Driving through Maine
October 12, 2010 7:21 PM   Subscribe

What should I do between Waterville and Brunswick, Maine tomorrow afternoon?

I have about from 10 am to 5 pm to get from Waterville to Brunswick tomorrow (Wed, 10/13) and nothing to do in between. Is there anything interesting I should do?

I am driving down, can't think of anymore details that might be important. I like nature-y stuff, historical stuff, but really whatever.

Thanks!
posted by Pax to Travel & Transportation around Maine (13 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I was just through that area last week on my way up to New Brunswick. The foliage was really amazing, and the weather has been pretty good recently. Since you like nature, why not find a place to hike?
posted by easy, lucky, free at 8:01 PM on October 12, 2010


People in a hurry take the interstate; people looking to enjoy the drive and see the scenery usually take Rt. 1. Your route is directly on the interstate, but you have 7 hours to make a 1 hour drive. So I'd recommend driving to the coast and working your way down Rt. 1 to Brunswick. Noteworthy stops along the way:
  • Maybe start by driving to Belfast at the head of the Penobscot Bay? From there, it's a 2hr 30 minute drive along Rt. 1 to Brunswick, not counting stops or traffic.
  • Camden is a fairytale New England coastal village. Lots of restaurant options if it's lunch time.
  • Rockland has the Farnsworth Museum (art, featuring a lot of Wyeth work) and is near the Owls Head Transportation Museum (cars, airplanes, pretty cool collection). There's also a wooden boatbuilding school that will usually have somebody available to show you around if you want to see traditional boatbuilding methods being practiced.
  • Lunch at Moody's in Waldoboro for a neat local diner feel, if you haven't eaten already
  • Wiscasset is another fairytale New England coastal village - but if you're starting to run short on time, beware traffic delays caused by its pedestrian crosswalk across Rt. 1. Shouldn't be a huge problem this time of year.
  • There's a maritime museum in Bath - unlike the other museums, I haven't been to that one yet.
And from there, you're pretty much in Brunswick. Have fun!
posted by richyoung at 8:28 PM on October 12, 2010


Oops, Waterville to Belfast is an hour, Belfast to Brunswick is 1 hr 30 minutes, not 2:30 as I said above.
posted by richyoung at 8:30 PM on October 12, 2010


Well, the obvious option would be visiting the L.L. Bean headquarters, in Brunswick. They make it a big production number, with tons of stuff to see; plus, there are other "factory outlets" nearby too. On a weekday in Fall, it shouldn't be too overrun with tourists.

But, if that's too commercial, you might visit Bowdoin College, also in Brunswick. I believe they have museum of sorts on campus that contain artifacts from Admiral Robert Byrd's polar explorations in the early 20th century (he's an alum; hence why the school mascot is the polar bear). Might be worth nosing around to see what's there. In any case, the campus itself is charming and rustic, given the foliage and season - very "New England."
posted by 5Q7 at 8:34 PM on October 12, 2010


LL Bean headquarters is in Freeport, which is south of Brunswick. But you'd have plenty of time to get there and back. If you go that route you could stop in Pownal (follow the signs from the first Freeport exit) and do the brief >1 mi hike up Bradbury Mountain, where you can see a really nice view into the valley below. Foliage is currently at peak. Then you can go to Freeport, then head a little further south on Rte 1 and hit the DeLorme map store in Yarmouth to see the world's largest globe. Then a little further south, and you'll be in Portland. It's about half an hour from Brunswick.

I think the Peary Arctic Museum at Bowdoin is between exhibits right now, but the college also has a pretty nice art museum including lots of Wyeths. Maine St. in Brunswick is home to a few nifty shops including a really excellent independent bookstore, Gulf of Maine Books. If you walk down to the end of Maine St, you can cross over one of two bridges across the Androscoggin, either the big one that the cars go over, or the small, "Swinging Bridge" at Cushing St (make a left at Ft. Andross, the big brick bldg and go a block down, you can't miss it). Take one over the river, walk up Bridge St to the other one, walk back.
posted by mneekadon at 8:48 PM on October 12, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! My friend actually works at Bowdoin, so that's where I'll end up! I thought of Camden (I've actually spent some time there years and years ago - perfect coastal New England town, for sure).

Bath, Rockland or Bradbury Mountain sound great. I drove in from Portland to Waterville at sunset last night and it really made me want to take in some more foliage!!
posted by Pax at 8:55 PM on October 12, 2010


Second taking the Rte 1 drive. The towns along there are lovely.

If you like knitting, stop at Pine Tree Yarns in Damariscotta (it's in an old Victorian house in the downtown, I haven't been in a year so you might want to call ahead to be sure she's still there) which is run by Elaine Eskesen who's a somewhat well-known knit designer and author, and very nice. There's a nice bookstore/cafe on the main street in town, if you want to have a cookie and coffee.

Wiscasset is cute, there's the famous "Red's Eats" which is a carryout lobster place right next to the bridge that Rte 1 goes across (and some attribute the summer traffic back up to big lines of people waiting to get lobster rolls from Red's).

Camden is a beautiful place for a hike, Camden Hills.

Bowdoin has a neat art museum too.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:55 PM on October 12, 2010


Oh and if you knit you should also go to Halcyon Yarns in Bath, right off Rte 1, they are great.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:58 PM on October 12, 2010


The weather is expected to be nice, the foliage is peaking, so any drive will be pleasant.

The LLBean flagship stores in Freeport are a good retail destination. The LLBean Outlet is good, too, as well as other outlets stores in Freeport. The harbor in South Freeport is really pretty.

You could head to Waldoboro on Rt. 32, have pie at Moody's Diner, then Rt. 1 to Brunswick. In North Wldoboro, you can visit Morse's sauerkraut, where they make the best kraut, ever, and other tasty foods. Brunswick is a nice town, and the Bowdoin campus is lovely; I haven't been there to visit the art museum since it was renovated, but I'm sure it's a good use of time.
posted by theora55 at 9:07 PM on October 12, 2010


Having spent some time in that area this summer, I'd skip Camden in favor of Rockland. Camden was touristy, Rockland was more interesting, and clearly more of a year round town. We really liked Home Kitchen Cafe in Rockland for breakfast, but they do lunch too.

Red's lobster roll was tasty, but not worth the 90 (!) minute wait. Only stop if there is little to no line.
posted by booksherpa at 9:16 PM on October 12, 2010


The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is really worth visiting (also free, as I remember), but as mneekadon said, it's closed Oct. 4-18 while they're changing exhibits. If you end up in Rockland, another fine museum there no one has mentioned (still open daily till November 1) is the Maine Lighthouse Museum, probably the finest of its kind in the U.S.
posted by LeLiLo at 12:41 AM on October 13, 2010


All you visitors to Maine; why no meetups? I'm looking at you, booksherpa
posted by theora55 at 8:20 AM on October 15, 2010


Y'know, it didn't even cross my mind.... We didn't make it to Portland this time around (except for a quick stop at Mount Deseret Island Ice Cream) - maybe next time? I've always been curious about Novare Res since the 10th Anniversary meetup for that area was there. It sounds tasty. I should update my vacation question with what we actually did...
posted by booksherpa at 6:25 PM on October 16, 2010


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