A Wintery Day Trip to Rockland: The Farnsworth, Lunch and More
On Saturday, we awoke to an overcast winter morning, a day when the temperature would struggle to get into the mid-teens. A perfect day for a drive to the MidCoast and a museum visit, so we filled our travel mugs with strong coffee and hit the road to Rockland—and we enjoyed no lines, no waits, and no traffic.
The Farnsworth Art Museum
It’s been a few years since we last visited the Farnsworth Art Museum. We remembered their extensive collection of Wyeths and Maine-related art, and thought it was time to check it out again. They’re celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, and we knew they had some new shows up.
We started with “The Farnsworth at 75: New Voices from Maine in American Art,” an exhibition with space on two floors, and up through the end of 2023. It’s a wide-ranging show, with a variety works, from nineteenth century seascapes to modern pieces (even a couple video installations), from the permanent collection and also featuring many new acquisitions.
Describing this exhibit on their website, the Farnsworth asks, “As we celebrate Maine’s role in American art, how do art, artists, and ideas encourage us to see things anew?” Many of the works speak for themselves, but the small write-ups next to the pieces are helpful, too, variously offering insight into the artist’s process, the pieces’ relationship to Maine, or to the world at large. The variety of perspectives was impressive and refreshing, and a testament to the power Maine has to inspire and nourish artists of every kind.
Once we got through this exhibition, our eyes and brains were full and satisfied so we didn’t have much energy for the other shows that are also up—good reason for a return visit.
Rock Harbor Brewing Co.
We grabbed lunch around the corner, at the Rock Harbor Brewing Co., on Main Street. Rock Harbor Pub started in 2011 and is Rockland’s only brewpub. They have 16 beers on tap, and the friendly bartender let us sample a couple before ordering. My companion and I both settled on the Copperhouse ESB, a malty beer with just a touch of sweetness. Our food came out quickly, and we enjoyed the fried haddock sandwich and a chicken Caesar wrap, with a view of Main Street, which was very quiet on this cold winter day.
Owls Head Drive-By
Before heading home, we decided to take a drive around Owls Head, just south of Rockland. We didn’t go to the well-known Owls Head Lighthouse, because that would have required a walk in the freezing cold. But we drove down to visit the ocean, and saw some boats in the water and snow-covered lobster traps. Then, instead of heading right back home, we drove through South Thomaston and west to St George before heading to Route 1—leaving the area with more ideas for future day trips, as we passed near the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum and Birch Point Beach State Park.
Prost!
And finally, for our last stop in the MidCoast we headed into West Bath, to Trinken Brewing Co., to sample their German-inspired craft beers. Trinken (which means “to drink” in German) has been around for about three years, and they’re a little off the beaten path. They had nine brews on tap, including a couple of IPAs and a sour. We shared a flight to sample the four German styles offered: a Kolsch, a lager, a Kellerbier, and a Hefewizen (wheat beer). The Von Wolfhausen lager was our favorite.
And from there, it was back on Route 1 south and home, ready for temperatures to rise a bit and to get back outside!
