Below are descriptions of places you may visit on your day off. I don’t necessarily recommend devoting the whole day off to visit just one of them. Mix and join them as much as you want (after all, you have just one day off a week!). Here, you can see my recommended day off plans.
A sunny day in OOB in July 2011.
Old Orchard Beach (OOB) is a town around 20 miles South of Portland. It is located on the ocean coast, and has absolutely the beast ocean beach in Maine (7 miles long). The beach is sandy, with a very few rocks in the water, so swimming there is pretty safe. The ocean front is lined up with beautiful summer mansions and resorts. OOB has a very nice, 500 feet long pier, with bars, cleanest restrooms on the beach (as they claim), with big windows, so when you do your business, people on the beach can see you (worth trying, hehe), and a night club. Right next to the Pier, there is an amusement park. For basketball players, there are 2 basketball fields, next to the train station on 1st street. If the weather turns cloudy, and you have enough of the beach for the day, you can try the Pirate’s Cove miniature golf course on 1st street.
OOB in September 2013.
Parking in OOB during the season is relatively expensive. Don’t even try to drive around, looking for a free spot. There was an option to do it a couple of years ago (next to the train tracks), but now local authorities put tow warnings almost everywhere, so you need to pay. During weekends, spots with parking meters are hard to find. Parking there costs $2/hour (between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., you can legally park for free – see descriptions on the meters). On the Old Orchard St (the main street, from which you access the Pier), there is a 2 hour limit, so you have to run back to your car every two hours, to put more quarters. Anywhere else, you can load the meter for as long as 10 hours (but good luck putting 80 quarters 🙂 ). If you decide not to pay, and just leave your car on the street, which I don’t recommend, because they check the meters really often, be prepared to pay a parking ticket (in 2013 it was $25). After season (starting September), parking meters are removed, so you can park for free without any problems. Another option during the season is to park on a paid parking lot. Prices vary depending on the location, day of the week, and time of the day. Can be as low as $5 in the evening and as high as $25 on 4th of July. The rule is – you pay once, and you can stay there as long as you want during a particular day. I recommend parking somewhere on the 1st street further from the Pier, which means you have to walk to the beach 3-5 minutes longer (just because you cant cross the railroads anywhere you want) , but save at least $5. A good price on a nice, sunny weekend day is $10, but if you find something for $15, that’s also fine.
If you need to buy food, drinks or alcohol in OOB, the place to go is Ride Aid Pharmacy on Saco Ave, 5 minutes by walk from the Pier. To get there, just go up Old Orchard St, and turn left on Saco Ave. Rite Aid will be on your left. Click here to see the map. Prices are higher than in WalMart, but definitely affordable. You can buy there snacks, cold drinks, cold beer, wine, beach toys, suns screen. Basically everything to enjoy your day off in OOB.
Seaside motels in OOB.
Old Port.
Largest city in the State of Maine, with almost 70,000 inhabitants, and over 0.5 mln in the metropolitan area. Portland is a great place to spend your day-off. It has that unique, seaside town atmosphere. The most interesting part of the city is located on the peninsula (roughly 1/5 ot its area). Going there, the first thing you’ll notice is a big complex of red brick buildings. They are not office buildings, it’s Maine Medical Center, hopefully the place you won’t have to visit during the summer. But first things first. You got to Portnand and you need to park your car. Fortunately, that’s really easy in Portland (both day and night). Parking on the street, between 8 a.m and 6 p.m. cost $1/hour and has 2 hour limit. After these hours it’s totally free. Public parking lots are also cheap (around $10). But you don’t need to pay at all! Just look for a parking spot next to the Dearing Oaks Park, which is just around 500 m from Congress Street. Your other option is Hannaford parking lot, which is also close to downtown. When you park there, it’s really tempting to take a 4-miles long walk around the Back Cove, and feel like a real Portlander (you see a lot of fit people jogging there).
Marina in Portland.
If you wondering, why almost every building in downtown Portland is red brick, I have a ready answer for you. The City of Portland was burned 4 times – red brick is simply a fireproof material. Once you’re there, just take a walk around downtown, and appreciate the vibrant city atmosphere – it’s as close you get to a metropoly in Maine. Go to a nice cafe, and hang out on the Post Office Plaza, listening to street performers, go down the Exchange streets and see numerous boutiques. Definitely visit the Waterfront – the sound of seagulls there is mesmerizing, especially at evening time, with a group of camp friends and good drinks. See for yourselves, why Portland, ME has been rated by Forbes, as America’s Most Livable City!
