An Afternoon in Rockland, ME

Published October 21, 2023

Our second day in Camden, Maine started with breakfast at our accommodation, The Elms of Camden.

We were the first to arrive in the dining room, which sat 10 people in various configurations. A two-top table looked out on the front yard and had a beautiful stained glass lamp on the center of the table. A six person table sat to the left of the room from the circular table that my boyfriend and I claimed with its ample space.

We served our own orange juice and coffee from a small wooden table near the kitchen. A paper breakfast menu sat at each table setting.

Breakfast at The Elms of Camden

Yogurt with Cherry Compote

I don’t typically eat yogurt for breakfast so this was a nice treat for me. I loved that this was served with cherries instead of strawberries. I enjoyed the bowl of textures: The creamy Greek yogurt, rich cherries, and crunchy granola. Plus, the portion was the right size for breakfast.

Waffles with Blueberries and Sausage

By now, the rest of the house was beginning to rise. An older couple joined us in the dining room and took the table in front of the window.

Our waffles arrived not long after our yogurt bowls were cleared. As we had with our crème brûlée the night before, the waffles were topped with small blueberries.

We were curious why Maine’s blueberries were so tiny. According to a Google search, Maine produces most of the country’s blueberries. Maine blueberries are tinier than traditional blueberries because wild blueberries aren’t expanded with water to be plump. Now I understood why so many restaurants featured blueberry desserts and why so many farm stands sold containers of blueberries too!

I appreciated the smaller blueberries more, knowing that they were locally sourced. In fact, the sausages (which has a maple flavor and kick of spice) and the syrup were local products too.

We chatted with the other couple and learned about their travels in the Northeast and their restaurant recommendations in the area. They were served their yogurts as we finished our waffles. A young couple claimed two seats at the long table and spoke about their house hunting in the area. The last to the dining room was a mother and her teenage son who served themselves juice.

While we finished our coffee, James spoke about the history of the inn and the local businesses. He told us about Uncle Willie’s Candy Shop, which we decided to start our day with.

Shopping in Camden, Maine

Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe

After buying our cookery items and souvenirs from Main Street, we headed down Bay View Street, past The Waterfront to Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe.

 

Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe has classic red and white stripe branding at the front of their shop, including a giant bench in the shape of a cow.

The smell of chocolate and sugar greeted you the minute you stepped inside. The register and case of fudge and truffles sat to the left. Built-in shelves and table displays wrapped around the front room with every package of candy that you could think of. I saw a few childhood packages that you could buy individually, including tins of candy and prepackaged sleeves of treats.

The second floor had barrels of flavored taffy and columns of jelly beans where you could build your own package of your favorite flavors.

My boyfriend selected some prepackaged varieties of taffy before we headed back downstairs to check out. By now, a mother and her two young children selected chocolates from the front case.

A line behind us of elderly French couples and several more kids waited to pay. We ordered a combination of malt balls as well before we headed back out toward Main street.

An Afternoon in Rockland, Maine

In preparation for the trip, I read that Rockland, Maine was a popular town for foodies. Given that Camden was only 20 minutes south of Rockland, we decided to take a day trip to explore the town and businesses.

We parked behind Ada’s Kitchen, which was a free parking lot with many open spaces. We walked up the hill to Main Street and turned right to walk down to Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars.

 

Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars

Fiore sits on the corner of Main Street before the hill overlooking the Rockland Ferry Services.

The tasting room was framed with metal containers of olive oils, balsamic, and vinegars. Small paper cups sat throughout the room for samples. In the corner, chocolate and cheese samples were available for sampling. The two employees were helpful and welcoming. They gave us a tour of the room, the different types of samples, and remained available if we needed to purchase any bottles.

I enjoyed the sampling of fruit-based balsamic and the Italian blend olive oils, like truffle, basil, and rosemary. Packaged collections were available for purchase, including individual bottles under each shelf. The prices were reasonable, and I considered buying a vinegar, but elected not too with the amount of traveling we still had on our itinerary.

Things To Do in Rockland, Maine

We crossed Main Street and stopped into every open shop. Unfortunately, for a rainy Tuesday afternoon, most of the shops and popular restaurants were closed. Despite the timing of our visit, we managed to stop into the Puffin’s Nest Gift Shop, peeked in the window of Arctic Tern Books, visited the Grasshopper Shop, the Farnsworth Art Museum gift shop, grabbed coffee from the Rock City Cafe, stopped by the food trucks near Buoy Park, walked through the Seagull Cottage, and spent a while in the Dowling Walsh Gallery.

 

Dowling Walsh Gallery

A window of sparkly crystals caught my eye from the sidewalk. When we saw it was an art gallery we knew we had to stop inside to visit.

Two women chatted behind the desk of the airy, open space. We started in the left-hand gallery. Unfortunately, I missed the name of the artist upon entering. This artwork featured bold neon scenes, some of which were framed with three dimensional shutters or window panes to give the effect of looking out of a house and onto the artwork. Here was one of my favorite pieces from that section of the gallery:

We crossed the foyer and into the right-hand gallery which featured photography, mostly of food scenes. I loved this pink gallery and would easily buy any of the artwork.

Passing a small hallway with a cute neon sign, we climbed the large staircase up to the second-floor gallery, which featured mixed mediums from dozens of different artists. Some canvases took up the whole wall. Various seating areas throughout the space welcomed guests to sit and hang out in the light space.

It was late afternoon and the brisk rainy weather started to pick up. We decided to make the drive back to Camden and to stop at any stores along the way that peaked our interest.

Rockland Recommendations

Overall, I was glad that we got to visit Rockland, Maine during our visit. A day trip was enough for me to get an idea of the town and local shops. If we had planned to go into the larger museums in Rockland, we would’ve needed an extra day for the visit.

I would visit Rockland again to attend one of their popular festivals (like the Lobster Festival) and visit some of the local eateries.

What’s your favorite part of Rockland?

Have you visited Rockland, Maine before? Did you have a favorite cafe, restaurant, or shop that you visited? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.

Click here to read my restaurant review of our dinner at Peter Ott’s and our dessert from River Duck Ice Cream in Camden, Maine.