1. Blue Skye Farm
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 832-0300
Address: 1708 Friendship Rd.
Description: One of the many architectural delights of the Friendship Road in Waldoboro, Blue Skye Farm is a distinctive Federal-style home built in 1775 and surrounded by acres of meadows. It is brimming with old details, from stenciling most likely done by the famed Moses Eaton to perfectly preserved rooms with aged fireplaces and quilts. Jan and Peter Davidson run the five-bedroom inn, and they have restored the historic charmer in loving fashion, saving the beams, the creaky floors, and period furniture (check out the four-posters), but tastefully blending in thoroughly modern comforts like private baths in four of six rooms. One-hundred acres are out the back door.
2. Borealis Breads
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (800) 541-9114
Address: Route 1
Description: Bodacious, baby. In 1993 Borealis launched under the name Bodacious Breads before discovering that a company of the same name already existed in California. So owner Jim Amaral changed the name to its current, northerly moniker. But the bodacious spirit still animates the bright yellow headquarters kitty-corner across Route 1 from Moody’s. Fifteen varieties of freshly baked breads are made here—pick up a loaf of the salty rosemary or the French peasant—and they all have their fans. The real secret, though, is that you can get one of the best inexpensive sandwiches you’re ever going to find at lunchtime here. “The Van Gogh of Dough” is the Borealis slogan, and you gotta think old Vincent would be stopping by for lunch if he were vacationing in the Midcoast. There’s another retail store in Wells, and Borealis is sold in stores across the state.
3. Moody’S Diner
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 832-7785
Address: Route 1
Description: The sign above the door says simply eat and under it moody’s diner in bright neon, and people seem to take the message to heart, swinging in off Route 1 as if they have no choice. Moody’s is the single-most famous restaurant in the state, the L.L. Bean of diner cuisine, and a visit is all but obligatory. Rare are the moments when its parking lot is empty. The Moody family has been feeding generations of Mainers—and their hungry guests—since they opened for business on the old Atlantic Highway in 1927. Back then the road was longer and the ham-and-egg sandwich cost 20 cents. Over the years the humble diner has gained wide acclaim for its fare, especially for its pies and muffins—Gourmet magazine asked for the recipe for the walnut pie, Saveur named the Moody’s whoopie pie a 1999 “food find,” and the Culinary Hall of Fame gave the blueberry muffins top honors. Plenty of locals eat at Moody’s on a weekly (or even daily) basis, and the eats are dependably good. You’ll find all the usual diner suspects—burgers, fries, shakes, turkey sandwiches, tuna melts, but with several Maine twists, like chowders and corned beef hash. You may have to wait a few minutes, though. Pick up a T-shirt that says “I’m a Moody Person” on your way out the door.
4. Well-Tempered Kitchen
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 563-5762
Address: 122 Atlantic Hwy. (Route 1)
Description: An old barn here is filled with a stupendous array of kitchenwares for the gourmet cook—not necessarily what you’d expect to find on the outskirts of Waldoboro. Cookbooks, pots, pans, cutlery, tableware, and unique cooking gadgets are all here. Quite a surprise, and it’s even better than it sounds.
5. Wooden Screen Door Company
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 832-0519
Address: 3542 Route 1
Description: Nothing says summer in Maine like the thwack of a screen door slamming shut. Somehow only a good one made of wood will provide that resounding sound, which will take you back to Grandmother’s house and summer camps past. This small outfit has about a dozen designs to choose from, and it will customize to your specs. A variety of themes are available, and they evoke the Maine coast, from canoes to fish, from schooners to blue herons, and the doors are built of weather-resistant Honduran mahogany. They run from $450 up to about $1,000.
6. Waldo Theatre
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 832-6060
Address: Main St.
Description: Music is but one of the offerings at this great downtown theater. Fiddle contests and folk singers and classical quartets have played here, but so have theater troupes, kids’ programs, and films. Open year-round. Call or check the Web site for more information.
7. Old German Church
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 832-5100
Address: Route 32
Description: The story behind this landmark house of worship is as compelling as the unique box pews found inside. German immigrants migrated to Waldoboro in 1740 with the idea that they would be moving to a thriving city. Instead they “found nothing but wilderness.” (Seems town father Samuel Waldo may have exaggerated a bit when he did his recruiting.) The Germans decided to stay and make the best of things and built a village here, erecting this pretty old church in 1772 on the Medomak River. (They hauled it across the ice to its current site in 1794.) It’s one of the oldest houses of worship in the state and has several remarkable meetinghouse features, like the hanging pulpit. Open daily from 1 to 3 p.m. in July and August.
8. Fawcett’S Antique Toy Museum
City: Waldoboro, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 832-7398
Address: Route 1
Description: Former art professor John Fawcett has filled a deceptively large colonial in Waldoboro to the brim with toys and toys and more toys. There are pictures, posters, and artifacts about toys, and actual toys themselves. Disneyana is a specialty—which is to be expected from a curator and artist whose work is in the book The Art of Mickey Mouse—but there are also whole sections devoted to the Lone Ranger. Also look for Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Superman, Popeye, Pogo, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Star Trek—they’re all represented. If it was a toy, it’s in here. Geared for adults, it’s a treasure trove for kids, too. Open Memorial Day through Columbus Day Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open weekends only from Columbus Day through Christmas from noon to 4 p.m.