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Local Information

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Bedtime Stories – Lighthouses of Maine

When I’m not teaching college or managing Sadler House, I write bedtime stories for the Get Sleepy Podcast and the Slumber app. The major purpose of these stories is to help people fall asleep. I originally came to sleepy podcast stories when I started constantly waking in the night. If you’re like me, you wake up and then your mind activates. Then BAM! you can’t go back to sleep.

What are Podcast Bedtime Stories?

Finding the Get Sleepy podcast changed my nights so much for the better. After nearly two years of listening to the stories many times a week, I sent in a writing sample and got hired to write the stories myself! Just last year, I wrote something in the neighborhood of 70 stories.

Lighthouses of Maine – Drift Off with History

Among those, I did a series featuring a character who is researching the lighthouses of Maine. In this post, I am sharing links to the four stories in the series. Incorporating a mix of history and travel visualization, they are the perfect way to drift off to sleep. However, I think they’re also a great way to learn about the lighthouses of Maine before you are there in person. Take them on your walk or listen to them while doing chores. I promise you’ll end up knowing more about these historic beacons and your visit will be richer for it.

In case you’re wondering why I chose these four, it’s not because I thought they were the most important or the oldest or the tallest or the most beautiful lighthouses of Maine. Rather, these were lighthouses I loved and they were the lighthouses with some of the best stories to tell. As any love of the lighthouses of Maine knows, you could make twenty more such stories. But I hope you enjoy these.

Find More Bedtime Stories

You can find Get Sleepy on any podcast platform (Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google…) or you can also listen to the episodes for free at the YouTube links, below.

Wishing you sweet dreams of Maine, my friend! If you like these, check out my other fairytales, holiday stories, nostalgic stories and more.

The Portland Head Light

The Rockland Breakwater Light

The Owls Head Light

The Cape Neddick Light

Sadler House February 6, 2023 Leave A Comment Permalink

Midcoast Maine Fall Fun

A Maine summer is gorgeous, but a Maine fall is truly fantastic. Midcoast Maine fall fun is everywhere you look. From gorgeous foliage to festivals to apple picking, Maine is the gold standard in autumnal experiences. Why should you visit when the weather cools? Read on and find out!

I have no words other than I LOVE FALL 🍂
A post shared by @ tina.moro on Oct 19, 2017 at 3:37am PDT

Fall Foliage in Midcoast Maine: Get Up High!

It’s no secret that New England boasts the most fiery foliage around in the autumn, but how about getting a bird’s eye view? The Camden Snow Bowl’s proclaims itself to be the only ski resort on the East Coast with ocean views, and taking in that view is a special treat when you take advantage of their foliage chairlift rides.

The schedule for 2019 chairlift rides has not yet been posted but, in past years, they were on Sunday in October. I’ll watch for updates to post here, but you can check for yourself at the Snow Bowl site!

If you can’t fit the chairlift ride into your schedule take a drive up to the top of Mt. Battie at Camden Hills State Park and see one of Maine’s most iconic coastal views from there. If you’re looking for a physical challenge, try hiking it! Read more →

Sadler House September 5, 2018 Leave A Comment Permalink

Sailing in Midcoast Maine: How to Arrange a Day Sail

I can finally write a post about how to go sailing in midcoast Maine. Why didn’t I do this sooner? It’s because I’d never done it and I couldn’t get over my nervousness about figuring out how to make it happen. What I’m going to share here is not as much for people who are experienced in sailing and who have boats and connections. It’s for those of you who, like me, didn’t grow up near the water and want to experience sailing in midcoast Maine – possibly for the first time.

Sailing in Midcoast Maine Just for the Day

As a newbie, of course you are not going to want to get on a boat by yourself and throw caution (literally) to the wind. There are numerous gorgeous schooners in the midcoast that will take people out for overnight or multiple day sails. These are a thing of beauty, but it’s a commitment some of us (especially with kids) may not be ready to make. What I needed was to get my kids on a boat for a few hours and see how it went.

Bufflehead Sailing Charters

Sailing in Maine on The Bufflehead Poking around town, I finally heard about a wonderful ship called The Bufflehead. This 32′ wooden gaff sloop is owned by Daniel and Amanda Bennett, who have a great website with a calendar and lots of information about all the different types of sails they can provide for up to six people at a time. Because I didn’t even know how my kids would react to sailing, I jumped at the chance to take just a two hour trip. I emailed Daniel and Amanda and easily arranged for an August morning when we would have our first sail as a family! Read more →

Sadler House August 21, 2018 Leave A Comment Permalink

Midcoast Maine Spring Fun

As we head up Route 1, our excitement builds. We’re finally going to see Sadler House again, heading right into the Maine spring after being absent the entire fall and winter. “Where do you want to eat dinner tonight?” I ask the boys. Rockland has become their second home after all these years, and they are full of opinions. After discussing the many kid-friendly options in town, the boys settle on The Waterworks Restaurant. The free popcorn may be giving those folks a little edge.

