Busy, popular, beachy, as cute as can be, and no free parking. That is our assessment of Ogunquit, Maine. We drove through three years ago, on our way south along the coast, with no time to stop and enjoy. So we booked a few days here this time. Ogunquit is the east coast version of Carmel, CA, a quaint village with cottages, B&Bs everywhere, and a cute retail shopping area with unique stores and many restaurants. The only drawback is that street parking is sparse, and only for 30 minutes, so not long enough to have a meal or walk the area. Parking lots charge $10-25 to park for a few hours. The one we parked at warned us to be back by 6 PM or our car would be towed.
We drove all over, randomly, and ended up on a winding coastal road toward York, Maine, which was heavily wooded with huge estates and all the charm you would ever want to encounter. We ended up the first day at the area’s notorious “Scoop Deck” ice cream shoppe. You can see the enormous menu in one of the photos! The funny/silly signs that follow are all from the Scoop Deck! Enjoy them, since you can’t enjoy the ice cream….until you visit Maine! By the way, be sure you visit in the summer. A few of the businesses were already closed for the winter. Those of you from the east coast are probably used to that, but it still seems a little strange for those of us from Southern California, where the air is always warm, the water is always cold, and the only differences between seasons are the decorations.
