Mark and I got married September 26, 2020 and had originally planned to do some sort of safari or adventure-filled honeymoon but, obviously with the current pandemic, we had to change our plans and decided to go on a mini-moon to Maine instead. Our options were limited due to the travel restrictions at the time, but luckily Maine was not on the list! We had always wanted to visit Maine and since the weather in September/October is absolutely gorgeous, we decided it was fate and away we went!
Day 1
We drove up to Kittery, Maine and booked a tiny house to stay in, which was super cozy and overlooked the water. We went to the Kittery Outlets and picked up some hiking boots on an awesome deal at the Columbia outlet. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Moxy, an American tapas restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire which was just over the bridge. We ordered a bunch of different plates and had whoopie pies for dessert (so yummy). After filling up on food, we went for cocktails at The Wilder. We ended the night cozying up at the firepit back at our Airbnb.
Day 2
In the morning, we met up with my cousins and their baby at Lil’s Cafe where we had the best breakfast sandwich biscuits and maple coffee. After getting some family time in, we drove to Portland, Maine and stopped for much needed coffee and chai tea at Bard Coffee before heading into all the shops downtown. Of course, we had to stop at Evo Rock & Fitness rock gym for Mark to test out their rock climbing before checking into our hotel for the night, The Westin Portland Harborview. They were nice enough to give us a really awesome upgrade for just getting married!
Our wedding DJ actually recommended we go to dinner at DiMillo’s on the Water, so we went and had the New England Clam Chowder, Lobster Mac and Cheese and Lazy Lobster – highly recommended! As you should know by now, we love a good after dinner drink so we went for cocktails at Blyth & Burrows. We loved their atmosphere and tasty drinks!
Day 3
For breakfast, we dined at UNION located in the Press Hotel. The hotel is absolutely beautiful and we’d love to go back and stay there someday. The whole breakfast was super fresh and savory but the avocado toast was my favorite! After breakfast, we explored the downtown Portland shops some more. There are tons of cute shops and I’m sure you could find something for everyone – ornaments, clothes, houseware, decor and more!
We then drove to Cape Elizabeth and saw the Portland Headlight Lighthouse which was just as beautiful as all the Instagram pictures! We walked around on the rocks, through the park and took a look in their gift shop.
We had a long journey ahead of us, so we got coffee at Rwanda Bean. Mark said it was one of the best he’s ever had – which is a big deal coming from him! After coffee, we were off to Freeport where we first stopped at the Maine Beer Company for some pizza and beer and enjoyed the sunny weather. Then, we stopped at the flagship L.L. Bean store which is the first and largest location.
Along our road trip, we enjoyed some wine and cheese on the porch of Dragonfly Farm & Winery. This was a very cute little family-owned winery and we even bought a few bottles of fruit wine to bring home with us.
Eventually, we wound up at our “summer cottage” in Bar Harbor, ME called the Inn at Bay Ledge. I couldn’t recommend this place more – everything from the beautiful scenery, cute rooms and awesome hospitality from the owners, Jack and Jeani.
We explored all the shops in downtown Bar Harbor before we went to dinner at Havana, an American fine dining restaurant with a Latin flair.
Day 4
Waking up in the “summer cottage” was great! We’d never stayed at a Bed & Breakfast before, so this was a really cool experience. Jeani served us breakfast on the balcony overlooking all the greenery and water. She made us each a fruit cup with a fresh omelette and coffee/tea. It was seriously so delightful and such a great way to start the day.
We explored the property a bit and walked down these wooden stairs at the edge of the property that led us to a private little pebble beach. It was so serene!
We then drove to Acadia National Park to put our new hiking boots to use! Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy outside so the views at the top weren’t as great as they normally are. We still enjoyed the exercise and fresh air!
After our hike, we went back to the Inn at Bay Ledge to eat our leftovers on the porch. We tried some Old Soaker blueberry soda which was so surprisingly delicious.
We had a couples massage at Massage Bar Harbor which was so relaxing after a crazy few months of wedding planning and moving. After the massages, we drove back to downtown Portland and checked into the Hyatt Place Portland. Once we settled in, we got drinks at Portland Hunt and Alpine Club and The North Point.
Day 5
This was an awesome day as we drove to Kennebunkport for some whale watching. We went out on a whale watching boat with First Chance Whale Watch that left at 10am and arrived back at the dock at 2:30pm. We brought our own lunch and snacks to eat on the boat. We saw tons and tons of dolphins as well as a few whales. It was a seriously awesome experience. My only suggestion would be to wear layers even if you don’t think you’ll need it because when you are on the shady side of the boat and not directly in the sun, it gets COLD.
We then met up with some friends and went to the HoneyMaker Mead Room and tried a well-deserved mead flight. Of course, we bought some to bring home as well. Funny enough, the employee let us know that the original “honeymoon” started with honey wine / mead. During medieval times it was a part of the ritual to give the newly married couple enough mead to last one full moon. Drinking this would instill good luck in their marriage and would be the start of their honeymoon.
Once we were finally allowed to check into the Kennebunkport Inn, we were able to unwind a little and explore the hotel. It was super cute and they even left us a bottle of champagne, two glasses and a sweet note.
We walked around all the shops in downtown Kennebunkport until it was time for our dinner reservation at Alisson’s. We tried some fun new things like Lobster Bisque Poutine and Maine Lobster pizza. After dinner we got some ice cream at Rococo Handcrafted Ice Cream and enjoyed it on the porch of the inn.
Day 6
The Inn left us a nice little bag on our door with nice little breakfast treats, but we already had plans to go to Squaretoes for breakfast, so we held onto the bag for a snack later on. After breakfast we went shopping downtown to Minka, Best of Everything and The Copper Candle. We then got drinks at the Batson River Brewery & Distilling where we sat on the top deck and had a great view of the little town.
Later on, we went to the tax-free New Hampshire Discount Liquor Store where we like to stock up for everyone! Sometimes they have really cool bottles that you may not find in your local liquor store.
For dinner, we met up with my cousins and their baby at Robert’s Maine Grill in Kittery. We had delicious lobster rolls (can’t get enough Lobster in Maine) and drove back to Kennebunkport for our last night.
Day 7
What better way to start the day than macarons and coffee?! We went to Mornings in Paris and had such a good breakfast! They have 20+ flavors of macarons, so there is definitely something for everyone. Everything was so yummy!
We got in the car and headed to Farley, Massachusetts so Mark could do some outdoor rock climbing (go figure) before we drove back to New Jersey.
As everyone had previously told us, Maine was so beautiful and we had the most amazing time. There is SO much to do throughout all of Maine and it feels as though we only touched on parts of it. We are definitely looking forward to planning our next trip back – maybe even a girls’ trip!
