Hello! I’m headed north for my annual trip to Swans Island, Maine, and I am SO excited 🙂 If you follow me on Instagram though, you know this isn’t my first trip to Vacationland this summer. Heck, it isn’t even my first this month! My parents decided on a whim that they wanted to attend a car show near Rockland, ME, about three weeks ago. Two weeks ago, my little sister and I decided we’d drive up to join them. One AirBNB reservation and a rental car later, we drove up to spend 24 hours with our Mom & Dad. It was a quick visit, but between the family, the cute town, and the food, it was totally worth the haul up there!

Hill’s Seafood Co.

We just had to start out our trip with a lobster roll! This one from Hill’s Seafood Co. absolutely hit the spot after our long drive north. Eliot and I especially liked that we could skip the fries and get a side of broccoli instead. The service and harbor view were great too. No complaints from the peanut gallery. I wish I had more to say, but I was so happy to have food that I didn’t notice much else 🙂

Rock City Coffee

I’m a two large coffees-per-day sort of gal, but after our early morning drive, I needed a third jolt of caffeine. After getting things settled at our B&B, Eliot and I popped over to Rock City Coffee so I could get my fix. I got the iced coffee I needed and Eliot got a blueberry-hazelnut Italian soda with an adorable Maine-y name that I can’t remember. She said it was delicious.Even if coffee and artisanal beverages aren’t your thing, I recommend checking out Rock City Coffee for the bookstore in the back. That’s right—after you grab your coffee, walk to the end of the counter and you’ll find Hello Hello Books! It’s totally adorable and sells all sorts of new and used books and other fun things. I thoroughly enjoyed scouring the cookbooks and Maine-specific sections.As you may be able to tell, I didn’t capture any photos of my coffee (rest assured, it looked like coffee), but I did capture this guy in all his cinnamon glory ❤

We loved the location with the bookstore as well as a smaller outpost next door to our parents’ hotel. As with Hill’s Seafood Co., Rock City Coffee had great service–super friendly. I highly recommend stopping in if you’re in Rockland!

Primo

Primo was recommended to us by the owner of our B&B. From the way she described it, we were sort of amazed when we were able to get a day-of reservation!Primo is a farm-to-table restaurant right on the border between Rockland and Owls Head, ME. The restaurant itself is in a beautiful Victorian house, but the real magic is in the farm behind it.Mom, Eliot, and I zipped over right after we made our reservation and spent a good 40 minutes wandering through the farm. We loved all the colors of the vegetables, and we named every animal. All the chickens were named after characters from Frasier. You won’t be surprised to learn that none of us ate chicken or pork.

The menu at Primo changes everyday. To start, we all split a red lettuce salad with castelveltrano olives.

My entree was halibut and rock shrimp with a summer squash risotto, and it was spectacular. That’s saying something since I had a horrible cold at the time and could barely taste anything!We had to get dessert too. I had this chocolate budino cake with mint gelato and local strawberries. Eliot went for this almost comically large affogato with the lightest zeppole ever. So dreamy.On top of the amazing meal and farm, Primo had spectacular service. I’m starting to see a trend 🙂

I highly recommend going to Primo if you are in Rockland. It’s pricey, but it’s also an experience. And if you aren’t as lucky with getting a reservation, they have bar seating upstairs and will allow you to order off the bar menu and the regular dining menu. Love that.

The Lobster Shack

We all did our own thing for breakfast before going to the Andrew Wyeth and Ai Weiwei exhibits at the Farnsworth Museum. Before long though, we were hungry and wandered over to The Lobster Shack. It’s basically exactly what it sounds like—a shed with a kitchen and some open air seating.All four of us got the Shack Fave: half-lobster roll, half-crab roll. I mean, we were only in Maine for 24 hours—two lobster rolls were a necessity. Plus, Rockland is the lobster capitol of Maine. Who knew?!Our lunches came with potato chips, cole slaw, dilly beans, and a wedge of watermelon. Everything was delicious, but I’ll be honest and say that I personally prefer lobster over crab in this particular instance.

This was a perfect way to cap off our quick trip. I definitely recommend stopping for lunch at The Lobster Shack. Heads up that it’s cash only—come prepared!
After lunch, we went over to the Owls Head Transportation Museum to see what all the fuss was about before heading back to Boston. I don’t have any particular feelings about old cars, but my dad was having a ball. For Eliot and me, the highlight was meeting this new moose friend.Alright, that’s enough of that Maine trip—now it’s time for another 🙂 We’re spending the night in Portland tonight and headed up to the island tomorrow! Make sure to check in next week so you can see what we’re cooking (and baking!) up on Swan’s Island ❤