Freeport is all about shopping! An outlet village located 17 miles North-East of Portland is an American-wide famous outlet village. Everything there is up to 70% cheaper than in retail (and it’s not a marketing BS, discounts are real!). You may find there brands such as Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, The North Face, L.L. Bean (an ‘adventure’ store, super popular in America, headquartered in Freeport, ME), Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers and many others. Freeport is a fashion place. You can get really nice clothes cheap. McDonald’s on the Main Street, is an affordable place for hungry shoppers.
A brownie shop in Freeport, ME.
Visiting Freeport numerous times, I got a feeling, that the main highlight of the city is the L.L. Bean store. At least that’s the store name, which can you see on most of the shopping bags in town. Even if you don’t buy there anything, it’s still worth visiting. They have stuffed animals (local species, like skunks, bears, deers) all over the store. In the middle of the store, there is a big, shallow pond with trouts. There is also a big aquarium with local species of fish, that you may find in the Maine’s lakes and rivers.
Don’t worry about parking in Freeport. It’s easy to find a parking spot, and it’s totally free!
North Conway is another outlet village. It is more outdoors/sports (Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armor oriented that Freeport, ME, but there are some brands, where you get get decent casual/dress clothing (Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Gap, Timberland, Banana Republic, American Eagle, Levi’s). As in the State of New Hampshire there is no sales taxes, you save a little bit on your purchases. The great advantage of North Conway, is its location, which lies in the spectacular valley, surrounded by high mountains. The outlet village is just 20 miles south of Mount Washington (highest mountain in the Northeastern US), and just 3 miles from Diana’s Baths. For this reason, I recommend connecting your shopping trip with outdoors adventures.
Diana’s Baths.
Diana’s Baths is one of those beautiful sites, which are so close to your other day off destinations, that you simply can’t miss them. Located just 3 miles from North Conway, they offer you a place to relax after heavy shopping, and try out your new outdoor outfits (if you bought such 😉 ).
First thing you’ll notice there, is that the parking is paid ($3 per car), but there is no parking attendant. You simply put your money in the envelope and put it to the box. I don’t believe park authorities check this parking often. That’t what I love about the New England area – there is so much trust put in others, that you don’t even try to cheat.
Welcome to Diana’s Baths!
After you park you car, you just need to take 1 km hike through the forest, and you’re at the bottom of the falls. The most fun way to experience Diana’s Bath, is to walk upstream, jumping from one stone, to the other 😉 The water is freakishly cold, as it should be in any respectable mountain stream. There is no huge waterfalls, but rather a set of little ones, with a total drop of 23 m.
Diana’s Baths.
Weather Observatory on top of Mount Washington.
Driving up the Mount Washington.
Acadia National Park (ME)
A sunny, September day in Acadia National Park.
Just 3 hours by car from Portland there is a nationwide known Acadia National Park. It is the only National Park in Maine, and one of 59 in the US and their dependent territories. In 2009, Acadia was 11th most visited National Park in the the US.
If you decide to got straight to Acadia, you can get there under 4 hours from your camp. However, I do not recommend that. On the way there, there is a couple of Maine’s major cities, which are worth visiting, but not that spectacular to be individual destinations. We drove through Lewiston, Augusta and Bangor. Each of them has something special to offer. Lewiston has one of the 77 in the US, and Maine’s only basilica (Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul). Living in Europe, you’re quite used to cathedrals and old looking churches, but believe me, after a couple of months in the US, this one really looks impressive. Augusta is the capital of the state of Maine. Like in every state capital, there is a characteristic capitol building. If you haven’t seen one yet, why don’t you stop in Augusta? Bangor is the third-largest city in Maine, with a charming downtown area.
If you decided to visit all of the places I recommended, you probably got to the Acadia National Park area quite late. Fortunately, there is a nice Hannaford parking lot in Bar Harbor (click here to see the map), where you can park your car and sleep. Wake up in the morning and have a breakfast at one of the Maine’s best supermarkets and get ready for your Acadia advernute. Another advantage of that Hannaford, is the bathroom you can comfortably lock, so you can brush your teeth and refresh yourself after sleep. After breakfast you can start your day with a walk around the beautiful town of Bar Harbor.
The Marina in Bar Harbor.