People always look at us strangely when we say we’re heading to Maine for spring break. The easiest way to explain it is “We have to do spring cleaning at the house,” but the truth takes a little bit of convincing. In reality, we love being back in Rockland at the onset of mud season, when we can get a last glimpse of the snow my kids pine for in Virginia and see the crocuses arrive. The Maine spring may not feature all the charms of summer, but it has plenty of advantages. Many of our favorite places in town will be open, but few will be sustaining the crowds of summer. Visitors may be largely absent, but local friends abound. We are nearly guaranteed to run into people we haven’t seen since August. You can hardly go anywhere in town in the quiet season without seeing people you know. Read more →

Sadler House April 6, 2018 2 Comments Permalink

Vacation in Maine Like a Local

I’ve always felt like there are two types of travelers in the world. There are those who are perfectly fine with being tourists, and then there are those who prefer to travel like locals, keeping a low profile and seeing the soul of a place. Admittedly, vacationing like a local is a bit of a contradiction, and it can be tough to pull off. After seven straight summers living and traveling in Maine, these are our best tips on how to vacation in Maine like you live there! Disclaimer: it appears that we spend a lot of time doing things that involve food.

Buy Fresh Food at Farmstands

People who live in Maine are serious about fresh, local food. Patronizing roadside stands is a matter of course and a matter of honor. More than that, though, it’s just fun! We are fortunate to have the divine Beth’s Farm Market near us. It’s a destination all its own. We end up leaving with everything from lobsters to produce to fresh doughnuts. Pro Tip: Beth’s sells lobsters on Sunday.

Vacation in Maine like a local - Beth's Farm Market

But there’s no need to make a huge excursion out of buying from hardworking farmstands in Maine. Just pull over and shop at one! You’ll be amazed at how great they are. Read more →

Sadler House February 22, 2018 1 Comment Permalink

Midcoast Maine Fishing Trips Made Easy

Maine is known for its wealth of outdoor activities, so it can be intimidating when you grew up sort of an “indoor” person and then begin spending time in Maine. I was never a camper and didn’t have a lot of family hiking experience as a kid. I don’t know how to sail and never had friends with boats. You know what else I’d never done?

Fishing.

Midcoast Maine fishing trips can be easy to plan! Find out how to do it hassle-free and have a great family day. When our 8-year-old son began asking about learning to fish, we balked. My husband had never fished, either, and we started off by buying him a silly fishing rod Dan saw on the internet and going down to our neighborhood lake in Virginia. The rod became hopelessly tangled after five minutes and no fish were caught.

I started thinking how there must be so many places near our home in Maine to do just this, but I didn’t know who could help us. Putting aside the obvious problem that we don’t know how to fish, we also had no boat, no fishing licenses, no gear…and no idea how to obtain some of these things. Sure, we could have done lots of internet research and gone to sporting goods stores. Still smarting from the last fishing rod failure, however, I knew that was not going to work out. Having a solo successful midcoast Maine fishing trip seemed pretty unlikely.

Maine Outdoors Saves the Day

Luckily, I stumbled upon Maine Outdoors on Twitter and followed the links back to Don Kleiner’s site. Lo and behold, while Don takes out very experienced fishing enthusiasts and is a Master Maine Guide, he also helps inexperienced novices like us, via his fantastic offering of a half-day family fishing trip.

Contacting him through his site was a piece of cake, and I was able to easily reserve our trip on the day of my choice through his online reservation system. Shortly thereafter, he was in touch via e-mail with all the preliminary details. Namely, all my husband, father-in-law, and two boys would need to do was show up at the appointed location at Megunticook Lake at the reserved time. They didn’t need gear, licenses, or even bottled water for staying hydrated!

Midcoast Maine Fishing Trips

Sadler House June 29, 2017 Leave A Comment Permalink

Find the Best Midcoast Maine Beaches

One of the first questions I get from first-time visitors to midcoast Maine is “where are the best midcoast Maine beaches?” Although there are lots of midcoast Maine beaches, finding just the right one for you and your kids can be tricky if you aren’t in-the-know. It’s taken me a couple of years to find the most convenient, fun, and relaxing beaches in our orbit of the midcoast. Plus, naturally, your ideal beach will depend on what you and your family most like to do. Therefore, I’m going to tell you about some best bets in our area. This isn’t all the midcoast Maine beaches, by any means, and I hope others will share their favorites in the comments.

