48 HOURS-August 2013
Photographs + stories by Maine magazine staff:
Chris Kast

Chris Kast
Brand Strategist, The Brand Company

Friday

Four letters come to mind as I write this: TGIF. It’s been a very busy few weeks and my husband and I are both looking forward to spending our weekend in Ogunquit. While we’ve been here a handful of times over the years we’ve never had occasion to spend a whole weekend oceanside, and this feels like the beginning of a much needed weekend out of Dodge. So we put the pup in the kennel and make our way south. The weather gods appear to be shining on us and we’re ready to roll.

4:00 p.m. @ Anchorage by the Sea
We’re greeted by a friendly chap behind the front desk who quickly checks us in at this beautiful property on Shore Road. They’ve put us in a tower room with a balcony overlooking the ocean.

5:00 p.m. @ Shore Road 
After we settle in and shower we take a stroll down Shore Road. The breeze off the ocean cools the air and we look forward to a wonderful summer evening. Meandering down the street, we stop in front of Rock Lobster, which has a row of rocking chairs made from reclaimed lobster buoys on display. We instantly add them to the mental when-we-get-the-porch-on-the-house-done-we-gotta-get-these list.

5:15 p.m. @ The Front Porch
We head upstairs in this iconic piano bar, make our way to a table by the window and pause, appreciating the space and the air-conditioning as our cocktail menus arrive. Decision made: two frozen cosmopolitans and an order of fresh scallop ceviche to share. Neither disappoints, and as we make our way out the door we make a note to return when the bar is in full swing tomorrow evening.

6:00 p.m. @ Five-O Shore Road 
This restaurant bills itself as a place for fine Mediterranean dining and as we are shown to our table the aromas flooding the dining room let us know we are in for a treat. Byron and I both appreciate a good meal and have a tough time deciding what to order. I go for the pineapple martini and Byron selects the special cocktail, which is a martini made with fresh grapefruit and elderflower liqueur. We start dinner with steamed mussels to share and I move on to pasta vognole, which is full of clams, butter, garlic, wine, and fennel. My hubby selects the special—a housemade sausage ravioli. During dinner we decide that since everything in this incredible seaside town is in such close proximity, we’ll make ours a walk-as-much-as-we-can weekend. Leaving Five-O content, we start our evening walk to the theater.

8:00 p.m. @ The Ogunquit Playhouse 
This production of Thoroughly Modern Millie with Sally Struthers doesn’t disappoint. The story holds up and Struthers keeps the audience in stiches as Mrs. Meer. Standing ovation all around.

11:00 p.m. @ MaineStreet Ogunquit 
It’s Pride Weekend and there’s a Sexy Superhero contest planned at this cavernous dance club. The show is hilarious and the crowd mixed. The club’s two dance rooms offer completely different experiences: one is all about 80s music while the newer, larger room offers a great complete-with-lights DJ dance experience.

Saturday

8:30 a.m. @ The Wild Blueberry Cafe
We sleep in after a night of theater and dancing and do a good old breakfast refuel at this Shore Road restaurant. I hear chatter from the table next to us about the housemade corned beef hash and succumb to the temptation. Glad I did. Byron has their signature breakfast. I win.

9:20 a.m. on Shore Road + Main Street 
Ogunquit is a great town to walk through, window-shop, and real-life shop. We pop into Crickets Corner Toys and Kites, check out the bathing suits at Jeremiah’s (Byron was THIS close to buying the leopard print suit) and browse On The Main gifts, whose owner Rick Filbert gives us a very warm welcome. Byron spots an awesome candleholder of cast frogs that we have to have. From there it is on to Main Street with a stop at theVillage Food Market, where we grab snacks for the beach. For dessert, a bag of candies from Harbor Candy Shop. We need our strength!

10:30 a.m. @ Ogunquit Beach
We’ve waited a long winter for an incredible day like this, and when in Rome…we pack our snacks, grab chairs and sunscreen, and stroll the path to the beach. Getting there is half the fun—the views from the walkway are incredible. At low tide the expanse of sand seems to stretch on forever. We walk  ten minutes from the crowds, find some seclusion, and plunk down for some sun. And yes, we went in the water.

