Maine vacation

[iffy]

The missus and I are thinking about going to Maine around the first wk of October. We are planning on flying into Portland and probably staying around there for a few days, then down to Olongquit for a couple of days. I have been looking at a party boat called the Bunny Clark out of Olongquit that offers various fishing trips and am probably going to do the full day or the extreme day. Wife doesn't fish, so she will probably go sightseeing or shopping that day.
Wife mentioned looking at the fall foliage, and was wondering if it is turning by the first wk of Oct. We really like seafood and every time I get anywhere close to a coast I usually have it for every meal. Hope to catch enough fish I can pack some frozen filets home on the plane. Any pointers from you Maine folks about things we should try to see or do? Thanks, Kent

[Ironwood]

Not a Mainer here, but bro and sister-in-law live in S. Freeport. I like Maine Maritime Museum near Bath, They build the destroyers in a dry dock right there too at Bath Ironworks. Also, nicest park down that way is Reid State Park, cool spot for that far down the coast. Also, right out off the interstate just south of South Freeport near Yarmouth (former site of Herbie the HUGE elm cut down last year) is Delorme's 3 story globe called "Eartha" in a COOL atrium. It rotates and is back lit, so even at night from the parking lot is cool. There is some cool stuff right in Portland, down by the waterfront. Also, the lighthouse in Portland is close/ easy/ nice, with lots of BIG boat traffic. Last time there we watched a BIG aircraft carrier come in. We did go to a really nice lobster shack not too far north of Bath, it was a very nice quiet spot on a neat inlet with tons of islands. Another nice spot to get near the water close to Freeport is Wolf's Head, I think it is a county park, but nice quiet and close to Freeport /Bath. If your into alternative building stuff on Route 1 north of Bath is the Shelter Institute.

Lots and Lots of other neat stuff further up/ out East, but if your staying close to Portland for a few days these are all day drives and very nice. I did a Wilderness EMT SW of Portland in Bitterford and as I recall there is not too much on the coast in that direction toward Kennebunkport. FYI, just my perception.   Year sago I drove up route 1 all the way to Bar Harbor and I loved the local "color" and junk shops along the way. I think some "back road" off interstate driving is a MUST to get the full flavor.   

 You may not get that far north, but I LOVE Katadhin, looks like it belongs in Idaho not East coast.

  Ironwood

[Mooseherder]

The "other" Maine no one really discovers is north of Katahdin.
It is very pretty that time of year.  There is a woods road on the north end of the Park that you literally are riding through the woods on a single lane dirt road covered with leaves for what seems a couple hours and will dump you into a little town called Patten located in the County of Aroostook.  Home of the Brave and the Free.
Coastal Maine is gorgeous but way different than the Western and Northern regions.  Take the coastal route to Bar Harbor from Portland.  That will take a day and you'll really love the scenery.  Don't forget to drive up Mt. Cadilac in Bar Harbour.  It amazes me how many people miss that when they go there.
As far as the fishing goes it really depends on what kind of fishing strikes your fancy.  Fresh water Trout streams are my favorites over Deep Sea because that is what I know.  And they are off the beaten paths away from the crowds.   I know that is a lot more difficult if you don't know the area though.
Talk with a local Lobsterman and ask him if he needs a deck hand for the day.  That is a blast.
If you have time head west to Mt Washington, New Hampshire for the Day.

[ibseeker]

My wife and I visited DownEast Acadia, Ellsworth and parts north in the fall a few years back and I can't think of a prettier place anywhere. We got there a little late for lobster season but the colors were amazing. The whole seafood thing makes perfect sense to me, I ate clam chowder every day! I'm really curious about the fishing, what are you looking to do, ocean or fresh? I really enjoyed the people too, everyone that I talked with was friendly and easy to talk with. I stopped on a back road and asked some fellas why they were burning the field. First they looked at me then the car, must of figured out I wasn't from Vermont (rental car plates) and then asked where I was from. I don't think people up there are overly fond of some folks, especially tourists from Boston. Apparently you're ok if you're from San Diego, we had an interesting conversation about blueberry fields.
We'll be going back but first we want to attend a pig roast and then see the UP.

