time touring Ogunquit so took the shuttle to the beach and started there.

The first thing that surprised me was that Ogunquit beach is a long and wide sandy beach. Quite a few of the beaches here are large sandy beaches. I expected to see less sand and more rocky coastline with smaller beaches. I walked the entire stretch of the beach from the footbridge to the end of the main beach which was probably close to 1.5 miles. Then I walked through a little stretch of the town to the entrance of Marginal Way.

Crossing the river from the beach into town. Many were enjoying the beach on the river too.

Marginal Way is a paved walkway along the edge of town which showcases the rocky coastline. Yes, I found those rocks! Both the beach and Marginal Way were beautiful although I preferred walking along the rocky coast. I did a leisurely walk, took many pictures and sat for awhile on the benches along the walk to admire the view. Perfect way to spend a morning. Marginal Way ended at Oarweed Cove where there were a few restaurants as well as gift shops. So I did more walking, through Oarweed and then Perkins Cove checking out some of the stores.

I sat for awhile watching the waves splash over this rock.

The walk across the beach, along Marginal Way and through both coves took me about 2 hours. I was getting pretty tired and hungry so I found a nice hotel with a restaurant facing the ocean to have a relaxing lunch. That refreshed me so I decided to walk through the town to get back to the shuttle pick up spot at Footbridge Beach. I am not sure that was the best decision; it was very hot and sunny with little shade. I think going back on the beach would have been cooler but I got to check out the rest of the town as I walked. All in all, it was a perfect day even if I was exhausted when I got back to the RV.

On another day, Tim and I headed north through various beach towns and circled down through the towns to find ocean views and beaches. It was a leisurely drive with a few stops for pictures and we went as far north as Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth. We discovered that the lighthouses were not in the park but nearby at the end of Two Lights Road. Built in 1828, these were the first twin lighthouses on the coast of Maine. Only the eastern light is still in use and it is not open to the public. We found a spot to park at the end of the road where we had a view of that lighthouse. We did see the other one that isn’t in use but it was up a dead end residential road so we didn’t get a picture of it.

I think this stop was at Old Orchard Beach

My sister had told me to make sure we saw the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse but I didn’t think she meant the ones we found there. We were hungry and ready to head back so I didn’t research any other lighthouses in that area. If we had, we would have discovered that the Portland Head light was only a short distance further north and it was probably the one she recommended that we see. At least we found a good place for a late breakfast with excellent coffee on our way back.

We were up around 5 AM one day so decided to catch the sunrise at the beach. Sunrise is very early here and I thought we may miss it since it was already pretty from the campground. Luckily, Moody Beach was only a 5 minute drive from the campground so we got there in time to see a beautiful sunrise. After watching the sun rise and capturing some gorgeous pictures, we headed to Congdon’s donuts. We heard great things about these donuts so wanted to try them. Congdon’s is only open Thursday through Sunday starting at 6 AM. The first time we drove past around 7 AM, the line of cars was out on the main road and the parking lot was full so we didn’t stop. Since we were earlier this time, we headed over and got there a little before 6 AM. They were open and there was already a small line inside which I quickly joined. The donuts were pretty good and Tim enjoyed his apple fritter.

After our donut breakfast back at the campground, we decided to go see Nubble Lighthouse. This one was south of us near York Beach. It was a beautiful morning for a drive and getting there early meant it wasn’t very crowded. From what I read, this lighthouse has been in operation since 1879, was the last lighthouse in the US to be automated and the light is still run by the Coastguard. The property is now maintained by the Town of York.

This house by the lighthouse was beautiful.

All the viewpoints by the lighthouse were beautiful.

It was a short drive from the lighthouse into York so we ended our drive with a stop in York. We walked through the downtown area, got some coffee and sat for awhile enjoying the beach. Another perfect day in paradise.

York Beach - already getting crowded at 10:30 AM.

Sorry for the long post. We have seen quite a bit in the last 1.5 weeks and I want to share all of it. I will end with today. We finally drove north again and went to the Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park. I am really glad we made the trip up to Portland. The park had lots to offer: remnants of an historic fort, the lighthouse and a cliff walk with more beautiful views. We both enjoyed seeing the lighthouse and then I walked part of the cliff trail while Tim and Trent waited in the shade. On our way back, we decided to eat at Hobbs Harborside in Wells. We highly recommend this restaurant if you are ever in this area. I sprung for the lazy stuffed lobster today and it was fantastic. Now I can say I had Maine lobster. Tim opted for the seafood platter and then blueberry crumbled with ice cream for dessert. I stole a few bites of that and it was delicious. Probably the best dessert I have had in a long time. I will end with a few pictures from today. Enjoy!

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Maine Delights - Beaches and Lighthouses - New England Part 5

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