Our #vanlife Adventure in the Downeast of Maine
For my birthday, all I wanted was some quality time to with Thomas and our two dogs, Paige and Peaches. We decided that a camping trip would be the perfect little getaway. I had been Instagram stalking the Cutler Coast Public Land Reserve and we decided The Bold Coast Trail was a perfect hike for us and the pups.
We weren’t, however, ready for a backpacking trip with our little babies. So, we found a nearby state park with great views right on the Bay of Fundy - Cobscook Bay State Park.
Thomas and I have toying with the idea of purchasing a camper van or a tear-drop trailer for a while. We decided that a weekend rental would be the perfect way to try our hand at RV life.
In my research, I stumbled across this website, Outdoorsy! Outdoorsy* allows you to search for everything from pop-ups to two-bedroom RVs with satellite TV. We settled on a locally owned Ford Ecoline conversion camper van. It was the perfect fit for our trip.
We picked up our van on Thursday evening and hit the road headed north. We stopped at the famous Dysart’s Travel Stop just outside of Bangor, Maine for the night. Dysart’s is a well-known and busy truck stop equipped with shower rooms, laundry, a hairdresser, and a restaurant.
We parked around back with the tractor-trailers, went into stealth mode, and went to sleep.
The next morning, we did a bit of exploring in the Bangor area - with a stop at Tim Horton’s, of course! Tim Horton’s have all but disappeared from Southern Maine, so this was a real treat! Canadians know how to make a mean donut!
We decided to hit up a local brewery for lunch. Mason’s Brewing Company is located along the Penobscot River Walkway - just across the stream from downtown Bangor. With views of the Darling’s Waterfront Pavillion, Mason’s offers a dog-friendly patio with plenty of shade.
We started with a flight of four of Mason’s brews - Hipster Apocalypse, Double Hipster Apocalypse, Blueberry Witte, and Hoppy Saison.
Then we got a pretzel with maple butter, beer cheese, and hot mustard and full pour of the Hipster Apocalypse IPA. I love a good pretzel…and add some beer cheese, perfection!
And then….we got the Porky’s Revenge Pizza. It was magical!
After having a fill of our pizza, beer, and pretzels, we took a walk along the River Walkway before heading off to Cobscook Bay State Park. Not without stopping for a family photo, of course!
We arrived at the Park and set up camp.
We spent Friday night just relaxing at camp. We played Uno and Phase10. We ate pulled pork. We took a walk in the dark. We gazed at the stars.
Saturday morning, we hit the trail at Cutler Coast. The hike was brutal but so worth it! After the hike we headed back to camp for dinner. I used the left over pulled pork to make nachos!
After a few more rousing rounds of Uno, which I won most of, we went to bed.
Sunday morning, we packed up camp and headed to Lubec to visit the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. West Quoddy Head is the Easternmost point in the United States.
I absolutely love lighthouses and this one is especially beautiful! After walking the grounds of the lighthouse, it was finally time to head home. Our van life adventure came to end. We absolutely loved the trip and are inspired and motivated to make Van Life a regular part of our world! If you’re curious about campers or RVs, I highly recommend checking out Outdoorsy* and giving it go! If you use this link*, you can get $50 off your first renal!
Have you ever traveled by van? Tell me all about it in the comments below!
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