[SwampDonkey]

Iffy, you won't be disappointed with Maine. Lots of places to see and roam about. Colors should be coming on pretty good by then, after October 10th (Canadian thanksgiving) is when the leaves pretty much fall. Probably a couple weeks later in the southern end of Maine. But we can still get some southerly influence of warm air up until then. Can be frosty in the mornings though.

[thecfarm]

You should be about right for the leaves. Will be changing no matter what. Depends alot on the weather and location.Depends on the sun too. If it's a nice bright sun shiny day the leaves will really show off thier colors. But a cloudy day they don't look so good. But i supposed to you they will look great.
I hope the fishing is good for you.

[iffy]

The whole seafood thing makes perfect sense to me, I ate clam chowder every day! I'm really curious about the fishing, what are you looking to do, ocean or fresh?

I found a party boat in the Oqunquit area named the Bunny Clark. It is ocean fishing, and they offer half day, full day, extreme day, and marathon trips as well as charters. They are targeting bottom feeders such as cod, cusk, hake, haddock, pollock, etc. A couple of years ago we vacationed in Ocean City, Maryland and I took a half day trip on a party boat there but the only thing we fished for was sea bass. I fileted the bass and talked the motel manager into freezing it for me. Went down to Wal Mart and bought an inexpensive cooler, packed the fish in it and filled up the empty space with laundry. Tied it all up good with rope. When I went to check it at the airline counter the guy looked at all the rope and knots and just used a thin wand inserted under the lid to sniff for explosives so we didn't have to untie all the knots. I bet that sniffer got a snoot full of fish and dirty laundry. 

[Yoopersaw]

Caribou and Limestone to start with than a trip into the Allagash to see Maine.

[Ironwood]

Iffy,

 I lived at Fort Riley many moons ago, nearly sank a large pontoon boat on Milford Res, during a small craft advisory. Welcome, and enjoy Maine,

 Ironwood

[iffy]

Thanks for all the tips. Looks like we are flying in to Manchester NH on Sat eve. Get a car and spend first night somewhere between there and Portland. On to Portland on Sun. On to Bar Harbor Mon. Maybe over to Kingfield Tue, then to Oqunquit Wed for fishing trip Thur. Have cabin in Wells Thur nite and Fri nite, then back to Manchester and home on Sat.
My biggest obstacle so far was trying to find somewhere with freezer space on Thur and Fri so I can freeze up the fish I haven't caught yet.  That's why we chose a cabin for Thur and Fri, because they have kitchenettes with full size refrigerator/freezers.
Wanted to go on further north, but I think we're going to be pretty busy as is. I absolutely hate to plan a vacation to this detail, but we are finding that many motels are sold out already, so we have to book ahead. 

[ibseeker]

Thanks Iffy, now I've got a new plan! I can bottom fish but the sea bass sound like more fun. I wonder what time of year you have to get there for the bluefin bite? I hear you about planning the vacation with too much detail, kind of takes the spontaniety out of it. We have a time share so it dictates a lot of our plans, but that's ok because before the time share we took one vacation in 15 years. Now we take one every year and I've seen some really great places that we plan to return to.

Good luck fishing and remember, A man may fish from sun to sun but a fishermans lie's are never done!...or something like that.

[iffy]

