We had a half day together with Val and Steve on our last day in Maine (Thursday October 12). Our plan was to check out the pond by the house, which we did, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I’m kind of regretting not kayaking on it, but we did so many other fun things.

Then we went to breakfast at The Friendly Toast in Portland, which Kiersten had recommended because they have vegan options. I got the vegan scramble and it was so so good! And Steven and I got a pancake to share that was decent, too. Steven said he liked two of my meals better than his on this trip – this scramble, and the grilled cheese I got Monday.

After that we went to MEow Cat Lounge in Westbrook.

A cat lounge hadn’t even been on our radar and for whatever reason it popped up when I was on my phone Thursday morning so we all decided to go. It was nice – they had a decent sized shop and room with all the cats. It made me realize how much I missed our cats and that I was happy to be on my way home to see them.

We dropped Val and Steve off at the airport (with plans to figure out our next get together soon because we all LOVED spending time together and vibed so well! I figured that would be the case but it made me really happy that it was.) then went back to the downtown Portland area to kill some time. We walked around, dropped off postcards, and I got another vegan donut.

I kept getting compliments on my shirt – at breakfast, at the cat cafe, walking around, at the airport. So nice! My friend Lauren in Australia gave it to me. It’s from KilkennyCat Art.

Then we headed back and dropped off our rental car and went through the very easy security into the tiny airport (they had, what, 14 gates?). I ADORE small airports. And love that they had free wifi so I could do a bit of posting and catching up on Instagram.

Our flight left on time around 4:40 ET. I spent the entire flight writing recaps of the trip and getting all the photos ready. It was a good use of a 2.5+ hour flight! Chicago ORD was so busy, and we landed then taxied for 20 minutes then waited at our gate for another 20. Sigh. Oh, Chicago.

But! When we got to the luggage carousel our bags were just coming out! And we went right to the parking garage and got the heck out of there and were home by 8:30 CT. I unpacked, had a PB sandwich, petted the cats a bit, then went to bed!

We had such a wonderful time in Maine and New Hampshire with Val and Steve. The only thing that would have made it better was it we hadn’t both gotten colds! But we didn’t let it slow us down and still got to see and do so much. I’m really grateful we finally got to see this part of the country, that we had great weather, and great company, and got to see Kiersten and Charlyn too.

These recaps have been very “I did this then this then that” style for ease of writing for me, and because I write separate private posts about inside jokes and other random things from the trip. All that to say, these come off a bit stale and robotic but please don’t interpret that to mean anything other than I am a lazy writer! We had a wonderful time away and it made me really excited to plan something for next year with Val and Steve!

On Wednesday (October 11) I woke up finally feeling better and having energy. FINALLY. Unfortunately, Steven now had my cold and felt like garbage. So I took over driving duties, and drove us just over an hour to the New Hampshire State House in Concord.

First though, we stopped at the Starbucks nearby to try to buy the New Hampshire Been There mug. They were out, and Val is so sweet and called all the local Starbucks to ask, and they were all out too. They told us they sell out fast when they do have them, so no New Hampshire mug for me, but I was able to get Maine in the airport the day we left! And I really appreciate Val calling so many of them!

Gah, I got so annoyed at Starbucks. We went inside and stood at the counter forever before they would talk to us. That just makes me bonkers. I was going to get a drink but got so mad I didn’t get anything. Deep breaths, Kim.

Okay, so then we went to the State House. I liked the exterior better than the one in Maine but the interior was pretty blah.

Still very cool to see though! And I liked the urban setting and that it was around shops and restaurants. Val and I went to the running store (where I found some vegan waffles and another pair of Goodrs), and we all got lunch at Dos Amigos Burritos. The burrito was good but the filling inside wasn’t super warm which I don’t prefer – I like the inside of my burrito to be warm.

Ugh, during lunch I had a choking fit. It happened once when I was driving too. I felt like there was something small, like a popcorn kernel, logged in my throat, and I couldn’t breath and my eyes started to water. So frustrating. I left the restaurant and went outside until it subsided then went back in (Steven came out to check on me, aww).

After lunch I drove us to the White Mountain National Park visitor center in Lincoln , and we got tips on what to see on our drive on the Kancamagus Highway. Val had researched the National Forest the day before and found the tip to drive that 35 mile scenic byway and I’m so glad she found it! We told a few locals in Concord we were going and they raved about it.

