America's most eastern state, Maine is located at the top of New England, bordering Canada's Quebec and New Brunswick provinces while separated from Nova Scotia by the gulf of Maine. Among US citizens, Maine is famous for its colder climate along the Atlantic coast and its small towns and villages. Visitors come to see Mt Desert Island, visit Portland Maine, and try their internationally famous lobster and seafood.
Maine Links
	Probably unknown to many American's outside of New England, Maine's small capital is called Augusta, located near the center of the state with a population of less than 20,000. Above is the state capitol building on the left, and on the right is another government building located directly behind the capitol.
	There isn't too much that stands out about Augusta, but they definitely have a lot of expensive real estate throughout the city. Above is a mansion located near the downtown area, on the right is a church large by Augusta standards.
Augusta is split in half by the Kennebec River where the city's downtown is built around. I didn't expect any type of waterfront or downtown area in such a small city, but was surprised that they did have one. The river on the left is the Kennebec entering Augusta, on the upper right is a shot of the backside of their waterfront. Below are some photos of some of the unique shops I came across.
Augusta's most famous landmark is Old Fort Western also located along the Kennebec River. Built in 1754, it's considered America's oldest wooden fort, and still stands today in its original condition. Their visiting hours are pretty weird, and even though it was the middle of a Saturday in May they were 'closed for the summer' so I didn't get to go inside the main building..
Maine's largest city is Portland located in the southeastern part of the state along the coast. Its less than a 90 minute drive from Boston, so even though Maine seems like another country it's not as far as many people think. Even though Portland is the state's largest city, it still only has a population of roughly 60,000 people. The most famous area is Portland's Old Port, where you'll find all the bars, shops and nightlife and of course many seafood restaurants along the waterfront. Above are photos of Old Port, on the lower right is an upscale neighborhood.
My favorite part of Portland was by far the coastal area known as Cape Elizibeth. One of Maine's most famous lighthouses was built here in 1791, and gives some great scenery along Maine's rocky coast. The surrounding photos are all from the park surrounding the lighthouse.
These two photos are also from the same park. The large double crested comorant is one of many birds in the area. Above are the remains of an 19th century mansion.
Maine is famous for its seafood, especially in Portland. There is a seafood market where you can go in and handpick all the seafood you want like most towns along the ocean. But Portland is known for having a large variety of seafood available in the markets and in restaurants for reasonable prices. The surrounding photos are from the seafood market area, with the yachts just a few blocks away.
After Portland, Bangor is the state's second most known city, and is the third most populous in the state. Lewiston Maine is the actually larger than Bangor, but since it's only 30 minutes away from Portland, most locals in the southern area visit Portland when they want to go to the city. Bangor is the largest city towards the center of the state and like Portland and Augusta, it has a nice downtown area.
In Bangor I was just passing through on the way to Acadia but did get lunch and walk around a bit. Above are two different parks in the downtown area.
I was in Bangor in the first weekend of May, and was surprised that most of the trees didn't have their leaves yet, while some still looked completely dead. The blooming flowers and tree buds though made up for this, and it was a perfect spring day.
	Just over an hour from Bangor is Acadia national park, located on Mt Desert island. This is one of the most scenic and popular tourist areas of Maine, and is known for its wildlife, lighthouses, and hiking and outdoor recreation. Above are two photos I took during the drive, passing by small towns and many bikers enjoying one of the first warm days of the year. Below are photos of the Mt. Desert coast and a lighthouse.
Above are two photos of the inlets surrounding the island showing some small boats and a huge cruise ship anchored off the coast.
Mt Desert Island has a famous tourist town called Bar Harbor that is actually much larger than I thought. When I visited it was packed with people from the cruise ship who were out shopping, going to the restaurants and taking tours and cruises of the area. Above is a seafood restaurant along the harbor.
Above are some photos of the shopping areas of Bar Harbor. I had expected just 10 stores or so, but there are actually several blocks to accommodate the thousands of people that visit by cruise ship.
Two things I wanted to do while in Bar Harbor was visit the whale museum and do a whale watching cruise. The museum was closed, and the whale watching cruises didn't start until later in the month so I wasn't able to do either. I did get a snapshot from the window at least, but was mostly disappointed in not being able to do the cruise. They even offer lobster catching cruises here, but not really my thing.
After Bar Harbor, I entered Acadia, New England's only national park. Despite being a relatively small island shared with people, deer, bobcats, bear, and even moose live here. At one point mountain lions and wolves also made Mt Desert Island their home but were driven out.
There are plenty of challenging sports to do in Acadia, which include things from hiking and kayaking to rock climbing or mountain biking. Above is a photo of sand beach, where lots of people come to just enjoy the sun. I'm sure later in the year there will be more people in the water after it warms up a bit. On the right is one of the mountains on the island.
Until I return to Maine, these are the only good wildlife shots I got, and they are just seagulls! Next time I visit Maine, I'd like to do a backpacking trip into Baxter park which is farther north and pretty remote. These gulls let me get fairly close, which is mostly why I was able to get a decent picture of them. When I visit Baxter, I expect it to be more of a wilderness and a challenge to approach wildlife.
	These surrounding photos are some I took while hiking on random trails. The top two are at a higher elevation that mostly had pine trees and dry shrubs. The forest below was by the close.

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Maine Travel

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