We recently spent a week in beautiful Ogunquit Maine. We have been to Ogunquit before, but on this trip we had more time to explore. It’s an incredible destination and I’m sure we will visit again. In fact, Maine has a marketing slogan; Maine – The Way Life Should Be. I couldn’t agree more! Here are my thoughts – Ogunquit Maine – My Favorite Things.

Ogunquit Maine – My Favorite Things

Ogunquit was still pretty crowded with late summer tourists, and we were trying to social distance. So some of the things we may have done normally (such as the live theater or dining) we chose to avoid for the most part. We did dine out a couple of times, outdoors, and we also went in to a few shops. Mostly our activities involved being outside with our friends. And with great weather, there was no better place to be for any outdoor activity. Our list of favorites begins below.

Lobster

Duh. When in Maine, eat lobster. Now being a born and raised Pacific Northwest girl, I have a hard time finding a crustacean that lives up to Dungeness Crab. But I put lobster as a close second, especially when you can have really good, sweet and fresh lobster from Maine. During our week in Maine I ate lobster four times; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ogunquit offers dozens of places to eat lobster as well as many places to purchase fresh caught lobster for cooking at home. We did both, and also ate lobster on our final day Portland Maine. In Ogunquit I had a lobster omelette at the Omelette Factory, a lobster roll at Barnacle Billy’s and we bought and cooked fresh whole lobster one night with our friends. I also had another lobster roll at Gilbert’s in Portland. By the way, Gilbert’s clam chowder was great. Eating in general was great but lobster in Ogunquit Maine – My Favorite Things.

Walking, Running, Hiking

If you follow our blog you know that walking, running and hiking are a big part of our daily life, and while in Ogunquit we had plenty of opportunities for all of these. Since we were training for a half marathon we stayed on our running schedule with runs along the flat and beautiful Ocean Ave in the neighboring village of Wells. We also really enjoyed running in York Beach and along Long Sand Beach. Both of these areas are perfect for walking too. We also enjoyed walking at low tide on Ogunquit Beach and the path called Marginal Way at Perkins Cove.

With our group of friends we hiked one day in Agamenticus Mountain. This conservation area offers dozens of trails for a variety of hiking levels. We ended our hiking morning with more than eight miles and a bit more elevation than I was expecting. Phew it was a workout but also a beautiful and peaceful area. I highly recommend it.

Shops in Ogunquit

I’m not a big shopper, but I did want to pick up a few small gifts as well as a lobster charm to add to my ever-growing collection on my charm bracelet. So we took some time to check out a few shops in Ogunquit. Some of my favorite shops were in Perkins Cove and this is where I found my charm and some earrings at Sea Glass Jewelry. I also enjoyed the Ogunquit Village Food Market and the Ogunquit Soap Company on the main drag in Ogunquit.

Kennebunkport and York

Bookending Ogunquit are several small villages and towns, including Kennebunkport and York. We spent one morning in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. I wanted to see the Bush Family compound and it’s astonishing how close you can get to it from the viewpoint at Walkers Point (see photo). But my favorite thing in Kennebunkport was Saint Ann’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church.

York is actually not that small, made up of several villages that fall under the York jurisdiction. We visited York Beach, home to many resorts and shops. It is the quintessential New England Beach town. It was a great place to run but while running I kept stopping to take photos because it was just so stink’n cute!

Lighthouses

Cape Neddick is home to the Nubble Lighthouse in York Beach, one of the most famous in Maine. It is positioned on a tiny island about a hundred yards from the Cape, accessed by a tiny gondola. But visitors can only view it from the cape.

We spent one day in Portland Maine (about an hour north of Ogunquit) and visited two lighthouses here including the Portland Head Light and the much smaller Bug Light. Portland Head Light was my favorite and is everything you would imagine in a Maine Light House. The park at Portland Head Light – Fort Williams Park is really lovely too.

Portland Day Trip

On our final day we made our way an hour north to Portland for a quick visit. Besides the two lighthouses mentioned above, and lunch at Gilberts (also mentioned above) we walked around Old Port. It was a glorious sunny day and so we did not visit any of the museums, instead enjoyed the gorgeous scenery over the water and boats and tucked into a few shops. The pottery available is wonderful in this part of Maine. You could easily spend several days exploring Portland.

Boston

Finally, we said farewell to our friends and headed back to Boston for one night before our early morning flight. We have been to Boston MANY times so did not attempt to do any of its wonderful tourist things, but we did enjoy a Red Sox game that evening in the incomparable Fenway Park. The last time I was in Fenway was 1982. It was great to be back. We plan to be back in Boston next spring, so we saved visiting the other iconic sites for then.

Flying in and out of Logan Airport in Boston when visiting Ogunquit is easy. The drive from Boston to Ogunquit is about an hour and a half. You can also fly to Portsmouth New Hampshire or Portland Maine – both about an hour drive to Ogunquit.

The Way Life Should Be

We tentatively hope to be back in New England again next September with a visit to Acadia and parts North. Hopeful we can pull that off…but our week in this beautiful state will not soon be forgotten. Good friends, good food and good fun. Can’t ask for anything better than that.

Maine – The Way Life Should Be. Ogunquit Maine – My Favorite Things

See this week’s top performing pin here, Nashville For First-Timers.

See last week’s Running for Recovery post here.

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