Maine #1 for vacations, no debate on that point.
But do locals, the native travel out of state on Vacations? Or is there so much to do and see in our own Vacationland backyard that few venture out? I am the first to admit to feeling spoiled living in Maine and so lucky to live full time in the Pine Tree State with all the farms, coastline, wooded vast tracts of land.
If you have read a few blog posts, you have one by one learned about areas all around Maine that get sampled and shared.
Each season the same Maine location serves up a different experience that make it never ho hum or boring. The lack of crowds increases the impact of the Maine setting too. Not over commercialized happens because Maine is tucked away and hidden a fair distance from the population centers.
So can’t talk for the state of Maine local residents as a whole but offer my own personal situation.
Yes, I love hitting a new area of Maine and partly to create fodder for the blog post hunt and peck. To share images and videos of the travels around Maine used to stock the information shelves. I think of the Maine blog as a community library and lots of empty shelves to one by one produce something worthwhile to fill those rows of cyber cabinets. One by one, think of a topic to post and an earlier blog post entry to revisit and update. Days working in broadcast journalism in Bangor Maine’s media market habits die hard.
But travel outside Maine when you live here… what’s my take on that?
I like to ski, I have three snowmobiles, a pair of snowshoes and my Maine winter is not spent shivering and droning out watching TV on the living room couch.
Most of us love where we live but like to explore and discover. Travel like reading is a wonderful endeavor if you can spare the time and do it economically so you still have money left for groceries and other luxuries like car repair, property taxes, student loans, etc. Family moves around the country and that can kick start the travel to witness how the rest of the World rock and rolls.
Mainers are outdoors every day of the year.
Just dress a little different with layers added or removed depending on the local seasonal weather forecast.
But cruises, sea cruises, those are fun and have climbed on the boat over twenty times. Not taking a cruise out of Maine yet but bee lining in the dead of winter to places that have boats parked and ready to board.
For sun in the fun. Blue green water, palm trees, and the sea passage to a few islands. To snap a couple shots, to purchase a t-shirt or other reminder of the Caribbean boat ride that shakes off the dust of late winter, early spring.
The days at sea pretty fun when you are on one big floating sea cruise ship resort vacation with lots of neat interesting people.
The kind of tourists vacationing for the same reasons the rest of us are. To get away and look back at your life for the much needed Vacation break. Also the many cultures from around the World that work on a cruise ship. Those friendly, hard working folks are fun to meet. To learn first hand from their experiences living on the other side of the World. They freely talk and share about where they live when not sailing the high seas of a floating cruise ship.
Have taken sea cruises out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans LA, Long Beach CA.
The latest one has been over two years in the making because COVID threw a major wrench into flying and sailing kind of vacations.
It also made out sauntering across the USA border into our Canadian neighboring provinces not worth the hassle until recently with relaxed and removed mask, vaccine mandates. The cruise, hotel, motel and airline industry took the biggest financial hit when COVID face masks were applied Worldwide.
So last week, a bunch of us flew a silver bird out of Bangor Maine and made the Carnival Cruise Line’s Horizon ship out home away from home.
A couple days at sea starting out, first stop Aruba and then Bonnaire and LaRomana in the Dominican Republic. Before the last island stop at Amber Cove in the DR. The vacation stop in LaRomana was part of a Rotary International mission project. Our local Houlton Rotary club wanted to help the Hartman School who’s needs are great.
Here’s a video of the stop to deliver notebooks, pencils, some financial support for the Hartman School in LaRomana in the Dominican Republic.
The school kids K-6th grade were sharp, funny, appreciative and curious. We hope to keep helping the Hartman School as part of the International Rotary committee work and seeing all the garbage, the need for water filtration systems, bathrooms and more. That was what makes you want to help and at the same time to realize how lucky we are to live in Maine.
Our guide Jessica who met us at the cruise ship dock told us that her Dad, a minister who started the school wanted to break the cycle.
Of everyone working in the sugar cane field and lacking the education to become professionals in any other endeavor. There are jobs and needs far beyond cutting, harvesting sugar cane on these Caribbean island vacation stops.
What do you enjoy doing on vacation besides seeing new sights, total strangers, maybe heading to a beach, eating too much good food?
Do you reach a couple books flying and during your trip? Sip a rum drink or two. Listening to Jimmy Buffett steel drum type island music on a cruise ship deck lounge? Some folks love to gamble, others like to hoist cold and exotic drinks at the water hole bars. Work on their tan. Or buying a t-shirt, souvenir or trinket from the travels for yourself or someone at home.
Something to remember another vacation island stop by.
To share with someone you love on your do to list back home in your regular surroundings. Who took care of the dogs and cats, covered work? Those folks helped make your getaway vacation possible.
Taking images of new destinations, learning about other cultures and locations. Getting life ideas to apply and adjust your own when you get back to Maine. Experiencing a sometimes a 100 degree temperature change in less than a 24 hour period. Sometimes leaving during a Maine winter snow storm and returning with the same weather pattern to greet you after a Caribbean sea cruise vacation.
Vacations are the dessert earned for working hard, budgeting your pay check and saving up time to get out of Dodge!
Or whatever small Maine town, or one of the handful of cities to see how the rest of the World lives. Looking back on your life and seeing the road ahead. Hard to gain that kind of perspective in your natural surroundings when hog tied up with work, community demands and local living routine in small town Maine. Small towns in Maine living means pitching in and doing more than just existing over your life. Everyone has several roles for life living in small town Maine and are greatly missed when removed from the setting.
Working on your tan, forgetting anything about counting diet calories. You are on a well deserved family vacation on a resort size floating boat of over 4000 souls. But now back to the real estate World and feeling fortunate to be back in Maine. To list and sell Maine real estate and add to the blog post collection with another easier entry story. Where are you going, where have you been now that COVID mask and vaccine mandates are relaxing and being lifted?