Introduction:
I’ve been to Maine nearly every summer of my life, my extended family has a house near Ellsworth, much farther downeast than Amtrak’s Downeaster Goes. Only once before (when this blog was in its infancy) have I gone up to Maine not driving with my parents. On that trip I took Greyhound north through the night straight through to Bangor. It cost maybe $40. I don’t want to repeat that experience of being in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City waiting to board a bus at midnight. Luckily the bus was empty enough that I didn’t have to double-up. On the way back I was heading to Cape Cod for a few days with the other side of my family and an aunt was driving to the Portland Airport. I got dropped off at the Portland Train Station and took my only ride on the Downeaster to North Station where I took the T across Boston to the Commuter Rail out to Mansfield (the most practical station to I-495) where my other grandmother picked me up (she had driven from Syracuse that very morning) and we continued driving out to Cape Cod and then drove back to New York.
The purpose of this trip was to help my Maine grandmother (who lives in New York and I haven’t really traveled with) drive up to Maine. We left last Tuesday, spend the night with my great Uncle in Manchester-by-the-Sea (we stopped in town to run an errand and I didn’t realize until it was too late to get some photos of the train station) and drove the rest of the way on Wednesday.
The biggest item for the website on my Maine bucket list is to ride the Downeaster out of Brunswick all the way into South Station. I examined schedules and realized that in theory by connecting to the Main and Easter Tourist Railroad I could get all the way out to Rockland. Unfortunately their not starting their season until later this year (towards the end of August, and basically running for leaf-peeping season). Instead I realize the only way to get to Brunswick from Bangor is by taking Concord Coach Lines much longer Maine Coastal Route via Route 1 through all the little towns along the ocean.
My grandmother mentions that on Saturday she’s picking a friend up and the Bangor Airport so that becomes the obvious time to leave. I examine the Downeaster schedule and realize that the evening train from Brunswick to North Station arrives at 9:15pm and is normally late, no possible way to the connect to the last southbound train out of Boston, the Northeast Regional (Twilight Shoreliner/Night Owl). I realize I’m going to have to spend the night in Boston and than look and at the Cape Flyer Schedule (the new MBTA operated Weekends only train from Boston to Hyannis) and decide I might as well make a day-trip to Hyannis. I then realize that a different Aunt is vacationing in Welfleet for the week and I might as well go out and spend a few days with them out there. The original plan is to take the bus back. It then turns out that my Syracuse grandmother (the reason I go to Syracuse often) will join me in Boston and take the Cape Flyer out with me. She’s flying to and from Boston, my Aunt (who I clash with when it comes to making travel arrangements vetoed my grandmother making the 9 hour SYR to BOS trip on the Lake Shore Limited but luckily we have relatives to stay with in Boston. My original plan was to stay at a hostel in Boston and not impose on relatives but she’s arriving early enough to have a proper visit. Traveling with my grandmother also means I’ll get back to Boston in style on the high speed ferry and I then decide I might as well use one of my Acela Upgrade Vouchers and get a low-bucket $109 trip back to New York with a relatively close 50 minute connection that I hope will work out on the final Acela of the day. I also realize that I should arrive in Brunswick 35 minutes before the departure of the 3:00pm Shuttle run from Brunswick down to Freeport. At $3 each way ($6 is the fare on other trains, strangely buying a multi-city ticket doesn’t work to get the layover, its $25 total Freeport-Boston is $22 and Brunswick-Boston is $24), taking it to get Freeport seems obvious, and I decide I’ll wait until I get to Freeport to decide if I’ll take the layover there or in Brunswick.
Today (the Start of the Trip) aboard Concord Trailways:
My grandmother needs to pick someone up at the airport in Bangor, otherwise I would have asked her to drop me off at the next stop on the coastal route, Searsport that is slightly closer to Ellsworth and would have made my ticket slightly cheeper. I have my final time driving her rental car down route 1 back to Ellsworth and up Route 1A to Bangor where we go around the city on I-395 before going to the Concord Trailways Station out by the airport and handing the car keys over to my grandmother. I’ll correct myself here Concord is known as Concord Coach Lines since 2008 when it dissolved its relationship with Trailways. Coach Lines also sounds like your not using the ‘bus word’ (I’m thinking of services like the Hampton Jitney, none of them have the word bus in their names).
Concord Coach Lines doesn’t do reserved tickets (or discounts for buying ahead) so I buy my $24.00 ticket to Brunswick with cash. The agent still asks for ID and types my name into his computer. No being anonymous on Concord Coach Lines. The station has a slightly more classy feel to it and the passengers mostly seem like their choosing to take the bus over driving and don’t have to take the bus which is the feeling Greyhound normally gives me. There are even water bottles, coffee/tea, and packs of pretzels left out for passengers that are complimentary. Various pairs of headphones round out the mix. Concord Coach Lines uses the fact they show movies as a selling point (the right way with headphone jacks, not broadcasted over the PA system like I’ve experienced on some of my rides with Mexican Bus Companies). Outside the station are three buses: One going express only to Boston South Station, one to Portland and Logan Airport, and the third, my bus, the Maine Coastal Route Bus. This bus station lacks actual bus bays, the buses just drive around it.
The two other buses board plenty of passengers. At 10:50 they make an announcement telling people to move out of the way in front of the station because the CYR bus lines bus coming south and connecting from Caribou and Presque Isle, Maine is arriving. It has an impressive wrap for research in the North Maine Woods. Its the kind of artwork that looks impressive but blocks all the windows. At about 10:52 they announce boarding for our bus, just me and one other older women are going to intermediate destinations along the Coast. My stop would ideally be served by a bus off of I-95 but isn’t from points north. The driver collects my movie ticket, like ticket. The driver tells me the bus won’t be too crowded when I offer to put my backpack beneath and that its fine if it rides on the seat next to me. The woman has too much luggage and needs to make two trips. The driver nearly snaps at her saying we need to leave on time at 11:00.
