Beach and Bagels
On a very early Saturday morning in April we began our journey to South Portland, ME to get our absolute favorite bagels from Scratch Bakery. The bakery is about an hour and half from our house, that’s how good the bagels are. We left early because they often sell out of the bagels and thankfully our early morning wake up call got us there in plenty of time to buy a dozen bagels as well as two cookies, an almond bear claw, and a chocolate cake piled with 5 layers and topped with a thick chocolate ganache. Yes, we do have a problem, I know. But if you’re going to drive an hour and a half for bakery, you have to get all the things. The apple spice cookies are also my husband’s favorite. I asked him to get a chocolate chip cookie before I wandered ahead to look at the home made ding dongs, but alas he didn’t hear me…sigh. Still, I couldn’t complain given all the other goodies.
Once we got to the car I immediately dug my fresh, crisp, and still warm bagel into the little pot of cream cheese. Definitely worth the drive. As we sampled our bounty we drove to our favorite beach in New England, Higgins Beach, in Scarborough (pictured). The beach is wide, especially at low tide, and hosts surfers in the early morning and early evening in the summer as well as a shipwrecked boat The Howard H. Middleton, sunk in 1897.
In previous summers we’ve stayed at the HIggins Beach Inn. It was updated maybe five years ago and boasts rooms decorated in shades of sunset and throwback artwork as well as free muffins, cookies, and coffee in the lobby. The Inn is steps from the beach and the perfect place to rest your head after a long day in the sun and surf. For dinner, tacos from El Rayo Taqueria and then ice cream at Kettle Cove and sunset at Kettle Cove State Park down the street.
We love Higgins not only because the beach itself is amazing - the boogie boarding there is second to none - but also because it is only 7 miles from Portland and all the shopping and top notch restaurants Portland has to offer. Not the least of which is another of our favorite bakeries, Standard Baking Co and possibly my favorite chocolate croissant. Across the street is Scales restaurant which boasts and fabulous view of the harbor. Or if pizza is your thing, I recommend the bacon and mashed potato pizza from OTTO. And of course I can’t forget Thompson’s Point, a magical place for concerts complete with food trucks and sunsets. We took our daughter there to see Fleet Foxes in 2017, which if I’m not mistaken was her first real concert and a memory that is still so clear in my mind.
Whether it’s a chilly April day or mid-summer the Portland area is worth the trip.