A Wonderful Weekend Getaway in Camden, Maine

Another Labor Day weekend trip for the scrapbook! Even with COVID-19 still affecting everyone’s travel, I couldn’t skip an opportunity to safely explore a new city with my love. Last year, I wrote about Liam and my road trip to Nags Head, North Carolina during the week of Labor Day. This year we were restricted to stay a bit closer to home. We decided Camden, Maine was close enough to be a destination and still remain in compliance with COVID’s travel restrictions. 

I chose Camden under the assumption that the annual Windjammer Festival, a sailboat festival, was still scheduled. Liam wanted to dress like pirates for the day as the festival involved old-timey pirate ships rather than modern sailboats. To prepare, we spent the night before planning our outfits and practicing different smoky eyeshadows on Liam (he wanted to look like Johnny Depp). However, the internet was wrong, and when we showed up in costume… the event had been canceled. Liam was not deterred and continued parading around downtown Camden in full eyeliner. 

We stopped for fish & chips at Whale’s Tooth Pub, still in pirate attire, to brainstorm a different plan for the weekend. After, we headed over to the Black Horse Inn to drop off our bags. The inn was lovely, an incredibly accommodating bed & breakfast run by the sweetest couple. 

Opting for exercise, I voted for hiking the short but steep Mount Battie Trail in Camden Hills State Park. The heavily trafficked path is 1 mile in length and 600ft in elevation gain. The website indicated that “some scrambling” was involved, as parts of the hike are sheer rock face, but not dangerous. Much to Liam’s amusement, I forgot to pack athletic wear and did the trek in jeans and Birkenstock sandals. Atop the hill we discovered a beautiful view of the entire Camden marina. We planned on revisiting the picnic spot we found the next morning to watch the 5 a.m. sunrise, but neither of us are morning people. 

Wine and cheese have become staples in this relationship, but instead Liam chose Walgreens champagne (yes, Maine convenience stores sell alcohol!) and local ice-cream to enjoy down by the docks.  

The next morning, I made a reservation at the Marriner’s Grille for breakfast. Maine is known for their incredible blueberries, so Liam tried a freshly baked blueberry muffin while I settled for eggs and toast. After fueling up for the day, Liam needed to complete some online work so I had the opportunity to explore the downtown shops. A sucker for all things vintage, I stopped into the Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café to peruse their unique collection of books and trinkets.

We spent the next couple of hours biking 6 miles of hilly roads from Camden to Rockport and back. All I wanted was to visit Curtis Island Lighthouse, but the gps kept rerouting us and we never found it

Since the ride took up most of our time, we skipped lunch and instead grabbed an early reservation at Peter Ott’s on the Water for dinner. It gets a bit chilly at night in Maine! I was shivering over our shared clam chowder and swiss burger. Another bottle of champagne and Schitt’s Creek wrapped up our last night at the Black Horse Inn. Liam says we need to celebrate the little things in life, like great weather to enjoy the day and good health that keep us active.

P.S. On the 4 hour drive back, we found a lighthouse! We quickly stopped by Nubble Lighthouse in York for a photo op before heading home. 

If you have any follow up questions about something I didn’t cover in Camden, please email me at hello@alostblonde.com

♡ Abigail Reagan