October Stop: Auburn, ME

If you want to live in a postcard, Maine is the place for you. Every day, our windows greeted me with beautiful and ever changing views of the Androscoggin River and fall foliage. I loved simply sitting at the dining room table, looking out at the trees. October was the perfect month to visit because we got to see the full foliage cycle from fresh green leaves, to fall colors, to bare branches with carpets of fallen leaves below. And I have never seen anything like it before.

I’ve lived around trees most of my life, but I haven’t seen Fall the way I saw it this month with entire forests of yellow, orange, and red. I’m used to leaves dying to brown at the end of Fall and the arrival of bare branches indicating Winter. In Auburn, each week was a different stage of progression through Fall, and it was spectacular which was a cherry on top.

I should say “apple on top” because the amount of locally grown apples I ate in October is shocking. I wish I had tracked the total number. I was obsessed with them, they are the best apples I have ever had. I visited the orchard at Willow Pond Farm every week to stock up on a huge bag of apples. The best part, other than eating the apples, was getting to pick them myself!

Willow Pond Farm’s apple orchard is open to the public for customers to go and pick as many apples as they would like. Not only was it a blast getting to choose and pick my own apples from the trees, but just walking around the pretty apple trees made my heart happy. I couldn’t believe how many apples were on the trees so I took tons of photos. I’m going to include a reel of all of my apple pictures below because the apple trees were adorable.

The farm had a bunch of other great things to offer as well like the fresh raspberries and homemade pickles we kept getting. Connor and I got to pet their horse and watch their sheep graze as well. I was beaming every time I visited.

The other main (Maine) food staples we lived off of are oysters, lobster, and chili. The oysters there are unreal. We tried four different places and all of them were delicious.
The oysters were super fresh and flavorful, I wish we could’ve eaten hundreds of them. Our favorite place was the oyster bar at Even Tide in Portland.
We got to try nine different varieties of oysters from different locations in Maine, with our favorites being Salt Cove and Arcadian Petite. Both are from Damariscotta, Maine.

I had never had a lobster roll before Maine, and we just so happened to walk into Atlantic Brewing Company in Bar Harbor that serves a gluten free, dairy free lobster roll! I had to have the cold variety because the hot variety has melted butter poured on top. I was super excited to try the famous food and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the lobster, and eating it in a roll was so fun! I can finally understand the hype of this yummy comfort food.

Connor’s homemade chili was a staple because we ate it so many nights in a row. It was the perfect food for when the weather got colder. We even had it for lunches as well. I don’t know how he makes it, but I could probably eat it every day for a couple months.

If anyone is wondering why we chose Maine, well I’ll tell you! I had heard stories about Maine throughout my life from all kinds of sources.
The stories were always these magical trips to a faraway state in the corner of America touching the Atlantic. Everyone who speaks of it, loves it. Plus, the books set in Maine that I have read over the years, added to the charm.

Over time, Maine became this mythical state that I had to visit for it to be real. To me, Maine stories were like fairytales, so I wanted to see it for myself. I dreamt about visiting so I could experience the magical place too.
Maine definitely gave me that magical feel. It was the perfect place to decompress after New York.
When I write books in the future, I want to come back out here to hole away and write. The air is fresh, the trees are pretty, the ocean is wonderful, and the people are sweet.

I wish I could properly describe the leaves changing colors and how beautiful it all was. I’ll include pictures below to hopefully show you instead. I felt at peace and comforted there. Maine felt like a haven to me. I loved our time there.

Our apartment was perfect for us on the second floor of an old building with a balcony overlooking the river. I loved the old hardwood floors and glass doorknobs. Connor had his own office to work in which was really nice, and the mini coffee bar was put to good use. There were also two bedrooms which was really helpful for when one of my best friends visited.

I was so happy getting to see my best friend Ally! I am very grateful she took a flight across the country to come see me, and the trip was super special.
We were busy most of the time and had so much life to catch each other up on. It’s not easy being separate from your best friends, that’s for sure.

I took her to Willow Pond Farm, we did a spooky craft night, she made us delicious soup, we watched Halloween movies, we went to coffee shops, and we spent two days in Portland! We had very fun filled days together.