Steve took over driving after the visitor center and I moved to the navigator seat. We stopped at the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge and were awed by all the fall colors there,

went to a few overlooks that looked the same,

saw a cool waterfall at Sabbady Falls,

intended to read the interpretive signs at the Russell-Colbath House but just goofed around taking jumping photos (we all laughed so hard – Steve said that was his favorite part of the day, and Steven said it made his cold feel better),

and saw the Rocky Gorge.

The National Forest was beautiful and I can see why the person who told us about it liked it better IF what they were going for was fall color, because there was a lot of that there. I’m so glad we went. Again, I would LOVE to explore more of the trails there someday! It would have been cool to see part of the Appalachian trail.

We left the forest and Steve drove us to Revolution Taproom and Grill in Rochester, New Hampshire, where we were meeting Charlyn. I hadn’t seen her since March 1, 2020 when we came back from our Atlanta Olympics Marathon Trials trip! Isn’t that nuts? She moved to Maine about a year ago and I was like “ahh! Will I ever see her again?!”

I’m so glad it worked out to meet up. We got to catch up over appetizers and dinner, and I loved hearing about how different her life is in Maine and how much happier she is. My heart was very full after seeing her and Val and Steve enjoyed meeting her!

I drove us back to the Airbnb, and we got back just after 10:00. I mostly finished writing postcards (about 15?) then we all found out we didn’t win the lottery (womp womp) and called it a night. I got most of my things packed so I wouldn’t have to do it the next day. Poor Steven felt so horrible, and sounded horrible, and did NOT sleep well that night, but I slept much better, just like I had the day before, and hoped his cold would be as quick as mine!

I felt decent on our second day in Maine but I woke up the third day (Tuesday October 10) feeling like absolute garbage. My face was draining and I was sneezing so much and coughing a bit (I had warned Kiersten the day before that I was this way and she absolutely did not care since she had kids and is an infectious disease nurse, and Val & Steve also didn’t mind, but I still felt bad to be that way around them). I slept horribly and woke up counting down the minutes to when I could take Mucinex. Sigh. Anyway.

We had a fun adventure planned for the day – visiting the state capitol in Augusta, then going to Acadia National Park. I can’t believe how lucky I am (as a Midwesterner) to have been to three national parks this year – Saguaro, Joshua Tree, and now, Acadia. I’m very grateful.

Steven drove us to Augusta and we did the self guided tour of the State House. Val had said she’d never been inside a capitol building before and now she’s interested in checking out the inside of Colorado’s in Denver and maybe seeing Wyoming’s in Cheyenne. I think it’s fun (obviously).

The building wasn’t super impressive, but did overlook a beautiful park, which we enjoyed seeing. And I mailed my dad his birthday card from a mailbox inside of it, so now his card will have a Maine stamp.

Eek, when we were leaving, we heard a loud crunch behind us and two cars had collided. Maybe a Massachusetts driver? Ha, I say that, because both Kiersten, and later, Charlyn, were telling us how horrible the Masshole drivers are.

The crash sounded bad but luckily enough, an ambulance and cop car were right there so they just turned their lights on and drove the 100 feet to the accident. And I should note, we saw everyone get out the cars okay, so that made us feel better.

We stopped at Dunkin’ (Charlyn said they call it Dunk?) on the way out of town then began the long leg to Bar Harbor. The first leg to Augusta was just over an hour and the second was about two and a half. Ha, the day before when we told Kiersten we were planning to drive there she said “that’s so far!” and we were all talking about how it doesn’t seem far to us, being from bigger cities, but we totally get why it seems far to her (and it was far, ha).

Also, while I am talking about driving, whoa, the roads are so curvy and random out in Maine! I felt like I never really got my sense of direction because I was almost always on a weird curvy route. Definitely different from the Midwest!

We stopped at Mother’s Kitchen outside of the National Park and had delicious sandwiches, then headed to the visitor center to get a map and a park pass. And postcards, since I love to send them.

We had made a reservation to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain, and somehow timed it perfectly for our 2:30-3:00 time slot. It was gorgeous up there and I definitely recommend it, if you go!

After we drove down we took the one way route around the park, stopping at Thunder Hole to hear the loud water that sounds like thunder,

Otter Point for a little walk, and Jordan Pond Path to see the mountains (hills?) reflect off the pond.

