Nestled along the sparkling Kennebec River in Maine is this small jewel of a city. An old seafaring town, Bath has sailed gracefully into the present day bringing a taste of her history with her. Main Street Bath was chosen as one of only five communities nation-wide that received a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012.

Bath is ideally sited for water access at the head of two peninsulas. Nearby, Popham Beach and Reid State Park in Georgetown offer miles of sandy beach and rocky cliffs.

Cultural treasures are plentiful, and you'll find a bustling waterfront shipyard, the Bath Iron Works (General Dynamics), just upstream from the Maine Maritime Museum. The tree-lined avenues in town are graced by handsome old ship captain's mansions. Apparently there are 47 hotels in Bath - wow, I didn't see them. I saw about 5 Bath Cruise Port Hotels, and they were charming.

Downtown, shops and restaurants line Front Street on the Kennebec River. The 19th century brick buildings and narrow streets have the charm of childhood revisited--a slower pace, a friendlier time. Bath has all kinds of mildly intimidating parking rules, and although you get free street parking for 2 hours, I really wouldn't chance pushing it if I were you. Bath has a policy of sending what are hilariously called "courtesy tickets" to violators after your original ticket; first one $15, 2nd one $20 and so on, building progressively. Don't bother with the stress, a park and sail package is a huge moneysaver over Bath Cruise Port parking anyway.

The Bath Iron Works Trolley tour is a real favorite here. Backpacks, cameras and cell phones are prohibited. Due to national security, trips are subject to cancellation at any time.(!) A one-of-a-kind opportunity: go inside the gates of BIW on a behind-the-scenes tour. See the old launch-ways and BIW’s Land Level Transfer Facility, where large vessels are constructed and moved into the dry dock for launching. See the cutting edge Ultra Hall, which facilitates “mega section” construction. For added enjoyment, combine with a discounted one-hour boat cruise to view BIW from the water.

10/5/17