Boothbay Harbor, Maine + Bangor, Maine
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You guys, for the first time EVER, we got to 165 episodes before we went to the same area! BOTH OF OUR DAYS ARE IN MAINE! We’ve done Maine before - Lulu took a solo romantic holiday in Kennebunkport a few months back - but we’ve never been this close to each other! Lulu visits Bangor, Stonington, Unity, Brewer, and Spruce Island, all within a three hour drive of each other, while Alison mostly stays between Boothbay Harbor and Popham Beach.
Alison is obsessed with all things soft come sleep time. She’s got new pajamas courtesy of Valentine’s Day, and she can’t stop raving about her new silk pillowcases!
Lulu is obsessed with her newest read, Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, and with the fact that Siri can calculate your tip!
Alison is reeeaaalllyyy needing a new dishwasher. None of the cleaning hacks work, and even if they would, the hassle is just not even worth it. Lulu is wishing for someone to do all the adulting for her. It’s just enough already. Can we all just get a personal assistant to make being an adult bearable? K, thanks.
Alison doubled her research for this week's 10K Day as research for a future in-real-life trip with her family. So she's bringing them along in this imaginary version too! Alison and crew are staying an hour from Boothbay at this Waterfront Estate in Popham Beach that she found on Airbnb. The 7 bedroom, 5.5 bath property has loads of space to stay and play!
Enjoy the white sandy beach or take a dip in the lake! There's space for a large bonfire, or you can curl up by the wood burning fireplace indoors. There's a huge veranda, dining space for up to 16, and loads of games. This place averages $1900/night including taxes and fees, be mindful that there is a 4-night minimum.
The group heads for breakfast at Mama D’s Cafe where the coffee is renown and the breakfast staples won’t let you down. Alison is particularly interested in trying the Teacher’s Pet, which consists of potato toast with peanut butter, apple slices, bacon, and a honey drizzle.
After breakfast Alison’s family looks up family-owned businesses and books Mainetain Charters for a fishing excursion. You meet up with your captain at Ocean Point Inn & Resort, and set sail from their on your customized adventure. All fishing tackle, life jackets, required licenses, and safety gear come with your booking, $275 for 3 hours. for 1-6 people.
After their time at sea the crew heads to Finn McCools ice cream shop for some sundaes made with their locally-made, all-natural ice cream! Next they take in the sights and sounds of Railway Village, a 30 acre recreation of an old 1850’s Maine town with refurbished buildings and trains! Good old-fashioned family fun!
For a late lunch they are headed out to Cabbage Island Clambakes, sailing in from Boothbay Harbor, and at the waters edge upon landing they do a traditional downeast clambake. The cost is $72.50 USD per person, and includes the food, the experience, and the informative narration on the way over. They enjoy the fish chowder, two lobsters, steamers, potato, onion, egg, corn on the cob and blueberry cake per person, and while they do offer a kids menu that substitutes hot dogs and chips for the lobster and sides, she’s thinking her kids will go for the real deal.
Next they explore the “living museum” that is the Burnt Island Living Lighthouse Tour. After hearing about the history and what a day as a lighthouse keeper was like from costumed re-enactors, you get to go on a nature walk that will get you up close and personal with the native flora, fauna, and marine wildlife of the area. The three hour tour costs $28 per adult and $18 per child (3-11 years old).
Somehow still having energy to burn - you know how kids can be - the group grabs a couple two-seater kayaks and hit the water for a bit before dinner! For dinner they make sure they’ve had their fill of lobster at the Sunset Lounge at Boothbay Harbor Inn, where they snag a seat by the fire pit overlooking the water.
Lulu found a unique stay, the only place to stay in fact on this private off-the-grid island. A part of Stonington, Maine, Spruce Island has cell service and wifi available via satellite, though its electricity is supplied by wind and solar farms and its water by wells and cisterns. There's a plethora of nature to be explored, with bald eagles sighted regularly and a sky where you can “gaze into the heavens and see a universe of stars you can’t see elsewhere because of light pollution”. They provide boats and kayaks, and pirate costumes if you feel like dressing up and playing pretend with the kids (or childlike adults) of your group. (These may be coming in to play later!) This place can sleep up to 18, making it the perfect place for family vacations and reunions. You can opt for a full service "vacation", where meals and activities and transport to and from mainland and other small islands is included, if you so choose. Campfires, golfing off the shoreline, capture-the-flag, and quarry exploring are just some of the "recommended" activities!
Lulu makes a nearly two-hour day trip to Unity, Maine to visit Charcuterie, a small sausage shop. The goods found here are handmade by a man who left his life in a Michelin-starred restaurant, adopted the Amish faith and way of life, and devoted himself to making all the artisanal meats a carnivore could dream of. The shop is lit by oil lamps, and ingredients are kept in a pine plank "cold room" with 80 tons of ice harvested from a local lake. All of the meat is ground by hand. This is as authentic as it gets. Lulu loves jerky, so definitely going to get some of that for herself, and she's going to ship a selection to previous #10KSaturday guest Jon Barr, who happens to be a plant-based charcuterie board connoisseur. Not sure what he'll do with the meat? Perhaps he can assemble it in an aesthetically pleasing way and re-gift to Lulu? We see what she did there.
For lunch Lulu heads to Eagle’s Nest in Brewer, Maine. They have an all-you-can-eat fish fry three times a week, but she is specifically going with a lobster roll in mind.
Next Lulu goes to see Stephen King's home in Bangor, Maine. Recently re-zoned to be a non-profit, the King family is turning it into an archive with appointment-only visits and a writer's retreat. It will not be open to the general public, as the Kings didn't want to create a tourist attraction in the middle of a neighborhood where they know and respect the residents. Love that, but also love the photo op to walk past and take a selfie with the wrought iron gate featuring spiders, bats, and the like!
Dinner is at The Fiddlehead Restaurant where first things first, she orders the smoky gin martini that is served with smoked gouda stuffed olives. To eat she orders the french onion bisque, the smoked mussels, vegetable curry, a cheese plate, and an Irish coffee.
Now Lulu wants to utilize the amazing private island she booked, so she went to GigSalad.com to find some entertainment. She really wants Before the Mast — 8 guys who sing sea songs and shanties - to come perform, but they are technically in New Brunswick (that's Canada) and only travel up to 200 miles. Her island is well over 300 miles away, but she's hoping the evening she has planned will twist their arms.
She hires a boat and dresses the singing group in the pirate costumes provided by her Airbnb. She flies Alison in to join in on the singin' and sea farin' fun!
After a sea-worthy performance, Lulu, Alison, and the men of the Before The Mast singing group enjoy a campfire on the shore of her private island. She went all out to create a chill evening. She found these fire logs made from recycled coffee grounds, and ordered instant coffee and Kraken Black Spiced Rum. She also imagines she'll need a pot or kettle, a grate, and oven mitt...surely things she can find inside the Airbnb. She serves everyone a round of her favorite Not Buttered Rum in these pirate coffee mugs. Now for a midnight snack she roasts these wagyu beef hot dogs she got delivered through Goldbelly over an open flame, then serves them in these lobster roll buns. She's got all your classic condiments, and to elevate this evening's eats she has a black truffle and white wine infused mustard on hand.
Lulu also has the obligatory marshmallows ready to roast, but Madyson’s Marshmallows are not your everyday basic mallows. She gets the chocolate peanut butter stuffed and chocolate stuffed marshmallows, and the cinnamon sugar and cookies and cream coated marshmallows. This is gourmet fireside dining! She also has a flannel blanket for herself and each of her guests to keep warm with as they hang out until the night stars come into view.
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