Taking the slow route south

Today my goal was to see some nice coastal scenery on my way from Bar Harbor to Kittery.  Instead of taking the interstate, I took Hwy 1.  This route passes through small towns such as Stockton Springs, Belfast, Camden, and Bath before hooking up with I-295 until Portland.  The first half of the route was nice.  You really don't see the ocean for most of it unless you turn off onto some of the smaller highways.  But there are nice colonial homes and the outer edges of these towns.  After Portland, you then pass through places such as Scarborough, Biddeford, the Kennebunks, Ogunquit and York.  All very busy places in the summer and slightly slower paced now.  No, I did not spot any George Bush's when driving through Kennebunkport and I'm sure their home is not on the main drag!  I made one stop in York to visit the Nubble Lighthouse.  This is quite a scenic spot and again is probably hopping in the summer.  There was ample parking today and the sun was out and the water was nice and blue.  The light is on a small island that seems to be accessible by a tidal sandbar.  I am not sure if there is a resident light keeper or not but there is no public access to the island.  I wasn't able to find any other lighthouses on my drive and was glad to signs were there to point me to this one.  The lack of signs was the one thing I noticed on my drive today.  Either I missed them, they were too small, they were right at the turn or there weren't any.  I know there have to be other lights along the coast, but I had to settle for Nubble. 

My final destination today is the Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa in Kittery, Portsmouth Harbor Inn.  The room cost me almost as much for one night as I paid for all 5 nights in Bar Harbor but all the hotels in the area were quite pricey and I decided it was ok to splurge.  My room is on the 3rd floor of the inn and has a lovely view from the skylight of Portsmouth.  You get a comfy robe (I am sitting with it on as I write this), fancy soaps and bath salts, fluffy towels and a comfy bed.  Breakfast looks like it will be served at a communal table and the inn lady said something about caramel croissant bread pudding.  Usually not my thing, but I will try it out!  I guess if you are going to splurge, you might as well get your money's worth.

I walked to New Hampshire to get ice cream for dinner.  It's right across the river so not a long walk to enter another state.  On my way back, the lift bridge went up for a small cruise ship.  It seems like there are many restaurants in Portsmouth and also quite a few in Kittery.  Kittery is the oldest town in Maine and seems to be a very nice place.  In my opinion, Maine is a very beautiful and welcoming state, if you can get past the lack of informational signs.  While I love the coast, I would like to return and visit some of inland areas where there are better chances to view wildlife and have a slower paced vacation.