Acadia National Park is a beautiful place. It is located mostly on the Mt Desert Island. Whether you like mountains, oceans or lakes, you’ll be happy, cause it’s all there. The views are amazing, the air is fresh, and memories from there are great. The admissions fee is affordable and costs $20/car (up to 15 people) for a 7-day pass (unfortunately, you can’t get a 1 day pass). As you should be used to by now, it’s America, so you can drive your car virtually anywhere. The 27 mile long loop road takes you through the most of the Acadia’s best sights.
Acadia National Park
Not that far from your camp is located one of the greatest American cities. Just around 90 minutes drive from Portland, ME, and you are in a vibrant Metropolis. In Boston area there is plenty of things to see. But first things first.
Getting there.
I personally experienced two options of getting from Maine to Boston. First, and easier one is to drive there with your rented car (hopefully you got some kind of vehicle, by the time you’re planning your trip to Boston). Driving there is easy – just take US-1 from Portland, and keep going 🙂 Be aware of tolls – round trip to Boston will cost you at least $16 + gas. It can be more, when you take certain bridges. One trick I always used, is to set ‘no tolls’ option in my GPS as I got closer to the final destination (10-15 miles). There is of course a no-toll road from Maine, but it’s longer (so you pay more for gas), and much slower (a lot of 35 mph speed limits, plus very heavy traffic, which adds around 2 hours on a one way trip). Parking in Boston is pretty easy and inexpensive. One hour parking on the street costs $1.25, and is free after 8 p.m. Finding a parking spot is not that hard as in other big cities, but don’t be surprised if looking for a spot takes you more than 15 minutes. I find it easiest to get a spot somewhere in the waterfront area. If you’re looking for an overnight parking, my favorite place is a Best Buy/Target parking lot (click here to see where it is). If you sleep in the car, it’s really convenient to wake up and get a nice breakfast at Target. The bathroom there is pretty decent, so you can do your bathroom business too. And, if you need coffee, Starbucks in Target is ready for you 😉 Another option is going to Boston by bus. You need to somehow get to Portland Transportation Center. Either go there with your car, ask for a ride to downtown Portland (it takes a 30-40 min walk to get to the station), take a bus from Gotham, if you camp is close to that town – you’ll figure something out. Around 2 weeks before your trip go to megabus.com, and book your tickets. Going there 2 weeks in advance, gives you a very big chance for booking tickets for just $1.50 one way. The bus you’ll ride is a Concord bus. Their buses are really comfortable, with an onboard bathroom and free wi-if. Yes, you book Concord buses through Megabus. Weird, but saves you a lot of money since a regular price, when you buy a ticket at the bus station is $27 for a one-way ticket. The bus arrives at the South Station in Boston, which is Right downtown, and very close to the beautiful waterfront area.
What to do in Boston.
Boston Common
Boston gives you that special big city feel. You can just stroll around the downtown area, and watch Bostonians going about their days. Definitely check out the waterfront area, with a beautiful marina and a stunning view of Boston skyline from up close. If you like sea animals, New England Aquarium is right there (unfortunately tickets are expensive – $25). Another nice destination is Boston Common, Boston’s largest and most famous park. There is a big fountain, where you can cool down on a hot summer day. It was also the first fountain in my life, where I’ve seen life guards on duty 🙂 I suggest you check out Beacon Hill, which is one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in America. There are beautiful houses, plenty of stores (including those most upscale), and dozens of cafés. It nice during the day, and even nicer on a warm, summer evening.
Boston is a home of numerous pubs, where you can enjoy a good beer. Why don’t you go local, and order Samuel Adams, which is brewed right there? If you like Irish pubs, I have a good news for you. There is more Irish pubs in Boston than anywhere in America. If you’re looking for a night club, there is a couple of them in Boston, although clubbing there is nothing close to what it is inEurope. The cover usually starts at $10 (and many times there is a cover in bars too). Just remember that bars and clubs in Boston close at 2 a.m. (it’s a state law, many venues close even earlier). There is just one night club closing at 6 a.m., called Rise. The cover is $20, there’s is no alcohol sold on premises, and probably for this reason a lot of people there seem to be on drugs – if you’re desperate for an overnight part, go there. Otherwise, I don’t recommend it. If you plan to buy alcohol in the store, make sure to do it EARLY. Sale of alcohol in stores is prohibited after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends (there are no exceptions).
Places around Boston
On the way to Boston, you can stop in Salem, a place famous for its witch trials of 1692. There is a lot of stores with spooky stuff and a nice Marina. The town looks fore me like a typical Massachusetts seaside place (which is nice).
