After seven days of traveling through Maine – from the LL Bean store in Freeport, to Acadia, and then to Lubec, the easternmost town in the United States, and finally to Camden – I am back with lots of book-related pictures to share.
Lots of miles. Breathtaking scenery. A literal breath of fresh air….
Beginning with our furthest point: Acadia National Park, where there is a calendar-worthy scene at every point on the road. We took walks on the carriage trails, learned about the Wabanaki people who were the original inhabitants of the land, and enjoyed the famous popovers at the Jordan Pond House. A friend suggested that we stay in Southwest Harbor, away from the t-shirt shops and congestion of Bar Harbor. It was an excellent recommendation, but our favorite store was in Northeast Harbor, an even quieter village.
The Naturalist’s Notebook is not a typical bookstore. It’s a combination bookstore and nature and science center and place to buy cool stuff. The owners, of course, describe it much better on their website: “a new way to inspire learning about nature through science, creativity and fun and as an exploration of the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe and everything in it, including us humans.” It’s a wonderful space that made me want to begin my science education (or lack of it) all over again! To learn more, the website is:
http://www.thenaturalistsnotebook.com
Our travels took us as far as Lubec where we crossed the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Bridge to Campobello Island to visit the “cottage” where Roosevelt spent summers as a child and young man. Before the “international” part of our trip, I went to the Lubec Library which, judging from the busy circulation desk and computer stations, is clearly an integral part of the community.
Next stop Rockland where we visited hello hello, one of my favorite independent bookshops. There’s an excellent coffee shop in front of the building which you walk through (after getting a yummy drink) to reach the store. This was a lucky visit. Lacy Simons, hello hello’s owner, was working and we had a fun time talking about our favorite books. She even persuaded me to read Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, The Signature of All Things, a book I avoided because of my less than enthusiastic response to Eat, Pray, Love and my concern that it would be too much like State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, which I loved.
This is the best part of the store – a towering display of Lacy’s favorites:
While in Rockland, it’s a quick drive to see the statue of Andre the Seal in Rockport Harbor.
Andre is the star of several books, including this one:
On the way back, we visited another favorite store, Left Bank Books in Belfast. It is one of the best curated stores on my unofficial lifetime bookstore list – a place where you could sit in a comfy chairs, ask someone to choose any book from the shelf, and be confident that it will be a good one. The store feels good – key to the bookstore hopping experience. I never want to leave, but when I do, it’s always with a bag!
A few more pictures to share….
We saw this giant blueberry on the side of the road and pulled right off the road! As you can guess, the store sells blueberry jam, mugs, t-shirts, dish towels, and about a hundred other blueberry-covered things!
This girl was selling seashells that she found on the beach. She is going into 5th grade, and as I selected shells to buy, I asked about her favorite book which is —- Charlotte’s Web! She told me her favorite scene is the one where Templeton finds the goose egg. It kind of made my day!
Another book I purchased in an antique store, mostly for the fun of reading aloud as we travelled. This is a book published in 1923 by the French’s Mustard Company, which includes “a word to American housewives on the Art of Cooking.” The first line reads: “To American home cooks, may I not send my felicitations on your cookery.” After reading that line, I was sold!
But….I think the cover is graphically interesting. Look at the woman’s dress and how there is no delineating line between her and the background.
Finally, I saw this book in an antique store in Maine and paid $2.00 for it because of this two-page spread. This would have been my childhood dream — and it’s come true!
Sommer Reading 