My girlfriend and I have a long-standing tradition of heading north into New England for a long weekend once in the spring and once in the fall. We've done a number of destinations in MA, VT, RI, and NH over the years, but we always seem to return to the coast on Maine. A few weeks ago we booked our regular hotel in Ogunquit and started counting down the hours.
The run up to Maine has seen a range of vehicles used. This past spring, we took her new Mazda 3 hatch on its maiden road trip; this time around, it was the turn of my new (to me) BMW 128i. It's certainly not as practical as the Mazda - less cabin and storage space, poorer fuel economy - but it deserved a chance to prove itself, and so it did. The sport seats are spectacularly comfortable, with no discomfort at all after 4.5 hours in the saddle. Cruising at 75-80 the (M-Sport upgraded with Bilsteins and Eibach springs) suspension was smooth and controlled, even with the relatively short wheelbase and firm tuning. The engine was turning around 2500rpm in 6th at those speeds, and was not intrusive at all. The trunk was easily large enough for our bags, with room to spare; the back seats were unoccupied and available for storage if needed, but they weren't. I had wondered if the little 1-series coupe would leave me longing for the mile-eating abilities of my E39 525i, but while they're very different cars, the 128i didn't leave me anything but pleased with its performance.
We left at 0dark30 on Saturday, stopping at our usual breakfast place on Rt.1 in NH (Fast Eddie's) as well as just up the line at Bavarian Autosport so I could grab a small few bits and pieces for my 2002. We were soon back on the road and pulled into Ogunquit a little after noon. It was too early to check in, so we did a little shopping (Reny's!) and then went to the beach. It was in the low 70s and sunny, and even though the water was in the high 50s we still took off our shoes and went in up to our knees. Eventually we made our way to the hotel, checked in, and relaxed with some wine and nibbles before walking into town for dinner and martinis.
Sunday we grabbed some breakfast, then drove up to Brunswick to see an exhibit I'd read about at the Bowdoin Art Museum, and just poke around the town for a bit. It's a nice little college town, and the campus looks like the prototype for the New England liberal arts school. We finished up there, headed back down I-95, and went back into town for some tasty wood-fired pizza and craft beer.
We had to get back fairly early today, so we started early so we could get in a little more time along the ocean before we had to hit the road. Went down to Perkins Cove where the local lobster boats are moored and did part of the cliff walk just after sunrise. Headed back to town for breakfast, grabbed our stuff at the hotel, and then made one last stop at the beach to soak in a little more salt water before starting for home.
The drive back was uneventful and rapid. Gas mileage over the trip was probably around 27 and change, which isn't bad, though it's not exactly stellar either. Other than that, the car was great, abetting yet another successful mad dash to Maine.
Most of my photos are on yet-to-be-developed film, so a few quick shots from this morning will have to suffice for now. I'll add some more once I get the film back and scanned.