One of the spooky places in Salem, MA.
Another place next to Boston, which I think you should visit is Cambridge, MA. It’s located just across the Charles river. It is a home to two world famous academic institutions – Harvard University and Massachusetts University of Technology (MIT). Just for that reason it is worth going there. You can take a walk to Cambridge from Beacon Hill or Back East Bay, to appreciate the view of Downtown Boston. If you choose the second option, and go along the Massachusetts Avenue on Harvard Bridge, you’ll end up on MIT campus, which is just by the river. Then, you can take a 2-mile walk to Harvard Square, which is the heart of Harvard University Campus. The walk may seem long for some of you, but you won’t regret it. It is really a pleasure to stroll down the Cambridge street. Walking there, you can feel that creative-academic atmosphere that hangs around the town. If you have more time to spare, I recommend stopping at MIT Museum (again, on Massachusetts Ave). The admission is just $5, and you can spend there hours. Especially interesting for me was the exhibition of consumer products. I’m sure you’ll find something for yourself. To get back to Boston, you can take a subway from Harvard Square. The fare is $2.5, and it’s a great chance to try Boston public transport 😉 You can get off on Park Street, and enjoy a nice time in Boston Common.
Cape Cod (MA)
Camp Cod is beautiful. Miles of sandy beaches, Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod Bay. The only thing you have to think about is the driving time. In our case, we wanted to see Provincetown (more on that place later), which is right at the tip of Cape Cod. To get there, we had to drive through the whole peninsula, and ran into the traffic jam, which from what I’ve heard is not that uncommon in the summer time. So you may get there an hour later than you planned to.
Cape Cod
One of the things you’ll notice there are shark notices. Apparently, sharks sightings are quite common there. They successfully scared me of going to the deeper waters, and I just played carefully next to the shore. We didn’t see any sharks, although we managed to see a couple of seals, which was super cool.
It is worth saying a little bit about Provincetown. It is THE destinations for gay people. Especially males. You’ll see around 90% of dudes in the city, which may be a little bit awkward at first if you come from a more conservative place. There are pool parties for gays, lots of hair and massage salons and cafes. Be prepared to see guys holding hands and even kissing in public. In Provincetown, it is more common than seeing heterosexual couples.
Driving around Provincetown looking for a parking spot. Sorry for the spoon reflected in the window.
Rhode Island
A trip to Rhode Island is one of those one-off big trips you can do while you’re at camp. I was there first time only during my 3rd summer at camp. If you tell Americans at camp that you’re going there, they only ask why would you do that? It’s far (around 200 miles), and there is nothing of interest. But for some reason, I really wanted to see Providence, the Rhode Island’s capital and largest city. My gut feeling something nice is there, turned out to be true 🙂 FIrst of all, if you watch Family Guy, you know that going to Rhode Island means going to Peter Griffin’s home. Providence is also the home of Brown University, Hermione Granger’s (Emma Watson’s) alma mater. Read on, for the other sights worth seeing.
Brown University.
Our trip to Rhode Island started in Providence. We drove for a while around downtown, a little bit disappointed with the city. It was quite small, there was a lot of homeless people and it seemed kind of dirty. I regret not getting out of the car and taking a walk, but there was no parking spot (at least we couldn’t find it). I typed ‘Brown University’ to my GPS and found out it was really close to where we were. One challenge we faced, was finding a parking spot, which was surprisingly hard (it was around noon, Wednesday and summer – I expected the university area to be quite deserted). I suggest you take the first empty spot you see and walk a little bit. The parking fee is $1.25/hour. The university itself is really nice, quite similar to Harvard and Yale (it is one of the Ivy League schools). Just walk around, a feel for a second like a Brown student 😉
After hanging out for a while at Brown, we headed off to one of the best of Rhode Island’s Beaches (hinted by a native Rhode Islander at camp). On the way there however, we noticed a nice park (Roger Williams Park), and decided to stop there. So we drove into the park (it’s the US, you can drive anywhere), and saw a sign, which pointed a way to the zoo. Somehow everyone in the car felt like going to the zoo, so on the spur of a moment, we decided to go. Parking lot is, and the admission is $14.95/person. We had a really good time there. There is quite a lot of animals, including alligators, bears, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, snow leopards, seals, zebras and snakes. The star of our visit, was a penguin, which walked up on a rock, and started talking to people (in Penguish, of course).
