Each summer for the last twelve years, my family has rented a house for a few days in the New England area. This summer’s location was Falmouth, Maine. Using Falmouth as a home base, we ventured out to surrounding towns, including Westbrook, Freeport, Portland, and Bath. On our long weekend in Maine, there was fun for the whole family, including a visit to a farm, a brewery, and a ball game.
Smiling Hill Farm
Smiling Hill Farm is great fun for my kids. Since they’re five and two, the barnyard full of animals and vehicles they can climb into are just their speed. Smiling Hill is a working dairy farm that delivers its milk throughout the area. They also operate a dairy barn and cafe that serves sandwich-type fare and also scoops its own ice cream. You can visit the dairy barn and the cow barn without paying admission. Admission is only necessary at the Barnyard and is very reasonable.
The Barnyard is well worth the time and money for kids though. Goats, pigs, llamas, and emus are among the animals in this barnyard. Kids can feed the more docile animals such as goats and sheep directly by hand and others such as the emu and the pigs through a plastic tube. My kids thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the animals. Toward the back of the barnyard is a petting zoo where sheep and goats are not in pens but instead all around visitors. This interactive experience is especially rewarding since kids can actually pet the animals.
Also as part of the Barnyard, there are many fun things to climb in and on. The foremost is the train. A multi-car wooden train was a hit when my older son was less than two, and still, at five he loved it. Kids can wiggle in and out of the train cars climbing from one to the next. Other vehicles include a wooden monster truck and a construction vehicle.
LL Bean
We typically visit this region of Maine yearly. One of the places that we always visit is the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport. This gigantic outdoors and everyday clothing and accessories store is actually open 24 hours! My kids always love to pose next to the gigantic duck boot which greets visitors at the main entrance. The stuffed moose locking horns in the window is another hit. Both during this visit and last, the kids enjoyed poking around the room of tents pretending they were camping out.
Day’s Crabmeat and Lobster
While visiting Maine, a lobster dinner is an absolute must. We looked for a restaurant where we could eat outside. Not far from Falmouth, Day’s is located in nearby Yarmouth right on Route 1. Day’s was a perfect Maine lobster experience. The meal started with two orders of steamers for the four of us who were eating them. Steamers (steamed clams) are the perfect way to start a seafood dinner. In my opinion, they were delicious. The lobsters were a pound and a half each. The shells needed some dedicated cracking for most of us, but the succulent meat inside was well worth it! The kids ordered a hot dog and chicken tenders. The hot dogs they serve at Day’s are a Maine specialty, the red snapper. The red is because the dog is dyed red and the snapper is for the crunch when bitten into. Red snappers are the official hot dogs of Maine and are really excellent.
For dessert, I over-indulged with a chocolate dipped waffle cone at Mainely Custard in nearby Freeport.
Maine Beer Company
Visiting this region, one brewery that I must visit is Maine Beer Company, known for their excellent beers, including Lunch, an IPA, Peeper, a pale ale, and Zoe, a red ale. A few years ago they completely redid their taproom. This now resembles a museum, with sparkling white tile and a fountain in the middle. My crew sat upstairs and enjoyed wood-fired pizza and salads for dinner. For a beer, I chose Dinner, a double IPA, which is considered among the best in the nation. I can’t disagree.
Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine
Each visit typically includes a few hours at the Portland Children’s Museum to let the kids romp and learn. We always enjoyed it in its former location downtown, but it recently relocated to Thompson’s Point in Portland, housed in a new state of the art building. Starting on the top floor, my kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the light area where they were able to play with a larger-than-life Lite Brite, among other exhibits. Also on this floor is a natural history display with local live and stuffed animals. Another hit was the water play area with fountains and other scientific interactive displays.