It was her’s, Connor’s, and my first time in Portland, ME. The first day we went and got coffee at the Ugly Duckling which was unique coffee shop with bar seating instead of tables. The drinks were great, but the wait time was nearing two hours to get our bagels. Once we finally got out of there, we went to find lighthouses!

We all think lighthouses are so cute, so that was the next order of business.
We went to Bug Light Park which was a smaller park right on the water with a cute, stubby lighthouse people could walk up to called the Portland Breakwater Light.
After taking pictures, we decided to walk a mile to the next closest lighthouse called Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse.

This one was slightly bigger, but still smaller in size than the tall lighthouses we were expecting to find. We stayed out there for a little, enjoying the view and watching sailboats go by.
We quickly realized that we had to hustle to the ferry dock though because we were going to miss the ride we intended on catching.
We made it to the ferry which took us across Casco Bay to Peaks Island. Sunset was approaching so we picked a snack spot with a view of the Bay.

Island Lobster Company had gluten and dairy free calamari that I could have! It’s a great day when I get to enjoy delicious food, and I love calamari.
Since it was later in the day, most of the little shops had closed up, so we hopped back onto the ferry to head into the old town area of Portland.
The sunset was pretty on the ferry ride back.

We walked around the downtown area, enjoying the sights of boats docked for the night, brick buildings with colorful ivy, and bustling tourists.
We went to Blyth & Burrows for cocktails and oysters once the sun was completely down. The cocktail bar had a great ambiance and even better staff.
The drinks were yummy and unique, and they had no issues making me a mocktail.

The oysters were incredible, we all could’ve eaten a dozen by ourselves. After chatting and relaxing a bit, we grabbed gelato, made a pit stop at Whole Foods, and went home.

Ally and I went to Portland a second time to see and experience even more. It was such a cute city that we wanted to go back.

This time though, we grabbed coffee and went to Sherman’s Book & Stationery which is Maine’s oldest bookstore.
It was adorable of course, and they actually have multiple locations between the different costal towns.
We walked around some other cute shops after that and before grabbing lunch at a spot along the water.

It was so nice being close to all of the water and boats, I loved that part of Portland. Sunset was starting to creep up again and we knew we wanted to see a tall lighthouse before going home.
A quick search pulled up the famous Portland Head Light in Cape Cottage. We made it with 30 minutes before the park closed at sunset.

I think the timing was perfect though because the lighthouse caught the sunset colors and the pretty sky enhanced the already beautiful cliffs against the sea.
We walked around and took pictures, soaking up as much of it as we could before getting kicked out by the ranger.

We made our way home after that lovely evening, and sadly I had to take Ally to the airport early the next morning.
It was so special having her with me and exploring new places together.
Another highlight for me in Maine was Acadia National Park. Connor and I went to the incredible park two weekends in a row. I included a reel of photos below!
The first time we went, we were blown away by the vibrant leaf colors and forests meeting ocean. It is so different than the sandy San Diego cliffs and piney Trinidad cliffs I am used to.

We hiked the Beehive Loop which gave us stunning views of the yellow and orange foliage touching the blue sea. It was so beautiful. We also had a ton of time looking at the views because the trail was so packed that we were at a standstill for over an hour. There’s a section near the top with iron railings to climb, and we think that was the bottleneck area. While we were all stuck, a group of younger hikers said screw it and started hiking off trail, straight up through the trees because they didn’t want to wait anymore. Then, a man ahead of us in line started yelling at them to not cut everyone because we had all been waiting for over an hour and how unfair it was to everyone on the trail to go off trail and cut back into the line. People cheered for the guy standing up to the group, and when the group got to the trail further ahead, no one let them in. They had to wait until their spot in line came back around. It was pretty crazy there for awhile. People get pretty charged up standing on the side of a mountain in the cold for hours waiting for the line on the trail to move.

