Wednesday was the first of “my” days in Maine, so I was in charge (or chadge). We slept in, but once we were underway, I drove us down to Boothbay, to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Mer and I have become big fans of botanical gardens. They have tons of pretty flowers and lots of places to walk, and they are all slightly different. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are fairly new, having only opened in 2007. They have done a spectacular job. They kept and used the exposed bedrock in the gardens, and they have lots of pine and other fir trees around the grounds mixed in with the flowers. They have an extensive and fun children’s area that is beautifully planted, and they have several major gardens, including a rose garden and a rhododendron garden. Finally, there are three major trails that go through the gardens and the woods. Some of the trails lead down to the tidal river, so you even get a water aspect to the gardens. Between the fir trees, the water, and the bedrock, it is a good representation of Maine. Mer and I spent about four hours there, and we saw the entire gardens with the exception of a few small connector trails. I really liked the children’s area since it was whimsical, and I liked the rhododendron garden for the large artificial waterfall located there.

After the garden, we drove the short distance to Boothbay Harbor, which I had heard much about. We only stayed about forty-five minutes. I was largely unimpressed. There is no well-defined main street like in Rockland or Camden. The shops felt very touristy, and the streets were crowded, and parking was hard. You could not see the harbor from much of the town because the streets were all built up. We wandered into a candy store and bought two really expensive chocolate-covered Oreos, which we ate near the harbor, and then we left town. I’ll take Rockland or Camden any day.

We swung back through Rockland and picked up Dale and Carlene to go out to supper. Our first pick, the Thomaston Cafe, was closed, so we drove up to Camden and ate at the Village Restaurant, which has windows that overlook the bay. The food was excellent and the views were fabulous. We had had a very pretty day.