Last year I started a tradition of writing down a list of things I wanted to do in Maine for the upcoming year. While I only made it through some of my items from last year, I found it helpful to have the list as I planned out adventures during the year.

Below is my Bucket List for 2018. Some are holdovers from last year that I didn’t quite get to yet, but haven’t forgotten. Some are small things, others require more planning, but they are all adventures I hope to have this year.

1. Continue on with the Maine Beer Trail. The Maine Brewers Association puts out a beer trail map each year listing all the craft breweries in Maine. You can earn prizes by getting stamps in your map for each brewery that you visit. We gave it a valiant effort this past year, but new breweries seem to pop up as fast as we can get to them and I’m beginning to realize this is more of a multi-year adventure. I’ll be posting about our visits from 2017 soon and then we’ll keep pushing forward to check more local craft breweries off our list in 2018.
2. Kayak in Portland Harbor.  Even though I had actually already purchased a certificate for a sunset sea kayak tour with Portland Paddle, somehow summer got away from us and we never checked this one off our list last year. We’ve talked about getting kayaks for years and doing a test run with a guide seems like a good place to start.
3. Dine at the Lost Kitchen. I’ve been trying for a few years to visit  this remote but incredibly popular spot. Unfortunately, even though I tried, reservations sold out so fast that I couldn’t get one. It looks like they might be changing how they take reservations this year so I’m hoping the third time is the charm. Reservations open March 11th. I think I’ll pick up The Lost Kitchen Cookbook to tide me over.
4. Tour the  Farnsworth Art Museum. Another missed opportunity. In addition to this museum, there are some other smaller area museums we’d like to visit. Many even offer free admission which I blogged about in my post “Looking for free stuff? Here’s a list of free monthly activities to do in Maine for 2017“.
5. Volunteer. My ultimate goal with this bucket list item is to learn more about some of the wonderful nonprofits in Maine, and find an opportunity to volunteer with an organization whose mission aligns with my personal views.
6. See Puffins. This is one bucket list item I really, really tried to complete this past year but I have my heart set on heading up to Machais Seal Island to see the puffins and there are limited tour spots. They fill up quickly. So quickly, that you need to reserve in January. I am ready this year.
7. Take a  Cooking Class. I love to cook although I find family dinners stressful. I guess the clarification is that I love to cook when not under a time crunch. The idea of spending a relaxed afternoon learning a new cooking skill sounds wonderful.  There are some interesting cooking schools in Maine. A few to check out include: Stone Turtle Baking and Cooking School,  Salt Water Farm. and Black Tie Company.
8. Go on a Tour with a Twist. Twenty years ago on my first trip to New Orleans, we took an Anne Rice tour of the city. It was more like loitering outside of her home than an actual tour, but it was incredibly fun. Being from Maine, I think  adding a Stephen King version of this type of tour to my agenda is appropriate. Plus, I can learn a little about Bangor too. To learn more about this tour visit SK Tours of Maine.
9. Dine on an Island. There are some beautiful islands off the coast of Maine and many of them have lovely restaurants. I’ll need to narrow this bucket list item down a bit, but there’s still time. This one doesn’t require as much pre-planning.
10. Catch a Show. It has been years since I’ve visited the Ogunquit Playhouse and I’m adding it to my bucket list for the year.  They don’t have their full season posted yet, but it looks like one of the shows they’ll be performing is Oklahoma. It’s one of my favorites. I even own the DVD of the London Stage version with Hugh Jackman.

I’m sure the list will grow and evolve as the year goes on, but I’m hoping to make these ten happen. Do you have any adventures planned for 2018?