Five Islands, Bath, & Freeport, Maine

The Maine coast could take weeks or months to explore, since there are so many peninsulas (and fiords) that aren't connected by bridges or tunnels. This makes it a more environmental friendly place for the local inhabitants; but not for the tourists. So we had to pick and choose our places, primarily close to Augusta/Hallowell.

On Sunday, August 19th, we ventured out along highway 27 & 127 towards Five Islands. It's a nice, scenic drive out to the coast. We passed Reid State Park and drove the final mile to Five Islands. Five Islands is a quaint fishing village that, indeed, features five small islands forming a natural harbor. It also is the spot to get some tasty lobster. Needless to say, we all had lobster for lunch.

Afterwards, we were thinking of going to Reid Beach at the state park; but due to the fact we missed the turnoff (there was no sign on the way back), time constraints, a sleeping toddler, and high admission price per person, we decided to forgo the experience. Instead, we headed to Bath. Bath is a nice town with old buildings and a nice waterfront. Unfortunately, most of the town was closed. We stayed there for about a couple of hours, mostly at the local market and walking around.

By late afternoon, we arrived in Freeport and found Gritty McDuff's, a brewery pub / bar & grill that has a great play area for the kids. We met cousins Donna and Savannah, who drove up from Haverhill, MA (thanks for coming up cuz!). We had a nice time together and Savannah (who just turned 6) had fun playing with Rachel. It was a good experience for the young cousins to meet each other. After lunch, we headed a short distance down Highway 1 to L.L.Beans, one of the largest clothing outlet stores on the East coast and based in Maine. We spent a few hours walking around Freeport which, surprisingly, was a nice old town with colonial-styled buildings housing outlet stores!