June was an emotional month for me. I was obviously feeling raw after Jarrett and I had to put Carter down, and the weeks leading up to that were heartbreaking as well. Unfortunately, June was also the busiest month of the summer for me. A few days after we said goodbye to Carter, I had a girls trip planned. I was hesitant to go because I felt bad leaving Jarrett home alone so soon after putting Carter down. He insisted I still go on the trip because he knew how much it meant to me. When I was in college, my roommates were all from New England. Over the years, I visited their respective families houses for holidays, graduation parties, birthdays, etc. but they had never been able to see where I’m from in Maine since it was a lot further away. I had always wanted to bring them to central Maine to give them a tour of my hometown and where I grew up, but it never worked out. In January of 2023, three of my four college roommates – Cindy, Tanya and Sam – were visiting me in New Hampshire. I surprised them with a Power Point presentation of a hypothetical trip to Maine that we could take in the summer, including a full itinerary. Basically all they would have to do is show up and I’d take care of the rest. Cindy and Tanya have two kids each and Sam travels a lot, so it can be hard for us to all have a weekend that aligns, but after 15 years of trying, we were able to make it happen.
We started our journey to Maine on a Saturday morning. The drive would take us a few hours so part of the plan was to stop at one of my favorite Maine breweries for lunch – Baxter Brewing – in Lewiston, ME. The brewpub is in an old mill building. The interior has a mix of brick and stone walls, there are timber posts and beams – it’s rustic and really cute! The food is good and the beers too! After driving a few more hours, we arrived in my hometown. I gave the girls a tour of my youth – showing them where I went to high school, the grocery store where I had my first job and to the local bar, the Bear’s Den, that they had heard so much about. It was so fun being able to show them everything I’ve talked about for years and experiencing it through their eyes. We had a laid back evening at home and the girls got to spend time with my mom and grandmother.
The next morning we left early to go to Acadia National Park. None of the girls had gone before and I was SO excited to share it with them. We did a fun hike, about five miles or so. It was the same as the one Jarrett and I had done back in 2020 (see Acadia National Park post) but I thought it was good one to tackle as it looped around Jordan Pond, offered views of the ocean from the summit and had some fun rock features.
I was hoping to show them more of the park, like Sand Beach and Thunder Hole, but after the hike, they were ready for some food and to get to the hotel. After freshening up, we walked around downtown and shopped. We had rooftop drinks at Bar Harbor Beer Works and had nice views of the main strip through downtown.
Then we walked to McKay’s Public House for dinner. The food was awesome but the truffled seafood risotto was delicious! We went to bed early because we thought about driving up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, but when the alarm went off in the early morning hours, we saw it was raining and went back to bed.
The morning was foggy and rainy so we didn’t miss much skipping sunrise. We started our trip south, grabbing breakfast in Camden and then following the coast to Boothbay for the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Even in the gross weather, we had a great time. The gardens were incredible! I also loved Thomas Dambo’s trolls! He has five trolls located in the gardens but there are many more across the country and the world. We saw three of the five trolls located in the gardens. I want to try to see as many of them as possible – they’re so unique!
After the gardens, we went into Boothbay Harbor to grab lunch and ice cream. It had been quite some time since I visited the quaint town- it was nice to get back there. We had further to drive so we didn’t stay too long in town but I was glad I could show them around. Our final destination for the day was Portland! We went to Shipyard Brewing for a beer and then got dinner at Luke’s Lobster. Tanya, Sam and I had been to Luke’s a few years ago and loved it, so we needed to go back. We all loved our meals and drinks – we could’ve stayed there all night.
After Luke’s, we ended up at the new(ish) bar, Room For Improvement, which we all really liked. The staff was so fun and the drinks were great. It had a quirky vibe and we enjoyed our time there. Luckily our hotel wasn’t too far so we were able to walk back. I love downtown Portland!
The following day we headed back to New Hampshire. It was a whirlwind trip but it was so special being able to show the girls where I grew up and some special places in Maine that mean a lot to me. There is so much more I’d love to do with them, so hopefully it won’t be their last trip to my old stomping grounds!
📍I acknowledge the lands mentioned in this post are the ancestral lands of the Wabanaki (Dawnland Confederacy), Nanrantsouak, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Aucocisco and N’dakina (Abenaki / Abénaquis) people.
The Adventures of Suze 
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