This morning, we awoke in Bangor, left the hotel around 08:15, and drove from our hotel into downtown to get breakfast from Bagel Central, since our hotel didn’t offer free breakfast. The bagels were definitely the best I’ve ever had. We split a blueberry danish; Mom and Dad got breakfast sandwiches on whole-wheat bagels, and I got a cranberry water bagel with homemade cream cheese and a scrambled egg on the side.
Bagel Central
Bangor, ME
Amazing bagels, made the right way. Good chew, and plenty of good flavors. Simple and delicious!
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
We began our journey down the coast of Maine via historic Highway 1, stopping briefly to take a picture of Bangor’s Paul Bunyan statue.
Fort Point State Park // Camden HIlls State Park
Our first stop was Fort Point State Park in Stockton Springs, which overlooks the Penobscot Bay. The park featured the remains of a fort from the mid-1700s, some scenic trails, a bell tower, and a lighthouse. We saw a porpoise and a seal in the bay while we were at the park!
Next, we traveled to Camden Hills State Park in Camden, which is the home of Mount Megunticook and the Mount Battie Observation Tower. We climbed the tower and enjoyed the views for a while.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
We descended the “mountain” (which was only 1,000′ high, maybe), and journeyed down to Rockland to another lighthouse. The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is situated .8 mile out in the middle of the Rockland Harbor on a granite breakwater that took over 20 years to build out of hundreds of tons of granite.
From the Jameson Point parking area, it is nearly a 2 mile round trip. Dad and I walked the granite walkway to the lighthouse, but Mom stayed on a shore at the park and enjoyed the view from there.
owls Head Light
We journeyed around to the other side of Rockland Harbor to the Owls Head Light, which also hosted a Coast Guard lighthouse museum. Today was a rare occasion when the lighthouse was open, so we got to climb the ladder to the top and learn a bit more about the workings of it.
Red's Eats
Finally, we headed to “lunch”. By now it was nearing 16:00, and we were all extremely hungry. We drove to Wiscasset to a famous seafood shack called Red’s Eats. Even at 16:30, it was extremely crowded, and we waited in line almost an hour to order. It was 100% worth the wait. We all got a lobster roll (which had probably 2x the meat of any roll we’ve ever seen), an appetizer of scallops, and some onion rings. The meal was extremely delicious, and we agreed it was the best cold lobster roll we’ve had.
Red's Eats
Wiscasset, ME
Even though the line was extraordinarily slow, the food exceeded our expectations, and was with question the best lobster we’ve had in Maine. The rest of the seafood was amazing too!
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there