Camden, Maine is a charming harbor town located on Route 1 in the mid-coast area just north of the city of Rockland. With the ocean on one side, and small mountains on another, it is nestled comfortably in downeast atmosphere.
It is a quintessential postcard Maine fishing village. As such it has attracted a lot of people with money causing land values to be fairly high. Tourism is a mainstay as evidenced by the numerous restaurants and gift shops. There is a lot of stuff packed into Camden's nooks and crannies.
My favorite eatery in Camden is the Village Restaurant. It has a dining room that overlooks the harbor and hosts a traditional seafood menu. The best fried scallops I have ever eaten come from the Village.
After eating, it is pleasurable to wander the streets looking in shops. There is a small park along Main Street that is next to the Megunticook River which flows through the middle of town and empties into the harbor.
When my wife and I moved to Maine from Georgia, Camden was one of the places where we considered settling. I had an interview with the Camden Herald for a reporter position and considered myself a strong candidate. However, I didn't get the job. We ended up settling elsewhere.
We have been to Camden a few times just for leisure sake. It's about a two hour drive from where we live, so we don't get there often. The last time we went my sons were much younger. The oldest may have been a teenager, but I don't think so.
We ate at the Village and wandered around the town a bit. It was a pleasant evening - probably summer as it wasn't quite dark yet. As we stood on the sidewalk over the river that flowed under Main Street, my wife (or one of the boys?) noticed bubbles floating above the water. She pointed it out, and we decided to explore it further.
Strolling down the narrow Tannery Lane which parallels the river, we quickly came to the Camden Riverhouse Hotel. Across from the hotel is a small parking lot edged with all sorts of greenery; bushes and trees. Lighting was strung through the trees giving the area a Christmasy effect. Next to the parking lot is a wooden foot bridge that spans the river. Someone had placed a bubble machine on a railing of the bridge, and it was blowing many bubbles which carried on air currents downstream.
I had two thoughts at that moment.
The first was, how odd. The second was, how delightful.
I'm not a bubble person. They are neither here nor there to me. But that evening, on a warm summer night after we had just enjoyed a seafood dinner overlooking a picturesque harbor, the bubbles added a magical capper to the experience.
Bubbles.
Who knew?
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