I’ve included a map here to help you locate all of these spots. The addresses are pretty vague in some cases, due to their locations off of major roads, but plugging the name of the beach into your navigation will often help you pinpoint the parking areas more precisely!

To get started, here are my top five go-to sunning spots, plus one everyone else loves, but we have yet to visit.

Sadler House December 18, 2016 2 Comments Permalink

Midcoast Maine Food Trucks and Shacks

Watermans Beach Lobster Table

UPDATED as of May 2019! Please check websites and Facebook pages to determine who is operating in 2023!

As much as we all love a great restaurant meal, it’s no secret that some of today’s greatest food is being served through a window. There is no place where this is more true than in midcoast Maine, where lobster shacks have long been a huge draw for visitors and a way of life for locals. There’s more than just lobster to be had at these casual spots, though. Nowadays, visitors to the midcoast of Maine can find every type of cuisine from Thai to tacos being sold outside. For visitors who want to enjoy the weather, or who are on a budget, or who just can’t stand barking at their kids through one more seated meal, a lobster shack or a food truck can be a godsend.

Here’s the thing, though…how do you locate these little gems? So often, the informal addresses or teeny tiny nooks where these great places are located make them tough for the visitor to find. I’ll be the first to admit that I hate looking like an idiot, driving around and thinking “Is this that pier? Is that the alley?” It has taken us a couple of years to scout out all the good pass-through-window food in Rockland and we still have some places to check out.

I’m going to make this easy for you.

Buoy Park in Rockland – a great place to eat!

What follows is a list (by town) of the midcoast Maine food trucks and shacks I’ve been able to find out about in the areas around Rockland, Camden, Rockport, and South Thomaston. I hope this gives you the courage to patronize some of these delicious establishments. Eat like you’re in-the-know and enjoy!

In order to fully take advantage of the food truck and food shack offerings, though, you need to understand a few unwritten rules. The main one is that these hardworking folks have basic hours, but those may change day to day due to weather or other random circumstances. This is what they need to do to stay in business, so just take advantage of their social media postings and, when in doubt, call them! The hours I’ve listed below are probably correct, but I cannot guarantee them.

The other plea I would make to you is to be nice. Sometimes they’re mobbed and sometimes they’re not. I’ve seen visitors get super crabby about waiting a little extra time for their order or not getting their straw. Every one of these people behind the window is working in a hot, small space and churning out the best food they can at the fastest rate they can manage. If your order is a little long in coming, enjoy the view and be cool. It’ll be worth the wait.

Please note that most of these food trucks and food shacks judge opening and closing by the prevailing weather each year. Wherever I have noted “seasonal” you can assume that means roughly late May to early October, but during those times you may want to double-check to see if they are open.

Lastly, if you’re heading to Portland, be sure to take advantage of Maine Food Truck Tracker to figure out what great trucks may be available there!

Disclaimer: I realize this doesn’t cover all midcoast towns and cities. Just managing this area was a good initial challenge! Listings south of Damariscotta are a work in progress.

With that said, let’s start at home base, shall we? Read more →

Sadler House May 14, 2016 12 Comments Permalink

New in Rockland, Maine – 2016!

New in Rockland - 2016 If I’ve learned anything about Rockland, Maine in the time we’ve been here, it’s that it will constantly be changing. I thought a lot of new things had happened in 2015, but posting a round up of what’s new in Rockland for 2016 is an even bigger task!

Fond Farewell

Change is good, but it’s still sad to say goodbye to some of the old businesses that made way for the new. Most notably from our point of view, favorites The Thorndike Creamery, The Blackboard Deli, Comida, and The Brown Bag are no longer with us.

The good news is, some very exciting new people have come to occupy a few of the old spaces. Furthermore, there is a spectacular new art attraction in town for me to tell you about. Without further ado, here are some wonderful new developments coming in downtown Rockland, Maine! Read more →

Sadler House March 31, 2016 3 Comments Permalink

National Toboggan Championships!

Far from closing down in the winter, the midcoast is a hotbed of activity at the beginning of February, thanks to Camden Winterfest and the U.S. National Toboggan Championships. The activities include snow sculpting, skiing and snowboarding, and a polar plunge, among other fun winter pastimes.

There is even a snow plow parade and everyone is treated to fir eworks over the Camden harbor.

My brother and me with my mom in Minnesota – 1975

What I dream of doing, though, is flying down the toboggan chute. When I was a kid, my dad used to take us sledding (in Minnesota, Colorado, and Nebraska) on a plastic toboggan that rolled right up. That thing FLEW. We had so many great winter days on that toboggan.

The U.S. Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl are a festive, grown-up version of that.

Sadler House January 31, 2016 Leave A Comment Permalink