Leave it to Anna: Maine Roadtrip Edition
This mid-week edition is fueled by blueberry coffee, lobster rolls, and luxury linens acquired at factory outlet prices along the way.
This week we are unplugging from real life and listening to Harry Styles with the rooftop down while driving up the Maine coast. As I type this, Maine is experiencing a brutal heat wave according to my friend and fellow Substack reader, who spends her summers here. Most homes don’t have air conditioning and the locals survive by getting into the nearest body of water to cool off. It’s a good thing that Maine boasts a beautiful coastline with numerous picturesque harbors and secret swimming holes! We are staying in East Boothbay, which is weirdly empty of summer vacationers and mostly reserved for locals and occasional road-trippers, such as ourselves. I will probably write a complete Maine travel guide (with a help from my friend) after this trip is over, but for now please enjoy a little preview of our journey. Lobster rolls for life.
We are about half-way through our journey now and already have accumulated a back seat full of wares to bring home. The size of the Mini convertible is the one limiting factor on how many cotton blankets from a family-owned New England factory store I was able to acquire along the way. Since 1929, Matouk has been known for luxury linens made from quality European materials. Born in Syria, the founder of the company, John Matouk, came to the United States and was determined to import high-quality linens to America. His wife, Maude, was instrumental in marketing the imported linens to other immigrants from the Middle East in the 1930s. During World War II, however, imports were cut off and the first factory for making linens stateside was stood up in New York. Nowadays, Matouk still proudly designs and makes its linens at the factory in Falls River, Massachusetts, where we stopped on the way up to Maine. I was like a kid in a candy store -- I have been admiring Matouk linens for years but never was able to pull the trigger on these luxury sheets until now. The discounts at the factory store are amazing and it was especially fun to peek onto the factory floor to see the sheets and blankets in production. I love a successful immigrant story — and supporting a family-owned business that makes its wares in America is the icing on this linen cake.
No travel Substack entry of mine would be complete without some trusty recommendations for items that you may also find useful on the road (or in real life). I have mentioned Sabah shoes before, but I would like to state for the record that these make the most versatile travel shoe. Trust me. Every pair is handmade in Turkey from quality leather and the array of colors that they come in is truly stunning. They are comfortable for walking, so you don’t have to drag a pair of bulky sneakers in your duffel back (unless you plan to do some serious running, but who wants to do that). Sabahs are light, so your feet are never hot and they give off the perfect “summer casual” vibes when worn with pants, skirts, and dresses. I brought my blue pair on this trip (my color is from a previous season but there is a new blue on the website that’s very pretty) and already wore them to a fancy dinner date with old friends in Providence, on a sunset cruise in Boothbay Harbor, and walking around Kennebunkport. My husband is partial to these Sabahs that he also brought on this trip. The couple that wears the same shoes together and all that.
Another summer travel MVP is my packable straw hat with a navy ribbon that I got years ago from Tuckernuck. It is the only hat that stays on my head while I cruise with the Mini rooftop down - and its wide brim protects my eyes from the sun. Definitely recommend. The other item that I’ve been using non-stop is my woven leather tote. While it’s not inexpensive, it’s good quality and matches everything in my summer wardrobe. I love to have a color combination while I travel to make packing easier and this trip it’s been all about navy, tan, and brown.
I can’t get enough blueberries on this trip. They are everywhere (and in everything) and they are delicious. Our hotel restaurant made the best blueberry pancakes upon request - and they did not disappoint! I also tried blueberries and cream popcorn from Boothbay Harbor’s very own Coastal Maine Popcorn Co - this small batch, handmade, air popped popcorn may taken my love and appreciation for unusual popcorn flavors to new levels. Strongly contemplating their Popcorn of the Month club right about now… I am also bringing home local blueberry jam, blueberry syrup to add to sparking water to make it more Maine-y, and blueberry coffee and tea that I found at the grocery store. I also found a berry bowl in a cute blueberry print at Georgetown Pottery (a local Maine company that’s been making pottery since the 1970s), which had to come home with me as well. The back seat in the Mini is getting pretty packed and we still have a few days on the road left!
We are off to northern Maine today and hope to make it to Arcadia National Park to see what the hype is all about. Stay tuned for more updates and follow along on Instagram for more glimpses into our summer adventure. I will leave you with this photo of Boothbay Harbor at sunset. Best enjoyed with a side of blueberry popcorn.
Hope that you enjoyed this post and I will see you here on the Stack again next Sunday! Until then, you can follow Leave it to Anna on Instagram or Facebook. If you think your friends will like the recommendations that I sent your way, please share my newsletter. Leave it on Anna is also newly on Threads this week, so thread along here.