Maine: The Way Life Should Be

We passed the "Welcome to Maine" sign, and that slogan greeted us as we cruised up I-95. I thought at first, "Wow super northern state, is life really that fantastic up here? Is this really how life should be?"

Summertime answer: Yes, yes it should.

I'm not going to campaign that this is the way we should live all year round. Granted, the water stays a constant 55 degrees around Bar Harbor all year, leaving it cooler in the summer and slightly less cold than the rest of the state in the winter. But still. Who wants to be in Maine in January? A New York winter is enough for me!

But enough of that. Our vacation was beyond fantastic. And here is a list of reasons why:

1. Clean air. I did not realize just how smelly NYC was until I left it...smelt fresh air...and then came back.
2. The Inn at Bay Ledge. We stayed here our first two nights. Delicious breakfast in the morning. Afternoon tea at 4pm. The most comfortable bed...ever. Friendly staff (that brought their dogs to play in the morning!) And steps away from these views:

This is the view from the porch while we were eating breakfast

From the stairs down to the pebble shore

The perfect place to look for clear, brown, green and blue sea glass.

3. Lobster lobster and more lobster. Those crustaceans tasted like they walked from the water, cooked themselves and then sat happily on my plate. By far the best place was a lobster pound on the side of the road. Yes, lobster on the side of the road. Better than any 5-star restaurant.

Doesn't it look like it's saying, "Eat me please?" Don't mind if I do.

4. Acadia National Park. Beautiful scenery, fantastic hiking/biking trails. The campsites were quite crowded (thumbs down), but besides that, our overnight provide me with the perfect combination of sweat, dirt and smoke on many of my clothes.
5. Ice Cream! We ate some much. So tasty.
6. Downtown Bar Harbor. Such a cute town with tons of restaurants, shops and bars. We went into one bar to avoid some rain and ended up staying for 2+ hours talking with the bartender and getting fed free drinks. That's the way service should be.



7. Portland. We weren't expecting much in this "city", but ended up seeing some beautiful lighthouses and hanging out with another friendly bartender in the city's downtown pub. Guinness on tap and part of the $3 happy hour special?! Steve was in heaven.

It even had a shamrock in the foam!

Lobsters do love Guinness.

I could continue the list, but I figure you get the idea. Will I go back to Maine? Yes, hopefully sooner rather than later. Now is the perfect time of year to pack the car and head north. It was sunny every day and didn't get above 75 degrees. You really can't go in the water (unless you have a super warm wet suit), but I'm more than happy to sacrifice that for all the beautiful nature.

If New York City ever becomes too dirty, crowded and smelly (even for me), I'm heading up there. Maybe I'll become one of those friendly bartenders. Or Steve and I will open a bed and breakfast. Vacation atmosphere everyday? Count me in.