While we were at Jordan Pond Path another tourist asked us to take their picture then asked if we’d been to White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire. I told them no, but my plan was to go there tomorrow, the group just didn’t know it yet. Ha. This person raved about the National Forest and said they missed it while being in Acadia and thought the forest was better. I would say it was different. Acadia (for us) was all shore and rock, which we loved seeing, and the forest was all about the trees (duh). But more on that tomorrow.

I loved getting a little glimpse of Acadia. Like with all National Parks, I wish I could spend more time there and do a serious hike.  Maybe some day!

We headed back toward our Airbnb with a stop at Mason’s Brewing Company in Brewer, Maine, where I got a vegan burger and fries. I think it was decent but I felt a bit meh so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should.

Steven had been doing all the driving and then I started after we left the brewery and did the over two hour drive back. I think we got back around 10:30 pm. We did a lot in one day that had over 6 hours of car time!

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Maine with Val and her husband Steve!

The seed for this trip was planted when I asked Val if she wanted to go to New Hampshire to run a race being announced by Ali from the Ali on the Run podcast. Then it became “we should bring our husbands too and explore the area!” Then we realized Ali would understandably not be announcing any races there but decided we should still go. When I mentioned that on the blog Kiersten said “if you’re going to be in New Hampshire you might as well come to Maine too!” And I was like, duh, Steven and I have been talking about how we want to visit Maine for YEARS. Like, since college. 20 years ago. F-o-r-e-v-e-r. So we pivoted to a Maine trip with maybe a day trip to New Hampshire. And I’m so glad we did!

Val, Steve, and I booked this trip when we were together in August, and I threw a few ideas and restaurants on our travel spreadsheet shortly after, then was a super slacker when it came to planning anything. Oops. When we left Sunday morning, I knew we’d figure it out when we were all together (and Steve was so complimentary of all the planning I did. I appreciate that, because I felt like I did so little!).

Ugh, also, when we left Sunday morning, I had a slightly scratchy throat. It came out of nowhere (well, that’s not true – it came from SOMETHING, I just mean I didn’t have any symptoms before Sunday morning). I tried to think positively that it was just from the switch to cooler weather, but nope, by the time I went to bed Sunday night, my voice was all weird and my face was draining. Wah.

Why body, why? Why do you do this to me when I am finally on a vacation? (Answer: because my body is finally NOT in a constant stress state and sees an opportunity to get sick?)

Anyway. For the first few days of this trip I didn’t feel like my normal energetic travel version of Kim. But it got better by the third full day, thankfully.

So back to Sunday. Steven and I flew out of Chicago ORD in the late morning and arrived in Portland, Maine in the early afternoon. It looked charming and quaint just flying in! I was excited to see it on the ground.

We picked up our rental car and went to the downtown Portland area to kill some time before we picked up Val and Steve. It was nice to get the lay of the land before they got in, since we did most of the driving and navigating.

After they arrived (and Steven and Steve met for the first time!) we got a few things from the grocery store, then went back down to the downtown/port area to walk around and get dinner. Val and Steve had been to Portland on an upper east coast trip they did in May and knew a bit about the shops and history of the area, which was fun (since, see above, I had done no research).

At one point, we walked down a harbor and a local said “What do you call a deer with no eyes?” We asked what, and he responded “No I deer” but with the accent it sounded like “idear” and we all thought it was hilarious.

We went to The Green Elephant, an Asian Vegetarian Restaurant for dinner. We got some appetizers, noodle dishes for our main course, and tried the pumpkin tapioca. Everything was pretty good, but I was fading fast at that point (I hadn’t taken any cold medicine since I thought it was just a tickle in my throat).

Then we headed to our Airbnb in Standish (<– definitely click that link to see how beautiful it is!). When I research Airbnbs I’m all about the ambiance/aesthetic of it, and the amount of bathrooms and bedrooms. This Airbnb did NOT dissapoint. It was a cute little home in the woods that looked exactly like the listing photos and we all loved it! I love when I’ve found a great Airbnb because I’ve picked out some real stinkers!

We hung out a bit in the Airbnb but didn’t stay up super late because we’d all had a long day, especially Val and Steve because they had a connecting flight to get to Portland from Denver. Oh! But Steven and I did watch an episode of Silo, since the Airbnb had Apple+. He liked it, so we may have to get a month subscription to finish it up at home!