Andrews Beach, Long Island Maine

When we were 28, we decided to leave our beloved Morgantown and start a new adventure. I had a pang in my chest looking for some salty sea air. After honeymooning in Maine, we knew about the islands in Casco Bay but it wasn’t until we moved to Portland that I actually began exploring them.

One sunny Saturday morning we set out on our adventure, leaving the studio apartment on Grant Street behind and headed east with a backpack in tow. Stopping in at the Harbor Fish Market to pick up provisions (a half dozen oysters) and walked over to Casco Bay Lines. We bought a couple very affordable ferry tickets (at the time it cost around ten dollars for a round trip ride) to Long Island. Trudging through the cold turquoise waters of the northern Atlantic, the route to Long Island stopped at Little Diamond and Great Diamond Islands.

While docked at Great Diamond Island, be sure to appreciate the lonesomeness Crow Island’s beauty extrudes. About an hour after leaving Portland, the ferry arrived at Ponce Landing. The boat dock shrouded in oceanic mist, only revealed itself when we were a hundred yards from shore. The crisp salty air sending goosebumps down our arms and making the hair raise on the back of my neck as anticipation grows to depart the ferry and explore Long Island.

Turning right off the dock and walking through the parking lot, we stopped in at the Boathouse Beverage and Variety store for a pack of amber brews that fit snuggly in the backpack. Picking up Island Avenue and then Beach Avenue, we made the half mile walk to the other side of Long Island.

Seeing the curved coast of South and Andrew beaches for the first time was something special. The clear blue water lapping gently in these small, cove like beaches felt nothing short of magical.

Proceeding to lay out a towel on the soft white sand and turn on a favorite playlist, we had found what the heart had been longing for since leaving our alma mater in West Virginia, a micro beach paradise.

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