Once we got through all the mess, we got to take in the beautiful views one more time at the top before heading back down. We were originally going to do two hikes that day, but the Beehive Loop’s wait time spent all of the daylight. We had time to stop at the edge of a pretty lake called the Bowl before we hiked down and hopped onto the park’s bus to take us to the Visitor Center where our car was. We went into Bar Harbor to grab dinner, and wow. We didn’t know it was a super packed tourist destination with tons of shops and restaurants. It was overwhelming at first, but very fun! We went to Atlantic Brewing Company where I had my first ever lobster roll as I mentioned previously. We headed home after that with plans to return to Acadia, which we did the following week.

This second weekend wasn’t nearly as busy as the last. The previous weekend had been a three day weekend because of Indigenious Peoples Day so that brought in a ton more people. The only bummer though was the park didn’t have a bus service the second weekend. It was so easy to ride around the park the first time by hopping on and off the bus without worrying about traffic or parking, but the second weekend we were in the thick of it. This time we wanted to hike the Precipice Trail, but Connor’s GPS took us the wrong way and we ended up at the trailhead for Gorham Mountain. We still wanted to get to the Precipice Trail because of the views, and the Gorham trail we took does actually connect to it. Here’s a quick journey recap.

In classic Ceighlee and Connor style, we were unprepared for our 8 mile hike spanning two mountain summits and five hours. We did, however, make sure we got back to the car as the park lost all sunlight. A rule drilled into me as a child was to not hike at night in an unfamiliar area, so I’m thankful we avoided that. The hike was difficult on our bodies, but the trail was so amazing. We hiked among boulders, red trees, and open mountain views. I couldn’t stop commenting on how much I loved the trail and the foliage. It was so unique. We summited Gorham Mountain and then Champlain Mountain, and we skirted around the Bowl again. Seeing the Bowl from above this time, with all of the colored trees separating it from the ocean, was so pretty.

The funny thing was, when we finally got to the Precipice Trail, we didn’t have the leg strength to descend the vertical drop. Other hikers made us aware that going down that trail is actually really dangerous and strongly recommended against. It is basically a one way trail that only goes up. So we took the trail that went down the back of Champlain. I almost didn’t survive the walk back to the car though, Connor and I were both goofy with exhaustion.

We went back into Bar Harbor and waited an hour to eat at Side Street Cafe, but they had a ton of gluten free options so that was why we wanted to try it out. It was good! I wouldn’t say it’s worth an insane wait unless you have allergies, but I was happy with their soup, fries and Haddock burger. We were so exhausted and headed home right after dinner.

The following Sunday was another highlight for me and a first time experience!
We drove into New Hampshire to take the Conway Scenic Railroad through the White Mountains. The train is a refurbished train with 1950s-era passenger cars.
It was the perfect activity for us after the crazy hiking on Saturday.

We got to watch pretty foliage rush past our windows and see mountains as we went through Mount Washington Valley. I absolutely loved it. The scenic train ride was perfect. Connor and I did fall asleep on the way back though.
The train reverses on the tracks so we didn’t miss anything new, but we were so exhausted from the day before in Acadia that we passed out on the train ride home.

Once we got back, we explored the tiny town of North Conway by walking the main street and grabbing dinner at Chef’s Bistro. Our food was delicious and we got another round of oysters because we tried to eat as many as we could while we were in Maine. Then, we grabbed warm drinks for the ride back home.

Throughout the weeks in our neck of the woods, we got up to all sorts of fun stuff. I played in a cribbage tournament, we attend a local art walk, we tried multiple restaurants like the new Afghan spot and Baxter Brewing Co., we frequented the coffee shop Forage, we went to two comedy open mic nights, and so much more.
I tried to not spend a ton of time in the basement bookshop Quiet City Books or the second story Downtown Homemade store because I would’ve spent all of my money there, I loved everything in those stores.

Chill Yoga was where I practiced yoga this month, and the teachers there were really passionate, it was great. They have built a strong yogic community in their studio which was fun to be a part of for a little. Connor and I went to Planet Fitness in town for our workouts, and the facility was really nice. Everything seemed new and well taken care of.
We made sure to go to the farmers’ market in town, check out the skate park, and do the local riverwalk.

