My husband was able to read the Korean characters to score naengmyun, a cold noodle dish that is hard to find and difficult to do well. We were delighted to find Korean and Japanese food and thought this restaurant was a nice respite from the heat and seafood we were consuming daily while on vacation.

You will pass some as you search for parking lots nearby. There wasn’t much food at the museum and there are a lot of other child-friendly restaurants within a block of the museum.

We had lunch at Happy Teriyaki which is within walking distance from The Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. My girls are now converted surfaholics and dream of the next time they can catch a wave! What was very cool is that she also a science teacher! And what do you know? She threw in marine biology into the surfing lesson mix when a very nice woman kept bringing us whole sand dollars (echinoderms!) knowing that they are a rarity that my children delight in. The nice owner, Nanci, connected us with an amazing surf instructor for our girls named Alicia. My kids had made several trips to the local toy store and bought inexpensive boogie boards which lead to surfing lessons in one easy go, once I discovered Aquaholics, a great surf shop. The highlight of the trip was … ta da … surf lessons! Who knew there was great surfing in Maine? I grew up next door to Huntington Beach in California which is a surfing mecca of sorts but I don’t surf. Bluefish are surprisingly hardy creatures! The only bummer was that we were staying in a hotel so we couldn’t eat our catch so the fish all went back to into the sea and we watched them swim away. My husband thought the outing was very well priced. Captain Tom Mansfield is really nice and my kids had fun catching Bluefish as well as breezes as it was a scorching hot day. It was near our hotel and the only option that allowed short trips. Instead, the next day we chartered a boat for a two-hour fishing trip on the “Allyson” off The Landing in Kennebunkport. We didn’t make it to either but she raved about them and we’ll definitely plan it into our next trip. She said to check the tide charts to arrive at low tide, but that it was totally worth the additional one-hour drive north to Popham where the tidepools are vast and spaced out like little islands that you can hop to. What do you know?! We arrived just in time for the 1/2 special touch and feel tide pool exhibit! It was fate! The museum docent was so lovely and enthusiastic that my kids followed her to the next exhibit on photography but while we were touching the sea creatures, she told me about her favorite tide pools in Maine: Popham Beach about one hour north of Portland and Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth which is 15 minutes south off Route 7. The sun was really intense so on our second day we took the kids to Portland, Maine to the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.

I asked them if they thought I was a lunatic mom for making them read about tide pools while playing in tide pools and they all rolled their eyes and said, “Yeah! Duh! You’re crazy!” Still, I was undeterred. Exploring an Ocean Tide Pool was appropriate for my 10-year-old and 8-year-old but I’m not sure if they actually read it cover-to-cover and I suspect they thought it was boring but useful. The first book, What’s in the Tide Pool?, was meant for my five-year-old and he did enjoy it very much. My husband and I both grew up in beach towns albeit different ones and exploring tide pools as children are fond memories for both of us. So I thought I’d be really Type A and buy books on tide pools to read before we left and while we were there so that the kids can identify their finds and learn more about this ecosystem. My husband always helps the kids catch an aquarium of sea creatures that go into a large bucket and are returned when we leave the beach: small crabs, an occasional fish, and sea urchins. The tidepools are why we go back, or at least, that is what I thought. We didn’t actually have a family reunion this year though we did briefly see my sister and her family in Connecticut right before this trip we did see many, many multi-generation families at our hotel as well as lots and lots of well-behaved dogs. This year, however, the kids said it was the best vacation ever. This was our 5th vacation in the Kennebunk/Kennebunkport, Maine area and we’ve always had a wonderful time. Family Vacation in Maine: Surfing, tide pools, fishing and more

Best tidal pools in maine