The sunrise from Bar Harbor, Maine.
I slid into coat check of the restaurant at which I am currently employed during the middle of a Saturday dinner rush to check my phone. Six messages and two missed calls from my Mom flashed on my lock screen. “Gosh I hope someone didn’t die” I thought. I unlocked my phone and skim the messages, getting the gist that my mom just accepted a new job offer and thus, that coming week would probably be the only time we would get to spend together during my two days off before she got busy. So, she suggested we take a road trip up to Maine for a day. It’s a six and a half hour drive up to the part of Maine where she wanted to venture to, and we would only stay the night. I would have to be back the next day to get ready for work. I was going to get out late from work the night before we left. Everything about it seemed like a sporadic idea that wasn’t all that logical. I heard the quick footsteps of my General Manager approaching the coat check, a.k.a. my cue to get out of my hiding place and get back to work. I typed out a quick sentence and hit send before I stepped out of the tiny closet and flashed a pearly smile at my boss.
"Let's do it."
The next day I came to work with a duffle bag that could double as a body bag packed and ready to go. After giving the puppy dog face to my closing manager for about an hour, he caught my drift that I was ready to get out of there and cut me early. I hailed a cab and headed straight to Grand Central, hopped on a train going upstate with two minutes to spare and sat down in the cushy but unsanitary Metro North seats, relieved to be off my feet for the first time in 12 hours. The hour and a half ride to Carmel was a blur because I passed out, and once I got home I only had time to fit in a quick nap before it seemed as though I had to rise immediately to leave for the Pine Tree State.
My lack of sleep caught up with me on the ride, and I awoke to cooler air and a tree-lined highway. We were almost in Bangor, Maine, where we would be spending the night before continuing on our self-designed speed tour. First on the list of things to do was of course food. I had zero time to plan out a detailed itinerary of the must-eat places, like I usually do, so I quickly google mapped a spot where I knew I could get some carbs in me with a side of fine dining. Thus, my mom and I found ourselves at Timber Kitchen and Bar. We walked in during an odd hour, resulting in a near empty restaurant save for a group of handsome Australians. The emptiness made me question if I was actually going to enjoy my dining experience, but the amount of food the folks from down under ordered, along with the amount of times they thanked their server for the meal, quickly reassured me.
The forest mushroom wood-fired dough looked comparable to some decent New York personal pies, so we ordered one of those to share along with a half portion of the creamy Pan-tossed Camp Noodles sans chicken. The dishes were heavy, though very good, and exactly what we needed after the long journey. We didn’t even have room for dessert!
The spread at Timber Kitchen and Bar.
We had some time to spare after dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night in, so we set off to explore the waterfront of downtown Bangor. A basin of water held a few sailboats that bobbed along to the slightly chilling breeze blowing through the area. The water was flat but the wind caused small choppy waves to form along its surface. A small family of ducks circled around themselves before dispersing in an organized fashion towards deeper water. I walked along the pathway that broke into small grassy patches along its length as the cloud covered sun set over the area. It’s a lovely spot to bring a family for a picnic or for a puppy to play, but there wasn’t much else that I found during my short time there. My mom and I departed for our hotel just after dusk because we knew we would have an early start the next morning in order to get to Bar Harbor in time for our other plans.
A shot of me ft. a food coma induced expression at the downtown Bangor waterfront.
At 3am I woke up to the sound of my alarm, pulled on my hiking gear and packed a backpack for the mountains. The two hour drive from Bangor to Acadia National Park seemed to pass by in minutes since I was mesmerized by the view out the window as the terrain became more coastal. Our goal was to make it up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain by sunrise. The top of this mountain is the first place that the sunrise graces the Eastern Seaboard during the winter months due to its elevation point of 1,528 feet. I joined the few other brave hearts that were able to make it up the mountain on the slightly chilled morning to watch the sky turn lilac, peach, orange, and then finally a brilliant rouge overlooking the Porcupine Islands. I looked around and observed that this was one of those wondrous activities that brings strangers together. There must have been at least seventy-five people (and some pups) that didn’t necessarily know each other spaced out on the layers of rock, all watching the same sunrise. This kind of shared happy is something I wish I took more time to notice in life.
The view as the first rays of morning light touched Cadillac Mountain's summit.
After our morning adventure, my mom and I made our way back to civilization and stopped in downtown Bar Harbor to grab a quick bite and explore before making our way into southern Maine, and then home. We found a small establishment called Coffee Hound that had a line forming out its door. We soon discovered why the little hideout was so popular: caffeine served in every possible way and some delicious blueberry pastries to go along with them. I was completely enchanted once I discovered they had matcha, of course. Our little breakfast ended up being an almond matcha latte and blueberry bagel for me and a chai latte with a blueberry hand pie for my mom. It all added up to a grand start to the day and gave us the energy to roam around the colorful edifices of the town before heading back to the car.
Our post-morning hike breakfast.
We were a few hours into our car ride home when we decided to make a lunch stop in Kennebunkport. The coastal touristy town has always been a favorite for my mom and we were able to dine at the elegant David’s KPT. My mom had the ginger and scallion encrusted salmon and I had the southwest vegan flatbread, which consisted of a black bean, corn, and sweet potato cake, veggies, avocado, and southwestern style dressing. Pro tip: swap the fries for the asparagus you won’t be disappointed. Our meal was paired with a conversation about why I went full vegetarian from my formerly pescetarian identity in mid-May, and how my mom was contemplating doing the same. It’s surely a transition and I’m excited to see where her decision leads. I also may or may not be constantly DM’ing her recipes from @bestofvegan on instagram to help nudge her my way. 😉
The interior of David's KPT in Kennebunkport.
A snap of our departing lunch.
Despite the variety David’s KPT’s lunch menu offered, their dessert menu didn’t impress us as much, and so we headed off to search for a sweet treat. We found our solace at Rococo’s Artisan Ice Cream. With exotic flavors that rotate daily and sold from small batches, there are always people flowing in and out of the tiny shop during the warm Maine summer. I decided on a Persian Love Cake cone. The ice cream itself was rosewater and cardamom flavored and had bits of traditional persian love cake churned into it. In a word, exquisite. With the last of our ice creams devoured on a roadside bench overlooking the water, we decided it was time to get a move on back home. I’m sure I’ll have cravings for this particular flavor even when I’m unfortunately nowhere near Kennebunkport; it was the perfect ending to our relaxing, yet productive day in Maine. Ultimately, I think I’ve found a new happy place in Maine, especially Acadia National Park, and I’m sure I’ll be back in the future.
Thoroughly enjoying my Persian Love Cake cone.