Maine Event

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Sorry for my absence (again), been away on school break and not quite feeling it. Lame excuse, I know.

We were in fact away on vacation, and it dawned on me that we can longer go on vacation like we used to now that A is firmly entrenched in the school system. N will soon follow suit, but more on this later. We used to travel quite a bit with the kids, and not just on small trips to a nearby lake. When I think about it, the kids have been to several countries overseas, some multiple times. Taking stock, they've been to France 2X, Spain 3X, Italy 2X, the Greek Isles, Croatia, Turkey. Toss in several Caribbean Islands, including Bahamas, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Belize (sort of Caribbean), and Turks and Caicos. Pretty impressive stuff, and we traveled extensively within those places. It warrants mentioning that mom was the supreme driving force behind all these trips, funded mainly by our earning from the farmer's market.

Now that the kids are a little older, it's not as interesting for them to spend so much time with their boring parents. In fact, it's probably downright painful at times, not to mention embarrassing, With this in mind, we've had to, or rather mom has had to modify our travel plans. Not only do we have to work within the parameters of school vacations, but we can't take long trips to the farthest reaches of the planet. Plus, as any parent knows, vacation time doesn't mean students are exempt from doing school work, so A doesn't have unlimited time to just lounge by the poolside working on her tan.

We hadn't had a real vacation together in awhile, partly because of the reason's I've presented, but also because there is a lot of stuff going on in our personal lives (for both mom and I) that ultimately takes precedence. With this coming break in school, mom took a firm stance and said we're going to go on a family vacation, and needless to say, we were all on board. I, of course, had my usual and predictable reluctance based on the irrational neurosis of feeling the need to do things around the house, which is all so silly and misguided. We always have fun when we travel, and this time was no different.

We decided to go to Maine, and got a deal at a hotel through my work at the Inn. It wasn't a mind blowing deal, but we saved some dough, nonetheless. And, we had fun. The place was the Stage Neck Inn, located in York. The Inn is much smaller than the Woodstock Inn, but it was very nice. Maine is an interesting place, sort of funky with an old New England feel. The town of York itself is a bit sleepy, though there are some nice beaches with surfing. Enough said.

We ended up spending more time in Ogunquit, which we are familiar with, along with a trip to Portland, which is a cool and happening town. We swam a bit in the pool, walked on the beach, and just did some exploring. It was pretty low key, but very enjoyable, and we had a great time. Best of all, we got to hang together and do some exploring of the unknown, which is always a great thing to do as a family. That's what makes traveling together such a growing experience.

I went into this trip not really knowing what to expect, but I would definitely go back, especially since it's so close. For the quintessential New England experience, you just can't beat Maine, it's so beautiful. One other great aspect of this trip was that mom did all the driving, so I could just sit back and enjoy the ride. I love when that happens.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Henk Meijer for the pic.