In state Maine mini vacations, staycations.
This instate Maine staycation blog post hits the highlights of a weekend getaway vacation to the Wells Beach, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport Maine area of Vacationland.
With COVID, social distancing is key to play it safe. Maine winter is the ideal time to visit cooled off tourist hot spots for a staycation close to home. To have plenty of elbow room, no lines, no black flies. No bumper to bumper slow moving traffic. The kind with a slew of multi colored many state vehicle license plates surrounding you.
You see the guy with the metal detector looking for some jewelry lost by a beach tourist lathering up last summer with sunscreen protection who left something behind in the sand.
Listening for a beep on the headsets as he wands slow and methodically around the Maine beach.
The couple or single person with the dog who has the most fun. Total freedom to run full throttle without being tethered with a leash rope.
No four walls to fence you in. That’s Maine.
Come and go easy. Something cabin fever and pandemic hunkered down does not allow. The pandemic drove many inside and lots of folks are waiting for the “coast is clear” memo. Fresh air, wide open space, true Mainers are outdoors living and loving it every day. Staycations for the lucky locals are underway. No matter what the weather. Just dressing layer on or off accordingly as Maine weather temperatures rise or fall. In case your forgot, every Maine license plate reminds you where you are, Vacationland. Ready for an instate Maine staycation mini vacation?
Wells Beach Maine is a personal favorite to visit especially when the temperatures are high.
But instead of summer sand, sea breezes and blue green ocean surf, change it up with a winter visit. Same place, different season for your staycation in Maine. Shoulder seasons for Maine visits just before and right after peak tourist traffic vacations. Those are the more economical and less crowded too. Supply and demand. When motel rooms and cottage cabin rentals are plentiful, the price drops to lure in Maine instate vacationers especially. Have you taking instate staycations jaunts in Maine?
Instate Maine mini vacations are way easier when you live here.
Take off a little early on a Friday afternoon, maybe combine the weekend stay with a Monday holiday. Just a few days away from the daily grind and the change of scenery does a body and soul good. To see how the rest of Maine lives and look back at where you live from an out of town perspective.
With no cruise ships parked off the coastal tourism dependent harbor towns, no bus loads of Canadians rolling in to shop and gamble, Maine resorts feel a tad lonely. Helping instate tourism venues and practicing safe social distancing because the vacation numbers are slashed to new record lows with continued low stay numbers. Instate Maine mini vacations, staycations are win win win from many angles.
Meg and I stayed at the Misty Harbor hotel resort.
What’s neat about the Misty Harbor hotel resort location in Wells Maine is how easy the dining is. Fewer tables, extremely well spaced dining in practice. We ate Verano’s Italian Restaurant Friday night.
You get to sample the local Maine coast cuisine.
That’s a big part of the pleasure of getting on the road to explore Maine as a lucky native who already lives here. Could walk to Billy’s Chowder House Saturday night. The two popular eateries in the dead old man winter have no lines, no need for meal time dinner reservations. When you live in Aroostook County, any trip out of this Crown of Maine means let’s order seafood. I had the mussels, then chopped Maine clam and noodle entree arrived. Meg the medley of fresh Mane sea scallops, shrimp, haddock marsala.
Both meals smothered in special secret sauces that just thinking about them make me almost drool on the blogging keyboard. It was Meg’s birthday present to high tail it out of Aroostook County for a few days.
At Billy’s Chowder House we met the brother of the current Wells Maine restaurant owner.
He told us 33 years ago his brother purchased Verano’s where we had dined Friday night. A full day of walking and gawking along the beach and coastline worked up a sufficient appetite for round two Saturday night. Billy’s Chowder House has the same owner as Veranos. From Misty Harbor, we’re talking a very short walk to and from Billy’s Chowder House. Verano’s is parked at the entrance to where we booked a neat two room apartment like suite. Shoreland zoning today would make the unique, all by itself location on the Mile Road in Wells Maine impossible for any restaurant or other business to hang a shingle here.
Lodging prices in instate Maine mini vacations go down down down in the winter and the pandemic has slowed the tourism traffic over the big green bridge.
Meg had booked a place on Wells Beach Maine for two weeks in the end of July for this summer.
Since her family’s childhood, spending time on Wells Beach Maine is a big portion of the album of photo vacation memories. Her grandfather Curly did vacations in style and reminded everyone on them there is no clock. Time stands still and enjoy the stop the World when it’s Maine vacation time.
We drove by this corner lot house location that is so handy to Wells Beach by foot where she booked a two week summer rental .
Her sister and Mom booked another Wells Beach Maine rental nearby and we checked out that location. Half the fun of vacations in Maine are planning them, looking forward to their arrival right? If you want advice for a Wells Beach Maine vacation rental, call Garnsey Brothers real estate and rentals. These guys are the best. Neat property names like Moody Madness, Pineapple Palace, Saums on Cranberry, Sea Breeze, Life’s Dream.
