Driving up to the County (Bangor, Presque Isle: hotels, house, restaurant)

[PenguinMom]

I have a face to face job interview in Fort Fairfield next week!!
I will be driving up there with my husband and kids. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which route to take, nice places to stop, or a nice place to spend the night near there?
Also, if anyone can tell me where to stop for good Gluten Free food - that would really be appreciated!!!
My whole family is very excited!!!

As extra information, we are coming from the BRONX. If anyone has a funny or astute comment to make to prepare me for culture shock nows the time.

[bigchuckie]

95 north to houlton rt 1 to mars hill take 1a to ft Fairfield. All of the county is pretty so take your pick as far as gluten free sorry cant help. Stop at dysarts restaurant at exit 180. that would be a nice place to stop for the last time before you make your final run up to houlton which is another 120 miles

[maineguy8888]

You can basically come up to Fort Fairfield via the interstate to Houlton, then north on Route 1..........or by taking Route 11 from Millinocket or Sherman up to Ashland, and then going east on 163 to Fort Fairfield. The first drive is faster, and you get to see lots of farms, towns, etc. The second drive is through the Big Woods, with smaller towns and semi-wilderness. You get one of the most incredible views in Maine going this way, at the overlook for Mount Katahdin just outside of Patten....if the weather's nice! You could do a loop and do both routes.
Either way the roads are pretty good. Just slow down at night...........you can't see Moose! (Oh, I should mention you can cross into Canada at Houlton and come up to Fort Fairfield on the Trans Canada Highway, if you want to do something different! Takes about the same amount of time as Route 1).
There are decent places to stay in almost any town north of Bangor. Several little motels right along the interstate, and then Houlton has a small motel and two big ones with more amenities (Houlton is around an hour from Fort Fairfield).
Right around Fort Fairfield, there is a really nice Bed and Breakfast in Caribou, ten miles away (The Old Iron Inn). It's very reasonable and has "themed rooms". There is the Caribou Inn and Convention Center (takes pets and has a great restaurant, including some gluten free stuff) and the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center (doesn't take pets). There is also a new Hampton Inn in Presque Isle which is very nice but expensive for the area ($100-$130 a night). The last 3 all have pools, etc. Russell's Motel in Caribou is a great little motel with a really nice view. The Crown Park Inn in Caribou has some efficiencies.
There are also a number of nice cabins in the area, if you're interested. This is an "in between" time of year, so you could probably get a really good deal. Just let me know and I'll give you some names. Fort Fairfield doesn't have any motels/hotels, sorry to say.
Are you looking for gluten free food you can cook yourself? If so, Graves Shop 'n Save in Presque Isle has a good selection. How long will you be staying? It's a great time to come......hope you have a great trip!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by PenguinMom

I have a face to face job interview in Fort Fairfield next week!!
I will be driving up there with my husband and kids. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which route to take, nice places to stop, or a nice place to spend the night near there?
Also, if anyone can tell me where to stop for good Gluten Free food - that would really be appreciated!!!
My whole family is very excited!!!

As extra information, we are coming from the BRONX. If anyone has a funny or astute comment to make to prepare me for culture shock nows the time.

It's really nice in The County but coming from the Bronx you will think you have driven to the edge of the earth. I hope you like it up there. It will be ALOT different than where you're coming from. You'll get plenty of shock when you get there.
Maineguy has some nice suggestions, though I'd stick to the major highways on the first trip. No sense getting lost the first time up there especially in the woods. You don't want to freak out the kids before they even get to town. It's a LONG drive even though New York and Maine are not all that far away from each other. I can drive from my house in Freeport to Washington DC in about the same amount of time. Good luck and have fun...it really is nice up there.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

You can basically come up to Fort Fairfield via the interstate to Houlton, then north on Route 1..........or by taking Route 11 from Millinocket or Sherman up to Ashland, and then going east on 163 to Fort Fairfield. The first drive is faster, and you get to see lots of farms, towns, etc. The second drive is through the Big Woods, with smaller towns and semi-wilderness. You get one of the most incredible views in Maine going this way, at the overlook for Mount Katahdin just outside of Patten....if the weather's nice! You could do a loop and do both routes.

And to think, I find the drive along the airline boring as all he...

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The Greek pizza place on Main Street in Lincoln has gluten free pizza. In addition, Hannaford supermarkets have a good variety of well labelled gluten free foods.

I recommend Taking I-95 up and Route 2 back down. I-95 is peaceful with few distractions. Once your interview is over, take Route 2 back with all its distractions - including gluten free pizza.

[PenguinMom]

A very big thank you to everyone for suggestions and advice!
From what I can find on the internet, Fort Fairfield seems to be a great little town. This should be a fun trip.

[msina]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

The Greek pizza place on Main Street in Lincoln has gluten free pizza. In addition, Hannaford supermarkets have a good variety of well labelled gluten free foods.

I recommend Taking I-95 up and Route 2 back down. I-95 is peaceful with few distractions. Once your interview is over, take Route 2 back with all its distractions - including gluten free pizza.

Pat's in Lincoln has gluten free pizza as well. The health food store also carries a lot of items that are gluten free.