Sailing on a schooner has been on my bucket list for years. So, when my very good friend, Diane, suggested we get that item off my list by taking a 4 night cruise aboard a working schooner I was all in! We signed up for a photo tour of lighthouses off Maine’s midcoast aboard the schooner, Mary Day. We flew into Boston on Southwest Airlines and then on to Rockland on Cape Aire. We spent two nights in Camden, boarded the Mary Day and then spent three more nights in Camden before flying home. The following are some selected photographs of our time in Camden. Photographs from the sailing portion of our vacation on the Mary Day will follow shortly.
Camden is a resort focused town on Maine’s central coastline on Penobscot Bay. It is filled with lovely large older homes, lots of small shops catering to tourists, excellent seafood restaurants and a marina that is vibrant and active. What I will remember most is the number of fabulous flowers that adorn almost every crevice of this small town. They are everywhere!!! They are in hanging baskets, flower beds along the commercial district’s shops, from home gardens and along the roadway. My passion for flower photography was on overdrive! Camden is missing something - a traffic light!
This stately property was located behind our hotel.
From our hotel, Camden Riverhouse, we walked across this footbridge into town - right past the ice cream shop on the left.
This ice cream stand was located across the bridge over a small creek in front of our hotel. If the daily lobster was not going to kill my diet this certainly would take care of it. Their ice cream was phenomenal!!
OK! Which one of you could resist this?
Our hotel, Camden Riverhouse, from across the creek.
I was really hoping to be able to visit The Cashmere Goat, a yarn shop in Camden while we were there. Lucky me, it was right across the same creek as the ice cream stand in front of our hotel. I came home with some yarn, needles, swag from the area, and more. Plus, I found out that the owner is a photographer!!!
The creek that runs through Camden is a major feature in the landscape.
All over Camden are little parks with shade trees, benches and flowers. This one is along a church complex.
Diane and I commented that we had not seen any run down neighborhoods. Perhaps they were in Camden, but were not within walking distance. We also did not see large apartment complexes.
There are no traffic lights in Camden. There was some heavy traffic on the main road during the middle of the day as tourists slowly drove through town. Stores were crowded and restaurants were busy. Camden is a destination town for people who want to get away from the big eastern cities.
How could I not photograph this?
The marina in the Camden bay is very busy and there are a good number of boats that provide daily trips out of the bay to view local islands and Maine’s coastline. Some tours are on schooners, some on smaller motorboats.
Main Street where small shops cater to tourists.
The creek running through town. It eventually empties into the bay.
Park overlooking the marina.
Looking on the backside of Main Street from the marina. Waterfall is created by the creek running through town.
This statue was erected in 1899 by the Soldiers Monument Association in honor of the brave men of Camden who gave their lives in defense of the country during the Great Rebellion of 1861 - 1865.
Verdant park with a great view.
She is looking out over the marina, giving the impression of waiting to see her sailor returning home.
These trees reminded me of aspens because of their trunks, but the leaves did not appear to be aspen.
My passion for flower photography was overwhelmed by the sheer number of gorgeous flowers that are found everywhere in Camden. They fill hanging baskets, grow out of flower beds in front of many stores, adorn gardens in every neighborhood and grace public parks. Enjoy the following beauties. They are just a very small selection from hundreds of photographs taken while we stayed in Camden.
This one would make any foggy day sunny.
This flower was, perhaps, the most common one we saw throughout our stay in Maine.
A succulent on the coast of Maine? Yep.
We were told that the best way to really ‘see’ Camden was from the top of Mt. Battie. It was a short drive from town so why not try? The fog rolled in as we headed up to the overlook!! Dang!