After the zoo, we drove around 50 miles south, to the beautiful Misquamicut State Beach. The parking there is paid, but we got there quite late (after 3), and didn’t have to pay. Lucky us. The beach is nice and sandy, the water a little bit cleaner than in OOB. One downside is that you cant use any toys (balls, frisbee) in the Ocean. Once you try, the lifeguard blows the whistle immediately. So you need to wait till he/she goes home, before you can play (around 6 o’clock). Right next to the beach are free public restrooms and shower, so you don’t need to worry about that. If this beach would be closer to maine, I would definitely go there more often.
Our last stop in Rhode Island was the city of Newport. If you plan to get there on a toll-free road driving from Misquamicut Beach, like we did, I wish you good luck. Newport, is on the other side of Greenwich Bay, and if you don’t want to pay $4 to cross the bridge, you will end up adding almost 40 miles and 1.5 hour to your trip. The town itself is really nice, and worth seeing. We got there really late (after 9 p.m.), and didn’t have time for much more than a nice evening walk. Back at camp, people told us about the beautiful mansions built there by American industrial magnates, which we unfortunately haven’t seen. The town has a lot of pubs, restaurants and taverns. It has a fancy feel. The atmosphere is very relaxed, and you just want to chill there, appreciating the beauty of its dimly lit streets.
Times Square, NYC.
NYC doesn’t have to be pitched to anyone. If you go there, you pretty much know what to expect (the urban jungle), and everyone has their own list of must see things. Therefore, I will limit myself, to a few useful tips.
First thing, you need at least 2 days off in a row for the NYC trip – a drive from Maine takes around 7-8 hours (including heavy traffic in Manhattan). So unless you’re willing to drive for 15 hours, to spend a couple of hours in the city, try to secure double day off for that trip. You can get to the middle of Manhattan, without paying any tolls. I suggest using google maps for finding a route. In our case, we drove to the border of Vermont, and took route 91, changing to 95 in New Haven, CT. Route 91 in Vermont is perfect – scenic views (Grean Mountain State!) and VERY few cars. If you take this route, you can stop in a few nice cities, like Springfield, MA, Hartford, CT and New Haven, CT (home of Yale University).
PARKING: Once you get to NYC, you need to park your car. It’s not that hard as it seems, and it’s not that expensive. You can get a parking spot in a garage for just around $30. Use this website to find the best deals for you, save the address and go there. We paid for our parking $50/24-hours, just because it was the closest one to our hotel, and we had quite a lot of stuff with us, which we didn’t want to carry.
ACCOMMODATION: Finding a cheap, decent place is not that easy, and I strongly encourage you to book something as soon, as you know you’re going to NYC. Some of the hostels there are horrible, and poor accommodation is one of the most common complaints about NYC, that I hear from my friends. I can definitely recommend one budget hotel though – Milford Plaza (3-stars). We stayed there with a group of total four people, and paid $210 (INCLUDING taxes) for one night. The hotel is right next to Times Square, on 45th street and 8th avenue. Our room was very clean, the view was quite nice (23rd floor). When you check out, you can leave your luggage there for the rest of the day for free (but don’t forget to tip the guys!). Another good option may be airbnb.com. You can book there rooms in private apartments (or even the whole apartment).
New York, NY.
PARTIES: I wish I could say, I had a good party in NYC, but it wouldn’t be true. Covers are really expensive (starting at $30), nicer clubs are really selective. Be prepared to spend a lot of money for parties. I personally like Maine parties much more.
GOLDEN ADVICE:
- Driving to New Jersey FROM Manhattan is free (no tolls). However, if you want to go back (and you have to!), you need to pay $13. There is the same toll on every bridge and in every tunnel. We learned the hard lesson, when we ended up in New Jersey by mistake (drove in a wrong direction).
- Gas in New Jersey is really cheap – if you end up there, you can pay 30c/gallon less than in Maine.
- There is no tax on clothing in NYC, if the particular item costs less than $110.
- NYC has very nice grocery stores – Zabar’s, Fairway, Whole Foods.
- Lunch: Go to Fairway, and get their hot meals. There is a fixed price per pound (around $6-7), and you can get a really good meal quite cheap (but you have to eat it on the street, which is not a problem for you, I hope)
- Cabs are not that expensive. We paid just $15 to get from Times Square to the Meatpacking district (around 30 streets). Tip the driver, and don’t believe in everything that he/she says.
The Book of Anderson 