1:40 p.m. @ Ogunquit Museum of American Art
When we find this gem of a museum just north of Perkins Cove we are blown away by the grounds and the view. Wow, just wow. This is definitely a highlight for us. Marsden Hartley, Dozier Bell, Dahlov Ipcar, Lois Dodd, William Bailey—the museum is filled with works by Maine artists who have put our state on the map. We stop and pay homage to the exhibition on Henry Strater, who started the museum, and quietly give him thanks for doing just that.

2:30 p.m.  @ Perkins Cove
We wander this coveside enclave of shops and restaurants and make our way to the Lobster Shack for a meal fit for kings: chowder, lobster rolls, and cold beer. Owners April and Jason and their entire crew welcome us with open arms. Yeah, we’re enjoying our time in Ogunquit. As we make our way back to the hotel we stop and snap a street sign pic—ya gotta love a town with a “Whistling Oyster Lane.”

3:45 p.m. @ Sweet Pea’s Ice Cream
Decisions, decisions. But ice cream is a must on a day like this.

4:00 p.m. @ Marginal Way Walkway (the Cliff Walk) 
We were told this is an experience not to miss and boy are we glad we didn’t. This walk takes you from the heart of Ogunquit to Perkins Cove right along the water. We can’t take our eyes off the ever-changing views, which does cause me to say quite a few “excuse me’s” and “sorry’s,” but the breathtaking scenery outweighs the embarrassment of being “that guy.”

5:00 p.m. @ Anchorage By The Sea
Time to relax and read on the balcony of our room with a view.

7:00 p.m. @ Arrows Restaurant 
We’ve been looking forward to this meal. As we wait for our friends Mike and Chris to arrive, we stroll the gardens where chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier grow herbs and produce for the restaurant. I wish that our gardens at home looked so good. We make our way inside and are greeted warmly and shown to our seats at the bar. From the appetizers of soft shell crab sandwiches and lobster gratin to the entrees of tenderloin and duck we are blown away. Just as we are about to leave, James Beard Award-winner Clark Frasier walks by. We can’t help but thank him for such a great evening, and do our best not to be celebrity-chef starstruck.

9:45 p.m. @ The Front Porch 
Even though we had cocktails here last night, we have to go back when the giant white piano bar is in “full sing.” The upstairs bar is packed with gay people, straight people, young people, older people, all here for one thing: to have fun and sing. When the piano player breaks out Aerosmith’s “Dream On” Byron and I scream along with the chorus and laugh ourselves silly. Such a great time.

Sunday

7:15 a.m. @ Marginal Way
I let Byron sleep and head for a quiet run. I am amazed at how transformed this path is early in the morning—my run is tranquil and meditative, which you’d get a laugh at if you knew me, because I hate to run. Not today.

8:30 a.m. @ Bread and Roses Bakery 
We spotted this place yesterday and had to make a stop for a couple of lattes and their sinfully amazing sticky buns. We justify it as a pre-Father’s Day brunch snack. Glad we did.

9:10 a.m. @ Revelations Gifts and Home Accents Gift Shop 
In what used to be a Methodist Church you’ll now find a gift shop that’s all about whimsy. Shoppers are greeted by their faithful guardian The Butler—a piece created by sculptor Jack Dowd.

11:55 a.m. @ Bintliff’s Ogunquit 
Two of our four daughters are meeting us for Father’s Day brunch. When Emily and Olivia arrive, we are shown to our table and immediately nominate Olivia to try their famous crème brûlée french toast—our ballerina has an appetite and she is all smiles at first bite. We smile too as we tuck into our eggs Florentine, eggs Benedict, and omelet of goat cheese, smoked salmon, and spinach. After telling the girls of our weekend adventure we realize one thing: we can’t wait to spend more time exploring this Maine town.