The second floor provided a special exhibit gallery as well as a play area that resembled that of the former museum, just updated and taken to the next level. There is still a fire engine that kids can play and climb into, albeit much bigger than the old one. A smaller kid area is perfect for the little tykes. There are also many displays, including a child-size reproduction of a Maine fish market, the Portland Jetport aviation tower, and an Amtrak train. On the outside, playing on the playscape was also a lot of fun. (So was lunch and beer after at nearby Bissell Brothers.)
East End Beach
One neighborhood of Portland that we have never been to is East End Beach and park. With sweeping views of Casco Bay, it was certainly crowded on the Saturday that we visited. Finally finding a parking spot, my older son played baseball while my younger son and my wife ventured along the walkway looking at the beautiful water view.
Bath
Bath is located about half an hour north of Falmouth right off of Route 1. The industrial town is built on its shipbuilding heritage. Not only historic though since General Dynamics is also a major employer in town even today. For history buffs, the Maine Maritime Museum is an authoritative source on Bath and Maine maritime history. For my crew though, we skipped the museum this time and headed downtown to poke in and out of shops.
Waiting for the stores to open, we spent a while at the Linwood E. Temple Waterfront Park, walking around and looking at the Kennebec River which forms the town’s eastern edge. Afterward, the shopping began at Cafe Creme, a coffee shop and bakery. We all ordered smoothies, blueberry based with spinach added to mine, and cookies for the kids. Stores we enjoyed included Island Treasure Toys, where the kids were able to pick out one toy each; Reny’s Department Store, a northern New England staple; and Made in Maine, with all pieces by Maine artists and artisans. At Made in Maine, I purchased a hat with the original Maine flag on it.
Portland Sea Dogs
For my older son, no baseball game can compete with catching a game at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs. The Sea Dogs are the Double A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. A Sea Dogs game is a rollicking good time. There is always large and lively attendance, and kids love to stomp on the metal bleachers which makes quite the racket. Unlike many minor league stadiums in which field views can be seen from the concourse, at Hadlock the concourse is beneath the stands.
Although the Sea Dogs lost, we were able to see Red Sox prospect Triston Casas play. I enjoyed a Sea Biscuit, the official ice cream treat of the Sea Dogs. (It’s similar to a Chipwich.) We also struck up a fun conversation with the fans sitting behind us. Slugger is the most impressive mascot I have ever seen put on a show, and a favorite of our older son’s stuffed mascot collection. It was “pirate night,” so Slugger was dressed as a swashbuckler and staged a sword fight with the emcee. Slugger’s antics included a backflip; imagine doing that with a large animal head on! Overall, we had a wonderful time at the game.
Portland Bug Light
The park at Portland Breakwater Light, also known as Bug Light, and which confusingly enough is actually in South Portland, is perfect for a quick run around for the kids. This park is situated right on the harbor but is tucked away in an industrial area of South Portland. Next to the parking lot is a sculpture of a ship. Walk all the way out to the lighthouse which can be walked around. The lighthouse is quite small and is often overshadowed by the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. This light is also worth the trek but is typically more crowded and a longer drive from Portland’s downtown than Bug Light.
A Weekend in Maine Comes to an End
Maine’s nickname of “Vacationland” is the perfect moniker. The state is a wonderful vacation destination. From the southern beach towns, urban sophistication of Portland, to the wilds of the Maine woods and the rocky coasts, Maine has something for everyone. I particularly enjoy the greater Portland area which has a perfect mix of outdoor activities, world-class breweries, kid-friendly fun, and authentic lobster shacks.
Staying in Falmouth provided a great jumping-off point for our adventure. Only fifteen minutes on beautiful Route 88 from Portland to the south or Freeport to the north, it also has a quaint town landing. The general store proved handy for a breakfast sandwich or a lobster roll, and the views of Casco Bay from the town landing are stunning. The wide streets were great for two morning runs, and the backyard of the house was big enough to play baseball and even included a hot tub as a bonus.
One city we didn’t get to on this trip, but I always love to visit is Biddeford, Maine, check out the link for my adventure there.