We leave promptly at 11:00 before the other two buses. We get on I-95 South briefly before heading over to a different road called 1A down from Bangor to a different highway called 1A than I drove up from Ellsworth (or maybe its the continuation of 1A from Ellsworth).
The driver apologizes to the other passenger and they start chatting, I chime in occasionally. He explains that the schedule is unrealistic in summer down the coast where there is so much more traffic and that its the only time they can do construction. This means he really needs to leave Bangor on time. The other passenger it turns out is from New York City. The driver is an old man and native of New Jersey and lives in Concord where Concord Coach Lines is based. He does three-day, two nights in Bangor trips with a Concord run to Boston and back up to Bangor on a northbound coastal run where he overnights. The next day is a Bangor-Boston Express round-trip before he finishes his three day driving trip with a final coastal trip and final trip up to Concord. It’s definitely a longer trip than Amtrak’s crews have to do. I mention the fact I’m connecting to Amtrak and he says he loves riding trains and has been down to Florida on a sleeper. He says riding American Orient Express he says is his dream. I tell him it no longer exists and he says ‘My day is ruined you broke my heart’. I explain the experience on the Canadian.’ I ask him if he has to handle ticking at each stop and I’m told don’t worry we have agencies at each stop. If someone comes up without a ticket I take their ID and make them get ticketed in Portland.
The bus eventually gets back to Route 1 and we finally start going down the coast. The ride is lots of starting and stopping as we deal with the heavy vacation traffic in the various small towns. We are not keeping schedule. Moments of the ride down route 1 have nice views of the coast but especially with all the extra traffic I don’t think it would be a road I would make a point of taking instead of the Main Turnpike/I-95 and connecting to Route 1 in Belfast or Bangor. I take notes at each stop, at each the driver also has to go inside the agency (most are gas stations) and double-check for any additional passengers. This significantly slows things down. At least all tickets are purchased from the little agencies (Amtrak has too many Union rules to allow this)
- 11:47 – Arrive Searsport for 3 passengers at a gas station. I think all going to Boston South Station and have their tickets. I nearly got on here (its slightly closer than bangor but my other grandmother was driving up to the Bangor Airport to pick up a friend). We pull out at 11:52, 7 minutes late. I have a 35 minute cushion before the 3:00pm Freeport-Brunswick Shuttle run the Downeaster makes.
- 12:03 – Arrive at Belfast for two passengers to Portland, and a regular to Camden. This is at a Wendy’s/Gas Station that we once stopped at driving back to New York and I remember seeing the Concord Coach pulling in. At some point we pass the flag stop of Lincolnville that the driver doesn’t acknowledge it.
- 12:39 – Camden/Rockport, we stop at Maritime energy for one passenger, discharging one quite far away from the gas station that the driver has to walk inside to and check for passengers. We leave at 12:44, 15 minutes late.
- 12:59 – arrive Rockland at the ferry terminal to Vinalhaven and North Haven. There about 20 people waiting to board. First the driver has to tag the Logan Airport baggage for the proper terminal. He’s out of tags. If only the tourist train was running, I could actually get off here and be on the rails all the way back to New York. A bunch of people have tickets to South Station but want to go to Logan Airport (which is about $5 more). I feel badly about taking up two seats, (a few people double-up) but my backpack won’t fit in the overhead rack. We leave at 1:07, 17 minutes late.
- The driver makes his first announcement with no smoking on the bus and to use the restroom in the back. He also asks us to limit our cell phone conversation to three minutes for emergency use only making a joke about superman who has no place to change now with the lack of cell phones. He continues his announcement, clearly he likes talking. Including about the fact a video will be shown. At the end he starts the movie, Jack. I don’t bother to watch it, I’ll be gettting off the bus hopefully soon enough.
- 1:36 – Quick stop in Waldoboro for nobody.
- 1:52 – Arrive Damariscotta, we stop on the narrow Main Street in front of the Library pulling onto the sidewalk for two passengers so we don’t block the narrow main street. The town has asked the buses to pull up onto the sidewalk Our driver loads them and dashes across the street to check inside the Watz Soda Shop for additional passengers and we leave at 1:55, 20 minutes late.
- We lose another 5 minutes crossing the bridge Wiscasset because of pedestrians crossing Route 1 to a famous lobster stand. At 2:12 we arrive in Wiscasset for two passengers. (scheduled for 1:50), I’ll be cutting the 3:00pm Downeaster Shuttle quite close. I’m happy I don’t have to wait for my bag. One has three pieces of luggage and lacks a ticket. The driver snaps at him annoyed that were late. The line of cars going the other way goes on for miles. I’m happy the Wiscasset stop (at a little store) is along the right side of the highway so no further delays.
- 2:30 – arrive Bath. It takes a minute for the driver to find the lady I’ve ridden with from Bangor’s luggage. She gets picked up by a friend and one person gets on. We leave at 2:35. At that point were back on a highway.I realize I will have no time for photos before boarding the Downeaster Shuttle train to Freeport. I have just purchased my eTicket through the app while sitting on the bus so I don’t need to go inside the station and use the QuikTrak Machine.
I track us into Brunswick arriving at 2:47. 13 minutes before the Downeaster Shuttle leaves.