We spent the first week of October in Maine and thanks to all who responded here with suggestions. We flew into Manchester, NH and spent the first night there. Next day drove up 16 through Rangely and ended up at the Herbert Grand Hotel in Kingfield. Small town, not much there, but the hotel was majestic! It was built in 1913 and the most recent owners gave it a paint job and new roof, and the interior is still all original. Rooms still have original antique furnishings. Beautiful Oak trim and staircase, tin ceilings, etc. We noticed on the drive up that there are a lot of people on small acreages quite a ways from major towns. Also saw a lot of for sale signs. Asked the lady at the front desk what all these people do, and she said Maine is second only to New Jersey in entitlements, so many of them do nothing. As to all the for sale signs, she said unemployment is 15%, and a lot of them just want out.
Anyway enough of the negative. This is a beautiful state. Foliage was well along in color in interior Maine, not much on the coast yet. Went to Bar Harbor the next day and of course did the requisite Acadia tour. Motel guy recommended a local restaurant when we told him we wanted some reasonably priced lobster. We got a lobster meal for $15. Next day on to Bath. Toured the maritime museum. Very interesting and educational. Stayed at Brunswick that night. Went through Portland without stopping. Seemed like it was much to big to suit us, we were interested in smaller towns. Seems like all along the coast there will be a small town, 2 or 3 miles of forest, another small town, etc. Pretty hard to get anywhere quickly. Did notice, especially on the divided highways, that the speed limits seem to just be suggestions. I was running 5 over the limit and was in the slow lane.
On to Ogunquit the next day and stayed at the Riverside Inn at Perkin's Cove. Pricey but nice. All I had to do was walk over the bridge the next morning to get on the party boat I had booked a day on. We left at 7:00 and had about a 2 hour run to the fishing grounds. Party boats usually mean a lot of tangles and I had my share. I only caught 2 keeper pollock. Several of the guys got a dozen or so. During one move to another spot I was in the head when he killed the engines. By the time I got back up on deck and got my rig in the water everyone was pulling in fish. Except me, of course, because I was tangled. Then tangled again. Finally got my jig on the bottom and the bite stopped. As I think back, I am pretty sure I was missing some bites, because they were much lighter than I expected. Figured with a 16 oz jig, the bite would be very detectable, but it wasn't. Oh well, live and learn.
Spent the next couple of days sightseeing the southeastern coast from Wells south and then flew home. Wonderful vacation.

[Mooseherder]

Was it a clear day while you were on Mount Cadilac?

[iffy]

Pretty much. Actually it was the first day it didn't rain constantly. Beautiful view. Three cruise ships anchored in the harbor.

[thecfarm]

Glad you enjoyed Maine. Maine,the way life should be. Leaves are no wheres near as pretty as in past years. Good thing you missed the rain.People pass me on all the time on the freeway too. Some of the other roads too.Lots of woods here to get lost in and to enjoy. I guess I missed you was going to Rangeley, Should of went to the Height Of Land. That's over in Stratton,probably ½ hour from Rangeley. Quite a view. Not many places to make a living up there.I'm about an hour from that area. You could of stopped in to see my kingdom.

[iffy]

Doggone. Would have loved to see your kingdom. Guess I'll just have to come to Maine again.  There were lots of things we could have done but just didn't have time for.
I noticed an fsbo ad in the sporting goods store in Kingfield for a horse property. Don't remember all the details, but some of them were 5 acres, completely remodeled 2 story farmhouse, barns, exercise arena, bordering national forest and 300 yds from an 18 hole golf course. Price started at something like $600k and after several markdowns was down to something like $250K. The lady at the hotel in Kingfield said the building next door was owned by a widow that was going through a divorce but she got widowed first. She lives out of state and wants to sell the building. She started at $650k and was now down to $300k. The owner of the hotel will probably jump on it when it hits $250k. Kinda depressing.

[thecfarm]

Fine for a so called retirement home and I suppose that's what they are looking for,but us natives sure can't afford it. I kinda have to wonder why someone would want to live next to a golf course. I'd much rather have 200 acres of woods to play with. 

[SwampDonkey]

The fall colors were not very good this fall around here. The leaves turned brown or very dull in color, not brilliant. Most of the hills where I'm working are bare of leaves, just the understory and smaller trees that have a few leaves left. The aspen were the only trees with brilliant color, yellow (trembling) and orange (large tooth). With the wind and rain the next few days, that'll be the end of it. Red oaks are never all that pretty around here, they start turning yellow and at the same time part of the leaf is beginning to go brown. The white oak on the lawn goes scarlet red every fall and is just beginning to turn.

[Norm]

Thanks for the update, Maine is one of the few places in the USA I've never been....yet.

Watch out Ray I may just show up at your place one of these days. 

[thecfarm]

I'll leave the grill on.