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While visiting family in New Brunswick during my summer holidays, Mom and I decided to take a little road trip down Maine’s Highway 1, famous for its tiny coastal towns, plentiful fresh seafood, and hundreds of antique shops lining the interstate.

We hit Highway 1 just after Ellsworth. To our delight, there were so many antique stores, malls and flea markets that we concluded we’d never make it to Portland if we stopped at every one; we agreed to check out every third or fourth store on our side of the road! Between stops we were able to admire the gorgeous coastal scenery and fit in a traditional Maine lobster roll (or three).

The offerings varied from gorgeous high-end antiques at such shops as The Painted Lady in Lincolnville, Maine to road side flea markets where you could buy anything from bottles by the dollar to vintage magazines and advertisements.

The highlight for us was The Big Chicken Barn Rare Books and Antiques located just outside Ellsworth, Maine. BIG Chicken Barn is no exaggeration and the building is so crammed full of treasures you could literally spend a full day (and a full credit limit) at this stop alone.

Accustomed to the high prices in Canada’s major cities, I was thrilled by how reasonable most of the prices were. You could certainly tell you were in smaller towns, where the dealers were well aware of the competition! The only thing that stood between me and a full-on shopping binge was the challenge of eventually getting my treasures back to Alberta!

The trip made me wish for a cottage overlooking the ocean that I could decorate. Should you be looking for an eastern road trip, I strongly recommend Highway 1! For a list of Maine antique dealers click here.