Despite living less than an hour from the border with Maine, we had never visited.
We’ve been to its neighbouring state, New Hampshire, many times. But, somehow we’d never turned right instead of left (!) and crossed over into Maine. With a gorgeous coastline, and many highly recommended beaches, this seems to be something of an oversight on our part!
So, when my mother was visiting over the summer, we decided on a quick day trip. Looking at the map, we picked the closest place that looked interesting, Kittery (just over the New Hampshire border and not far from Portsmouth, NH; to add even more confusion after my post about Plymouth last week!). I am reminded every time we drive anywhere that we really do live in New England :)
Discovering that there was a Pocahontas Road made it easy (!) and we decided to head to Fort Foster, located on Gerrish Island in Kittery Point.
Having had a run of amazing weather, this particular Sunday was dull and rather chilly first thing. So, armed with hoodies for the first time in weeks, we drove north, found our way along the winding Pocahontas Road, paid our $10 (very reasonable for beach parking in the summer season) and parked.
Due to the weather, we didn’t plan on staying for long, but we ended up spending a lovely couple of hours there, enjoying the beautiful views and the brightening day.
On leaving the car and walking towards the pier, the view that greeted us was quite wonderful, if a little grey.
But, the boardwalk was amazing!
We spent quite some time enjoying the, very windy, view at the end of the boardwalk while the kids befriended two beautiful dogs.
The sky began to clear and it was amazing to see the water change from grey to blue as we looked out towards the lighthouse.
But, there was more to investigate, so we made our way back to shore.
As the name would suggest, Fort Foster, orginally built in the early 1900’s, was home to active military fortifications during World War II. The kids were keen to climb up and take a look. Again, we took time to savour the view, and the now blue sky, while also giving the wee girl a quick lesson on ladders.
We had seen a play park when we arrived, and the wee girl was determined to go. To be fair, she was very patient, so once we’d had a look around the old fortifications, we made for the park. We loved this bench made from skis, and the 6yo and wee girl had a great time playing while the 9yo chatted to Granny.
We hadn’t brought swim gear with us, which turned out to be a mistake, as heading towards lunch time it really began to warm up. We couldn’t leave without at least having a paddle. The water was shallow and warm and we ended up with three soggy kids!
At which point it was time to leave and get some lunch! We found an fabulous pizza place, When Pigs Fly, and had an amazing lunch although for future reference, choosing a restaurant near the Kittery Outlets will result in spending a long time in a queue of traffic to get back on to the Highway!
It was a flying visit to Maine, but one that will be repeated, hopefully soon.
I’m linking up with the wonderful Country Kids at Coombe Mill, as always. Click on the badge to see what everyone else has been up to and be inspired to get outside!
Oh wow hon you have some stunning places on your doorstep don’t you ;-)
We really do, this summer has reminded me how lucky we are x
Looks like a fab place !
It was lovely Jill, it was a good choice :)
All your summer trips looks so amazing. Loving that boardwalk – we should have more of those in the UK.
The boardwalk was amazing! We have had some good trips this summer :)
Love the view from the swing. Looks like you made a great choice to turn right on your day trip. The pictures looking out over the water with those incredible cloud are beautiful!
Absolutely, we really need to get back up there are explore some more :)
Loving all your summer trips – this looks like another amazing day out and the fort looks like a very interesting place to explore. I love the photo of your wee girl holding hands with her brother on the boardwalk and one of the bench made out of skis – that’s a bit different! Looks like your little trio had a fab time on the beach and in the play area too :-)
It was another lovely day, I feel very lucky that we’ve really managed to make the most of summer x
I love day trips like this, where you are not quite sure how the day will unfold, but it is always a bonus when you find interesting places to explore and the weather warms up for a bit of impromptu paddling. I think boardwalks are something we could benefit from, though I know my kids would scare be jumping off the end of them! I hope your Mum enjoyed the day too. Thank you for sharing with me on Country Kids.
I did love the boardwalk, it was lovely sitting at the end taking in the view.
Maine is so incredible, glad to see that you made it up there :) Beautiful place, and love that there was a Pocahontas road!! x
We really need to get back for a proper explore. Hoping to manage a weekend before the end of the year :) Pocahontas Road just had to be driven along!
Looks like there was lots to see, love that ski seat and the boardwalk just asks to be walked along doesn’t it #CountryKids
It definitely does, loved it. And the bench was very cool x
What a shame that the weather started out so badly that you didn’t take the swim wear. Glad you were able to enjoy so much and stay a couple of hours though. It is good to hear about the history and my boys always love a park.
I know, I should have known better!
There’s nothing quite like a spontaneous day trip out. Looks like a lovely place to visit with so much to explore. I do like the look of the boardwalk. Thanks for sharing :)
Absolutely! The boardwalk was fabulous :)
What a lovely place. Shame about the weather to start, but nice to see the sun in the end for a paddle.
Thanks for sharing #LetKidsBeKids
It was a shame that it was chilly to start with, but I have to say, watching the sea change colour as the sun came out was lovely :)
It is very confusing, last week I thought you were in Plymouth in the UK, worked it out this week, need to keep reminding myself that the U.S. Has lots of UK place names too! A lovely day to spend at the beach, that boardwalk looks fab with excellent views and the fort looks a great place to explore too. I love the ski pole bench, great up upcycling there. Gorgeous photos of your family!
Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather and looking forward to seeing which other places you visit with UK place names! :) x
I know I’m sorry! I tried to make so many references to the US in the post, but I know it threw people :) The bench is cool, isn’t it, excellent upcycling!
I love the view from the swing and the boardwalk is amazing. You definitely had some good summer trips. :) xx
It was beautiful there, and a fabulous spot for a swing :)
Glad the day brightened up for you all :-) I would love to visit New Hampshire & Maine one day. I went through a phase of reading all of John Irving’s novels so in my head I know exactly how they’ll be!
That boardwalk looks really cool. I love the place names haha. It is confusing but lovely that they’ve kept the similar names in the well named ‘New England’. Home away from home! I love the ski bench and the little park with the boat looks so sweet. You can’t beat the view from the swings either. America looks so beautiful. I really want to come and road trip around one day. Thank you so much for linking up to #whatevertheweather x