Foliage & Lobsters | Fall Road Trip to Maine

Beautiful foliage, delicious lobsters, cute towns, and we even happened upon an alpaca farm. Ahh, it must be fall in Maine. Maine has been beckoning me for a few years now, and Justin and I finally got to make our way up the coast this October. I headed over to the East Coast as soon as I had a break in my wedding schedule, which we knew was a week past when we’d ideally go up, but we hoped for the best and made our way up when we could. Well, despite a few bare trees, rainy conditions up in Acadia, and two of our top lobster places being closed for the season, it was still absolutely beautiful, and we still ate delicious lobsters every day (sometimes multiple times a day). I had a wonderful time and would absolutely do it again.

The first day, we drove straight from Philadelphia to the southern part of Maine’s coast. We stayed the first night in an adorable airbnb in Kennebunkport.

We were pretty sad that the first lobster place we attempted to visit had just closed for the season. Workers were still there cleaning up, but no lobsters were to be had there.

Instead, we headed to Mabel’s. Two steamed lobsters please!

The next morning we woke up for sunrise and found our way to Cape Porpoise.

Then we continued back on the road up to Cape Elizabeth, where we had the best lobster rolls!

Amazing lobster rolls: Connecticut style and Maine style, accompanied by an amazing view. Next time I’m going back to try the chipotle lobster roll.

Next on our journey was a visit to Portland, Maine. This was a cute little shop called More & Co where I got a cute little Studio Arhoj cup to take home with me.

The Holy Donut, where you can get a donuts made with mashed potatoes. Yum! The pomegranate was my fave.

Drinks at the Portland Hunt & Alpine club. The whiskey cocktails were right up my alley.

And dinner was at Central Provisions. Tasty little tapas!

Our post-dinner destination was the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, which is open 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year.

Breakfast the next morning at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, where we stayed the night.

Whoopie pie! Maine is known for them, apparently. And blueberry pies too.

And then we found an alpaca farm!! Randomly!

Hello friends!

Next, we were heading to the Owl’s Head lighthouse, but the fog was definitely rolling in thick. We got sidetracked with these moody roadside scenes instead.

Apple whoopie pie. And a brief stop in Rockland before we continued northward.

Another foggy, misty stop. This time for some of our favorite lobsters of the trip, at Young’s Lobster Pound.

It’s just a warehouse at the end of a pier.

Lots of lobsters to choose from…

As fresh as it gets. We even came back again on our way down.

Then we were headed up to Acadia National Park for two nights of camping! More to come in the second post of this series…

Five Days in Maine:

First of all the best time to go is probably early October. This year peak foliage hit the week of October 12. A lot of lobster places also close for the season once the foliage reaches past peak. But that said, we went a little late (October 19-23) and still had a great time.
Day One: Drive up to Maine. It’s 6 hours from Philadelphia to southern Maine, but a whole lot closer from Boston or Connecticut (obviously).
- We stayed in Kennebunkport. It’s a cute little town with nice shops. I really liked Daytrip Society.
- Eat at The Clam Shack if you can. It should be your first lobster roll of the trip. So don’t go too late in the season like we did. They close in mid-October.
- Catch sunrise or sunset out at Cape Porpoise Pier. We actually navigated to the wrong part of Cape Porpoise but just went with it, but I hear the actual pier is nice.
Day Two: Portland and beyond.
- Bite into Maine is a must-stop. They’re just a little stand inside a park making the best lobster rolls you could ask for. Solid flavors, and lots of lobster per roll. You can head toward the water and if you go through a stand of trees you’ll find the perfect picnic table strategically placed with a lovely view of the Portland Head Light lighthouse.
- Portland is filled with cute shops and restaurants. Here are a couple we stopped by: More & Co– small boutique, be sure to pick up their free little curated Portland map; Portland Dry Goods– hipster wonderland; Blanche & Mimi– home goods; The Holy Donut– donuts made with Maine potatoes; the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club– happy hour whiskey cocktails; Central Provisions: tapas.
- End the day at the flagship L.L. Bean in Freeport since they never close anyway. 24/7 and 4 different stores on their campus. Or go here during the day if you also want to hit up the outlets, including Patagonia and North Face.
- We stayed in Waldoboro for the night.
Day Three: Heading to Acadia.
- Grab breakfast at Moody’s Diner. It’s a classic diner with super cheap prices to match. Nothing fancy, but such a great value. Pick up a whoopie pie and a blueberry pie to go while you’re at it. And visit the Moody’s gift shop in the back of the parking lot. We caught their end-pf-season sale so everything was 30% off (but would have been 40% off if we came back the next day).
- Stop by Weskeag Farms if you want to say hi to the alpacas! They also have produce for sale at their farm stand.
- Young’s Lobster Pound for delicious, fresh lobsters. They cook them in a brine that makes it extra tasty. We liked it enough to eat there twice.
Days Four & Five: Acadia & Back.
- And then we camped for two nights at the Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park before heading back down the coast Look out for the next post in the series for the images from the rest of the trip!

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often traveling around the world. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, or contact her to book your own session today.

Maine, 2016

Acadia National Park | Maine

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