I was actually featured in the local Lewiston newspaper for an art piece I was working on at the skate park, oddly enough. A fun event we went to was the adults only Halloween costume skate at the local roller rink. The Rollodome was a five minute walk from our house and is such a wholesome establishment. The shiny hardwood rink with costumes swirling around made for a really fun Halloween night.

I have also been working on a few different articles this month with a main goal of getting some completed pieces published. I will keep everyone updated on those when I have updates. I painted two art pieces this month as well! Sadly, no one bought them and I had to throw them away since we do not have any room in our cars to transport art around at the moment.

It was hard to toss them, but I will make many more in the future.
Our last big weekend in Maine was spent exploring some more. On Saturday we drove along the coast, visiting the special towns of Belfast and Camden.
We went to Belfast in the morning where we grabbed coffee and walked along the cute streets in town. We loved the two vintage stores owned by siblings and the Belfast Bay.

There was a bookstore dedicated solely to romance books called the Gump & Sunshine Bookshop, it was so cute. It was also close to the old, original theater called the Colonial which was painted in mint green with an elephant sculpture on the roof.
One of my favorite parts of Belfast was all of the written poems on the shop windows. Someone told us the town had a poetry festival the weekend before, and that’s why all of the poems were up.

Each poem matched the business it decorated. I loved it and took pictures of as many of them as I could. I posted the pictures to Instagram if anyone wants to read them @ceighleerayne

We couldn’t admire Belfast for too long because we wanted to see Camden before the sun went down.
The drive along the coast was so lovely with the colored trees and windy countryside road. Camden was just as quaint and cute as Belfast, maybe a little larger in size.
We parked right in front of a bookstore which is prime parking for someone like me. We went into Owl & Turtle to look around, and it was adorable with tons of great selection and a little cafe.

We continued walking down the streets, popping into stores that caught our eye, loving all of the brick and New England vibes. We grabbed lunch at Sea Dog Brewing Company where I had delicious jambalaya, it was so good! And of course, there was one more bookstore we squeaked into called Stone Soup where the books were stacked from floor to ceiling.

There wasn’t a sliver of space along the walls, and I loved every bit of it. Once we walked through the town, we got back onto the road to eat dinner at home.

The next day we explored Scarborough and Portland again. I had always wanted to go to Scarborough because of the song Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel and the book Impossible by Nancy Werlin.

Both the song and book were like fairytales to me, so I was really excited to visit the town.
We grabbed coffee in their downtown area and went to the farmer’s market across the street.
There wasn’t too much exploring other than that, but the drive through Scarborough was filled with beautiful countrysides and beaches so I still felt like I had a comforting experience being in the place that inspired arts I love.
After Scarborough, Connor and I went into Portland again since he was unable to join Ally and I when we went prior. We went to a different area that we hadn’t gotten the chance to explore yet.

I’m not sure if the area has a distinction, but it was by Kennedy Park where there was a handful of breweries, coffee shops, and clothing stores.
It was a newer warehouse area, so it was very different than the older port area. We got coffee at Coffee By Design and drinks at Rising Tide Brewing Company while we enjoyed our afternoon.
It was a fun area that I’m glad we got to check out.

Once the sun started setting, I took Connor out to Fort Williams Park where the Portland Head Light is. He had worn his Lighthouses of America cardigan, so we were excited to take his picture in front of the Portland Head Light while he pointed to it on his cardigan.
Again we only had about 30 minutes before the park closed so we didn’t get to walk around as much as I would’ve liked, but I’m really happy Connor got to see it and we got to enjoy another pretty sunset with the idyllic backdrop.

Overall, Maine exceeded my expectations of a mystical, natural state. The New England setting was so cute and quaint paired with the beauty of the mountains, parks and ocean. I loved all of it! Zero complaints for this past magical month in Maine. I'm sad to leave, but I will visit in the future. Underneath the Princess update, I included more photos for you to look at as well.

Now we are on to the next stop in Maryland to be with my mom, aunt, and uncle! I’m so excited to see them!

November Stop: Silver Spring, MD

September Stop: Queens, NY