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Maine is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-dig-in kind of place. It's a place where fly-fishing, antiquing, or blueberry-picking can easily fill an entire Saturday afternoon. It's where the dress code almost never requires more flair than a pair of hiking boots or sandals. This ultimate retreat unfolds on the road from Portland to Bar Harbor, where the coastline pokes long fingers into the Atlantic.

Begin your journey at Portland's historic Old Port. Nearly all of Portland's top attractions are within walking distance – the waterfront, acclaimed museums, tiny art galleries, the home of early American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Take I-95 north to Freeport. No matter what time you arrive, you'll likely find tourists walking out of L.L. Bean, shopping bags in tow. The outdoor enthusiast's dream-come-true megastore is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Between Main Street's discount shopping and L.L. Bean's Outdoor Discovery Schools, it's easy to spend an entire day (or three) here. Locals rave about Bean's classes, which range from nature photography to fly fishing and can last an hour or a week somewhere in Maine's splendid wilderness.

Further down the road in Bath, the Maine Maritime Museum boasts the country's only intact shipyard from the early 1900s. On the grounds, tour a historic ship – galley, sleeping quarters, and all – or watch apprentices build wooden boats.

You'll see historic homes of sea captains in nearly every town along this route, but one of the most interesting is in Wiscasset. This 1852 Victorian gem is now the Musical Wonder House, a popular attraction filled with antique music boxes, player pianos, and even a candy dispenser with bells, drums, and dancing dolls. Open the front door and you set off one box that plays the old Coca-Cola commercial, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." Nearly everything operates on a quarter, so bring a pocketful.

Nearby is the town of Edgecomb and its well-known Edgecomb Potters Gallery, studio, and store. Route 1 is speckled with galleries of "fine art" (as the roadside signs proclaim) but most display mediocre impressionist seascapes at best. Edgecomb Potters, however, is one of the most highly acclaimed art potteries in America. Swirled peacock colors and crystalline frostlike patterns grace vases, bowls, and hundreds of other one-of-a-kind pieces made on-site by local artists.

Boothbay Harbor, just south of Edgecomb, is home to countless shops and restaurants clustered around the tiny waterside village's eight piers. There is, perhaps, no better way to see the area than by boat, where you maneuver around the harbor's hundreds of colorful lobster trap buoys and pass within yards of summer cottages and lighthouses.

Finding a charter is easy. The real challenge is deciding whether to go whale watching, puffin watching, or on one of countless other excursions. Cap'n Fish's Boat Cruises on Pier 1 offers the best variety.