Your micro-escape to Maine awaits
Tiny homes. Small plates. Everything seems to be shrinking these days. Why not your vacation? Even the shortest getaway can have a big impact on your state of mind. So here it is, a quick, affordable trip up the coast that lets you experience all that beautiful Rockland has to offer. You’ll head off Saturday and be home at a respectable hour on Sunday, feeling all summery and refreshed.
Take air travel out of this equation—with seasonal traffic on top of a 3.5-hour drive—and all you’d be seeing over the weekend is the inside of your car. But thanks to speedy, direct Cape Air flights from Logan, you can take off at 10:40 AM and be in Rockland for lunch (for a complete schedule, visit capeair.com). Once you arrive, satisfy your lobster cravings at Claws, with its expansive deck overlooking Rockland Harbor. The Lobster Shack is another favorite, or go for the multi-cultural comfort food served up at Café Miranda.
After lunch, stroll to historic Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, toss a Frisbee on Sandy Beach, or just sit and watch the boats go by at Harbor Park.
Deciding where to go for dinner will be the challenge of the day. With its modern American fare and signature Maine blueberry mojitos, In Good Company is a foodie’s delight. In fact, Rockland was named one of the “Top 9 Small Foodie Towns in Maine.” Enjoy fresh homemade Italian delicacies served up at Rustica. For casual dining as good as it gets, visit The Waterworks pub.
Rockland and the surrounding towns offer hundreds of cozy inns, hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals. Visit rocklandmainevacation.com to see which accommodations suit your style and budget.
Wherever you wake up Sunday, breakfast will be calling. Start your day at Home Kitchen Café. Not your typical eggs-and-bacon joint, they offer creative omelets and bennies galore. Satisfy your sweet tooth with coffee and baked goods from Atlantic Baking Co., or eavesdrop on the locals at Rockland Café, a traditional Maine diner.
With plenty of time before your 3:25 PM Cape Air flight back to Boston (although there are three other flights to choose from), take a drive to nearby Rockport, deemed one of “America’s Prettiest Towns” by Forbes Magazine. With its nationally recognized collection of work by America’s greatest artists, including three generations of Wyeths, the Farnsworth Museum is a destination in itself. The Maine Lighthouse Museum is where you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about Fresnal lenses, and you can take in the most important collection of lighthouse and Coast Guard artifacts in the United States.
There you have it. You’ll be back in Boston before it’s even 5 PM, reinvigorated for the start of your week. But you’ll be hooked on this micro-escape concept. Maybe when you were in Rockport, you happened to notice that the North Atlantic Blues Festival is coming in July. In August, there’s the world-famous Maine Lobster Festival. You might have noticed that Cape Air also flies to Augusta, Bar Harbor, and lots of other fun micro-escape destinations across New England. Maybe the secret to living large is to start by planning small, one weekend at a time. Wherever you go, enjoy the ride!