Walking on the beach but without the crowds, with just the wind not people talking on your Maine staycation.
Face masks on and having pretty much the beach sand and surf to yourself. Meg and I walked up and down the beach, around the neighborhoods that were not clogged with people or traffic. It’s a lot like being at Disney Land or World without the people. No lines, no delays, no sweating temperature degree heat.
After spending the morning walking for hours, we had to visit Reny’s. Don’t know how they do it but bargain prices on a neat location for a wide variety of just about anything. When you have grandchildren, it seems to be a constant hunt for something to take home for a present. Bought the cutest yellow bathing suit for Penelope and checked out the wooded toys for Octavio.
Saturday afternoon we looked at some Wells ME property listings for sale, avoided one open house that had three cars with Massachusett plates for safety sake.
With mobile phones and pretty easy real estate apps to one by one scope out the current Wells Beach Maine area real estate listings, you can accomplish a lot on your own. As a Maine real estate broker, it is always educational to make believe I am the buyer in a new area of Maine and try out the ease of mobile tap tap, slide and swipe.
We ended up over on Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Had to stop and walk to see the Bush family Walker Point compound one more time.
There was a breeze and the hood, hats, gloves and mittens were put to good use. There is nothing like salty sea air, cold but fresh Maine coastal oxygen to remove mental or physical cobwebs.
Big second, third and more Maine oceanfront vacation homes dark, some with windows board up tightly.
No one home in most and as a Maine real estate broker I wonder about each house’s unique history. Who built it, who owns it now and wonder hot steep the property taxes are or what it costs to heat. Those questions roll around in a person’s head as we clipped right along. Grazing on eye candy of the ocean surf sight and sound on one side, the high priced real estate on the other.
More seafood extravaganza at Billy’s Chowder House Saturday night.
Can you ever ever consume enough steamed clams, mussel or Maine lobster in one short lifetime?
Breakfast at the Maine Diner Sunday morning.
We decided let’s walk the Marginal Way in Ogunquit and I was surprised to collect another Maine lighthouse. I’ve lost count but am approaching 50 of the sixty four from past visits and photo / video collecting so far. But Lobster Lighthouse, somehow missed that one in the Maine collection. Most of Maine lighthouses are cared for and lovingly maintained with donations from non profits dedicate to keeping them up to snuff. You see stuff like this on your Maine instate mini vacation, staycation.
If you have only taken a Maine vacation in the summer, every place you visited will hit you so so much differently if you try a winter visit.
Tourist heavy popular Maine vacation venues don’t have as many restaurants open, the go carts and gift shops are closed for the winter. No ice cream take out or mini golf competitions. But the folks who own and work at the ones open are more relaxed, less stressed or pushed. They are enjoying the lull and sane pace and miss the tourist that were not as intense this past summer season thanks to the pandemic worries and state regulations.
In winter, you feel like a local, not a visitor or tourist when you take an instate Maine mini vacation, staycation.
When the Maine coastal natives find our we are from the northern county of Aroostook, just as many questions come flooding like the incoming tide our way.
Getting to know a big state like Maine takes a life time. These blog posts on a simple staycation visit to the Wells, Moody, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport are from the average Joe and Jane out in the puckerbrush Maine vacation audience.
Today, I don’t know about you but I find one of the best source of information is from someone online who is not trying to spin.
That just shares here is what Meg and I did and if you are up for it, you might want to sample the same. You over due for an instate Maine mini vacation, staycations time away? Saving time, sharing what worked for us could be fruitful for others. It is encouraging to bump into at a six feet or greater distance folks who are enthused not snarky about Maine. I am just high living in Maine, excited about how lucky I am to be here full time. So don’t keep it a secret. Just why I put time into this hunt and peck blog about what we do for fun, what it is like living here in Maine.
What’s it like living on the Canadian border up in “The County”?
And how’s the sleddin’ or ice fishing or where should we make sure to visit if we beeline up I-95 toward the New Brunswick or Quebec border?
No matter where you are from in Maine, the conversation with wherever you hail will turn up someone mutually known by both. Lots of perks being a Maine border town with Canada.
Instate Maine mini vacations, this blog post about the one last weekend in Wells Beach, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport Maine.
I did get a cell call from my Me In Maine webmaster who hosts this blog you are now reading. Prisca Poi had upgraded to higher speed, more bullet proof secure servers and needed my changed password. She invited us to visit her at Cape Porpoise Maine which would have been an adventure but time alone as a couple took priority.
Where are you thinking about an instate Maine mini vacation staycation ?
Maybe a quick trip playing it safe away from crowds in the Millinocket Maine area?
Here’s an earlier blog post about an instate staycations, Maine mini vacation on Millinocket Lake at the New England Outdoor Center. Think winter, Maine, less people, more safety staying clear of virus with self directed, help yourself on your own mini vacations, staycations. Need an instate Maine mini vacations staycations ?
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com | MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA