This summer we journeyed “Down East” to explore the coast of Maine. We visited historic homes, forts, lighthouses and picturesque fishing villages. We enjoyed a cruise on a lobster boat and we sailed on a Windjammer out of Bar Harbor.

Did you know: That the first naval engagement of the American Revolution took place in the waters off Machias, Maine?  That the worst naval disaster in American history prior to Pearl Harbor was the Penobscot Expedition (July 24-August 12, 1792) in Castine, Maine? That the only naval battle of the War of 1812 viewed by people on shore was fought off Pemaquid Point, Maine 200 years ago (Sept 5, 1813)? That the Maine-Canada border was in dispute until 1842?

 Highlights Included: the homes of Joshua Chamberlain and Harriet Beecher Stowe at Bowdoin College; the Bath Ironworks; the Maine Maritime Museum; Acadia National Park; and FDR's summer home in Campobello; .

ITINERARY

Day 1: Thursday, July 11    (R,D)       

Individual arrivals in Portland, ME. 

Following a trolley tour of the historic district of Portland, join staff and fellow travelers at tonight’s welcome dinner.  Overnight Cambria Hotel, Portland

Day 2: Friday, July 12     (D)   

We will spend the day in the lovely coastal town of Camden.  We will take a cruise of the harbor past two lighthouses, majestic windjammers, and seaside mansions. The captain will haul, bait, and reset several lobster traps and discuss lobster fishing.  We'll also see the village of Rockport and drive to the summit of Mount Battie which, on a clear day, affords a spectacular view of Camden harbor.  We'll continue to Bar Harbor and check into our hotel for the next three nights. All the guest rooms of our hotel face the waters of Frenchman’s Bay.

Overnight Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Conference Center, Bar Harbor

Day 3: Saturday, July 13      (B)   

We’ll spend the day exploring Acadia National Park, the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi River. We’ll take a guided bus tour of the Park that will include stops on Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole. In the afternoon, we’ll enjoy a two-hour ranger–guided cruise of Frenchman’s Bay aboard a four-masted windjammer. This evening we’ll savor a traditional lobster dinner. Overnight Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Conference Center, Bar Harbor

Day 4: Sunday, July 14    (B, L, D)

Option One:  Drive to the Canadian Provence of New Brunswick to visit the Roosevelt Campbello International Park. (You'll need your passport!) FDR spent summers on Campobello, his “Beloved Island,” from the age of one through adulthood. We’ll tour the 34-room “cottage” that he acquired in 1909 and used as a summer retreat until 1939. Continue to the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse that is situated on the easternmost point of land in the continental United States. We will end the day in the town of Machias, one of the birthplaces of the American Navy.  The first naval engagement of the American Revolution took place here just weeks after the action at Lexington and Concord. 

Overnight Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Conference Center, Bar Harbor

Day 5: Monday, July 15     (B)   

We will tour the lovely historic town of Castine, site of the Penobscot Expedition of 1779. It was the worst naval disaster in American history prior to Pearl Harbor. We continue to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge/Observatory, one of four in the world.  We'll take the elevator 420 feet up to the glass observatory that affords a 360 degree view of Penobscot Bay area.  If time permits, we will walk next door to visit the Fort Knox State Historic Site, built in 1840s following the Aroostook War, a border dispute with Great Britain over the Maine-Canada border. Overnight Hampton Inn, Rockland, ME

Day 6: Tuesday, July 16       (B, L)

This morning you will have the option of exploring the town of Rockland where you can visit the Farnsworth Museum of Art or take a guided tour of the home of Revolutionary War hero Henry Knox in Thomaston.  After lunch on the wharf in Rockland, we’ll continue to Pemaquid Lighthouse, commissioned in 1827 by President John Quincy Adams. Constructed on a spectacular rock ledge on the ocean’s edge, this photogenic lighthouse is featured on the Maine state quarter. 

Overnight Hampton Inn, Bath

Day 7: Wednesday, July 17   (B ,L, D)

At the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, we will tour two shipyards--the Bath Ironworks where modern U.S. Navy destroyers are built and the historic Perry & Small shipyard, which constructed the six-masted schooner Wyoming, the largest wooden vessel ever built in the U.S. In Bath, we'll see a replica of the Virginia, the first ship built by the English in the New World (1607-08).  We will have a casual dinner on a working wharf in the picturesque fishing village of Five Islands in Georgetown. Overnight Hampton Inn, Bath

Day 8: Thursday, July 18    (B, L)

Continue to Fort Popham, a Civil War-era coastal defense fortification at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This is the site where Benedict Arnold’s men began up the Kennebec on their secret expedition to Quebec in 1775. After our farewell lunch at a seaside restaurant, we will visit the site of the ill-fated Popham colony (1607-08). Established in 1607, Popham was abandoned after only 14 months. The settlers constructed the Virginia, the first ocean-going ship built by the English in the New World and sailed back across the Atlantic to England in 1608.

On a tour of Brunswick Maine, we will learn why the town claims that the Civil War began and ended with their town. At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, we will learn about former residents Harriet Beecher Stowe, Joshua Chamberlain and Admiral Robert Perry. Stops will include a tour of the Joshua Chamberlain House Museum and the Campus of Bowdoin College.

.Overnight DoubleTree, Portland, Maine

Day 9: Friday, July 19

Individual departures from Portland.

MAINE 9-DAY PROGRAM INCLUDES:

* local guides and private guided tours where available
* Services of a Tour Manager
* 8 nights hotel accommodations

* two wine/beer welcome receptions; 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners

* all taxes, baggage handling and gratuities; pre-trip notes, reading list and map book


COST: 9 DAYS/8 NIGHTS:
Double Occupancy:$4595 per person
Single Occupancy: $5595

To enroll on this tour, print & complete the registration form and mail it with a $200 per person deposit check to: South Mountain Expeditions, P.O. Box 204, Keedysville, MD, 21756. Or email us at tours@smountainexpeditions.com .