Boothbay Harbor, Maine 43.8523°N, 69.6281°W
Our Turkish Airlines flight touched down in Boston the Wednesday before Labor Day weekend. Sarah and I couldn’t have been more excited to be home for a few weeks.
Home in Boston!
We planned on spending a few weeks in the US in between our Africa and South America legs of the trip, and after seven months away we were – needless to say – very excited to catch up with friends and family!
Sarah’s dad and sister Kerry surprised us at the airport!
We spent a few days on Cape Cod visiting Sarah’s family and then headed back to Boston to participate in a bike ride in honor of Sarah’s mom and aunt. The Hub on Wheels weaves through the city of Boston and ends with a big party in Boston’s Government Center. It’s a great way to see the city and raise money for some great causes. Sarah’s aunt Carol has organized our team for the last two years, and it was fun to catch up with many of Sarah’s extended family at the race.
The Daigle family post-ride
The finish line!
When you don’t have a bike helmet, you have to improvise with what’s available. In this case a ski helmet (well done Erin Daigle)
The timing of our trip home also meant that we’d get to celebrate two weddings with friends and families. Sarah’s cousin Ben and his new wife Jen were married in a beautiful ceremony on Boston’s waterfront. Our friends Jeff and Lauren tied the knot up in Maine.
Congrats Ben and Jen!
Paparazzi shot of Jeff and Lauren. Status!
To Vacationland
After a few more days in Boston catching up with friends and family (and going through a trashcan-sized pile of mail), Sarah and I headed up north to Maine to get an early start to Jeff and Lauren’s wedding weekend. The wedding was in Boothbay Harbor, a small town on the southern half of Maine’s coast.
Sarah and I have spent some time in Maine, but mostly on ski trips up to Sunday River or to visit Portland on summer day trips. Neither of us had been to Boothbay Harbor, which is only about a three-hour drive from Boston. Surprisingly (especially given its close proximity to Boston) we didn’t come across many people that had visited this historic little waterfront town.
Boothbay Harbor was incorporated as a town in 1889, but the region around it has a history of fishing and shipbuilding dating back to the pilgrim days in the 17th century. Since its incorporation as a town, Boothbay Harbor has been a popular summer vacation destination for New Englanders and others looking to unwind in its seaside restaurants and bars, experience its waterways on kayak or boat, and take in the natural beauty of the surrounding area. And of course, eat a lot of lobster.
Boothbay Harbor
Maine has some of the most beautiful coastal landscapes in the US, and from what we have seen so far in our travels there are few places that can compete with the beauty of Maine’s rocky shores. And there a lot of it. Calculating the length of Maine’s coast using the NOAA’s “tidal shoreline” definition (inclusion of all of the state’s peninsulas, offshore islands, rivers, etc.), the state actually has more coastline than California and Texas!
Boothbay Harbor occupies a very small part of this massive coastline, but a part that looks like it was created by the Maine tourism board for its marketing materials. It’s as quintessential Maine as it gets. The town is only about five square miles but includes enough shops, waterfront bars, and restaurants, and outdoor activities to keep any visiting tourist happily occupied.
Surrounded by islands dotting the Gulf of Maine, the town is connected by a pedestrian bridge spanning a narrow part of the harbor. The footbridge includes a wooden house built in 1902, that has been a fish market, art gallery, and even a personal residence.
The footbridge house at night
A group of us took a boat tour in Boothbay Harbor, which took us past Burnt Island Lighthouse
Some people on the tour didn’t want their picture taken
Ram Island
Learning about lobsters on the boat tour
The shoreline of Boothbay Harbor is a great place to sit and think
We stayed at a little house on one of the many inlets with a group of friends. The house was adorable (Sarah’s word not mine), and close to town and all of its attractions.
Our home for Jeff and Lauren’s wedding
The garage had recently been converted to a waterfront living area.
View from the backyard
Mudslides at the Chowder House Boat Bar. KC and Sarah looking very nautical.
Tugboat Restaurant, great food but not sure how it got its name
Crazy popcorn flavors at Coastal Maine Popcorn Company
Cleaned up for the big wedding day
Visiting Vienna (Virginia)
After spending a few sunny September weeks in New England, we headed down to visit my family in an even warmer Virginia.
We planned to stay with my parents in Vienna, the Northern Virginia town where I grew up. When my parents picked us up at the airport we were met with a decorated car, a great surprise from our seven nieces and nephews!
Welcome back to us!
The welcome home committee
We spent most of our time in Vienna resting and re-packing for our remaining four months of travel. Most importantly, we got to reconnect with our family, including all of our nieces and nephews who were excited to hear our stories and tell us about their own adventures. We also got to meet our nephew Patrick for the first time! He’s the smallest guy in the picture above.
Sarah giving a lesson in making Vietnamese fresh rolls
Hiking in Great Falls, Virginia
While it was sad leaving our family and friends again, we were happy that this time it would only be four months, not seven, before we were together again.
My parents dropped us off at Dulles Airport, and we checked in for our next flight. The next stop was a place we were both familiar with, and also the place where I first traveled overseas way back in 1996. We were off to Ireland.
