A Family Trip to Coastal Maine Uncovers the Slow Side of Summer Travel
Portland Head Light: Maine’s oldest lighthouse. Andrew Faulk
From quiet beaches to coastal art, America’s Vacationland moves at its own pace.
By Andrew Faulk:
I arrived in Maine picturing its stereotypical coastline – rocky outcroppings and jagged shores – but my first visit to this part of the States revealed a much richer picture. At Ogunquit Beach, my family and a few kite flyers shared miles of soft dunes lined with beach roses and expansive views of the Atlantic. I loved photographing Nubble Lighthouse, which invited creative composition.
Open ocean in Cape Neddick. Andrew Faulk
In Portland, the Casco Bay Artisans gallery and others paired realistic interpretations of the seaside with abstract, modern takes. From her city studio, painter Jenny McGee Dougherty renders the colors and textures of Portland and her regular winter cold plunges in the Atlantic in bright, irregular shapes on canvas and in murals. “There’s a long tradition of painting the coastal landscape here,” she says. “But there’s also a sense that Maine is a place where you can find the time and space to create.”
Kennebunkport’s red-doored White Barn Inn and (right) Maine’s natural beauty. Andrew Faulk
I’d landed in southern Maine with my wife and 8-year-old son, Milo, without expectations, hoping only for a change of pace from our usual summer routine in Asheville, North Carolina. Our weeklong trip started in Portland before we piled into a rental car and headed south to Wells and York, then back up to Kennebunkport. Lighthouses, galleries, and the shifting shades of summer light (even muted grays during the frequent rain) informed our route.
Ogunquit style: Plein air painter Ric Della Bernarda and (right) a garden along Ogunquit’s Marginal Way. Andrew Faulk
The generous portions of poolside chicken tenders really sold Milo on Cliff House Maine, where 226 balconied rooms hosted plenty of families whose kids congregated to play Marco Polo at the pool. During our stay I got in on the local seaside painting practice, joining one of artist Ric Della Bernarda’s plein air classes, held in the tradition of nearby Ogunquit’s art colonies that date back to the early twentieth century. Other local specialties popped up at Kennebunkport’s 27-room White Barn Inn, where turndown service came with chocolate-covered blueberries, and dinner at the inn’s restaurant started with a standout tomato tartare and ended with lobster, rabbit, and steak – oh, my!
Lobster buoys on Portland’s pier and (right) tomato tartare from White Barn Inn. Andrew Faulk
By day three, when the sun finally came out, we found Maine’s salt air had swept away the pressure to pack our days with constant activity. Milo was thrilled to watch the boats come and go in Perkins Cove harbor. We passed one pleasant afternoon browsing salvaged home parts at the museum-like Old House Parts Company in Kennebunk. At the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, I lost myself in the patterns the salt marshes sculpted in the grass beds with their shifting tides. In the end, it didn’t matter what we expected of Maine – we found what we needed.
A sun break along York’s coastline and (right) family time at Cliff House Maine. Andrew Faulk