Maine points

Even on the most ordinary of maps, unenhanced by the artist's hand, the coast of Maine is so bedecked by peninsulas and isles, it has the homey appearance of untrimmed pie crust. The crust gets shaggier as you head north: from the relatively smooth coast around York and Kennebunk, to the freeform fringes of Boothbay and Damariscotta, to the deep harbors and small islands of Camden and Rockport. All along are points, some marked and ballyhoo-ed, some hidden.

About halfway up Route 1, Boothbay Harbor is the tourist mecca. Adjacent East Boothbay is smaller, with almost no commercial development. If you want lots of restaurants, lodgings, and shopping, Boothbay's your ticket. But if you want quiet and more room to roam, tool around East Boothbay. A walk or drive along Route 96, the main street in the town, leads to the outermost point.

For more pastoral views, follow Murray Hill Road. You'll pass meadows rife with crickets and bees, ponds with lillies and frogs, and at the top, gracious Five Gables Inn, at the edge of Linekin Bay.

Published in the Boston Globe Calendar's 1999 Wandering New England issue.