The Van Blog: Here Comes Sunshine

Tuesday we left our campsite and ventured to really see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time (we saw Wells harbor the day before from the restaurant where we had lunch & we could kind of see the ocean in the distance from the camp grounds). It was gloomy because the sky was so dark and the weather was cold and stormy – but we had made it coast to coast and that was a great feeling in itself! Disappointed with the weather, we went back and forth about if we should stay another day or head south in search for the sun. We milled around the area of Wells and Ogunquit for about an hour before deciding to get a hotel room and stay for 2 more nights – after all there’s a B&B, hotel room or inn every 20 yards and we learned later that the recession has had a big impact here, and our room in a decent motel was only $45 per night! We took the opportunity of having a room to empty the van and get the oil changed. We rode our bikes around town and enjoyed the day even though it was an overcast 54 degrees. Kyle’s Aunt Tootie, who is a annual Maine visitor, told us to try her favorite steakhouse here in Wells, appropriately and simply named, The Steakhouse. We were shot down the first time we tried to go there because they were closed Mondays, so we gave it another shot and went Tuesday night… Being semi-retired, we really have no set eating schedule… sometimes we eat at 4:00 (seriously) and sometimes we eat at 8 or 9:00… This time we showed up about 5:30, (still senior citizen hour) and we figured before the rush – well this place must have people lined up when the doors open because it was PACKED when we got there! But they had their system down: a full bar manned with a bartender greeting waiting guests, and 2 levels of tabled waiting areas. The service was above average and the food was superb. Thanks Aunt Tootie for the great recommendation! Someone later told me that if you wait a minute the weather in Maine will change, and sure enough, yesterday we woke to a beautiful, sunny, 75 degree day! We felt so lucky!! You almost feel like you’re in a different place here when the sun is out. We spent the day yesterday driving up the coast and stopped in the small port town of Kennebunk and then took a ride to Orrs Island off the coast above Portland – which you can drive onto.