Sorta Semi-Seasonal Life on Penobscot Bay

Pat Saunders is one of our favorite guests who travels from Henrietta NY to spend time in our little rural world. She’s a delightful letter writer and many times I’ve entreated her to write about her day trips and little discoveries because I’m absolutely certain that you’d love her attention to detail. She’s agreed to write about her journeys but in the meantime I’d like to share a page from her journal…in Pat’s words…

Where to begin? How did a reasonably normal couple “from away,” three states to be exact, become so addicted to Maine?

About 20 years ago, friends suggested Boothbay Harbor as a great place to vacation. Being cautious, we allowed ourselves on five days to try out the wonder that is Maine, never dreaming that we could be hooked so quickly! For the next two or three summers we returned to the same spot until we could no longer suppress the urge to experiment with one of the most well-known areas: Down East, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. En route we drove through postcard-picturesque Camden which became our next destination of choice. How we came to discover Bayside, a little community about 15 miles North of Camden, is a story in itself. The result was nine years of summer renting there, a single week per year at first and when that no longer was enough, we reserved two weeks.

Finally we realized that what we would most love to do, spend the Summer (and late Spring and early Fall!) in Mid-Coast Maine couldn’t be accomplished, short of winning BIG in the lottery, via long-term rental. So a few years ago, we and the bank bought an RV that I nicknamed The Litehouse which lives at Searsport Shores, a campground right on Penobscot Bay just about dead center of the Maine Coast.

Although we’re not yet able to be here for the entire season, we can’t wait for the 850 mile drive in May. During our times in Maine, we are truly ‘home.’ At the end of fall stay, when we have to leave the special spot until next year, there is sadness but knowing that we have a home at each end of our tips is pretty wonderful!

What can there be to do within an hour or two’s drive of Searsport Shores? Especially after all the time we’ve spent in the area? I could go on and on, but as I wrote at the beginning, where to begin?…installments to follow…