Searsport Flea Markets and Parks Pond Bluff
Searsport Flea Market
This post was originally published June 22, 2017.
Cloudy skies don’t make for good beach days, but they do make for good shopping days. With little interest to go somewhere as predictable as the mall, I headed towards Searsport, home to the largest flea markets in my area.
Two large flea markets exist next to each other on Route 1. Among the tables and inside the tents exists everything any treasure-trove could have from old magazines to refurnished chandeliers. I picked up things and put them down, especially the swords. I had to pick up the antique swords.
Along with flea markets, there are countless antique shops along Coastal Maine. Near the Searsport flea markets is my mother’s favorite antique shop Silkweeds. Filled with antique furniture and those cute little decorative signs I have a soft spot for, it was any easy place to lose track of time inside. It wasn’t until my mom spotted the shelves of candy that we had to leave.
Another shop called BlueJacket Shipcrafters boasted a huge supply of model ships along with kits for people to build their own. I was always more into building model dinosaurs when I was a kid, but even I wanted to sit down and build the model ships. The shop even carried tiny anchors and helms to decorate the models with. I imagine any tourist would get a thrill out of visiting.
After a day of walking through flea markets and antiques, my guilt of being in Maine for a month and not going on a hike yet caught up with me. Before I could sit down for dinner, I headed over to Parks Pond Bluff to ease my shame.
Parks Pond Bluff is easy to miss if you don’t know where you’re going. Along Airline Road in Clifton, there is a small turn off right after the Parks Pond Campground that’s only big enough to fit maybe two cars. The trail is short and steep, the kind of hike you take when you’re feeling guilty that you haven’t worked out in a while. I remember hiking it a few times before, noticing animals bustle between the trees and bushes, while my dad swung a stick in front of him to knock down all the spider webs.
Despite the rolling fog, I had a clear view of Park’s Pond from the top of the cliff. Underneath the precipice are caves that are difficult to access without rock-climbing gear or the patience to walk around the bluff and through the undergrowth. Sitting at the top of the bluff, I wished I could see the sky and the sun set on the pond, but the hike was easy enough to try again another day, and there are always more mountains for me to climb in the near and far future.