An infographic on spending a fun filled socially distanced weekend in Maine.

During my first year of blogging, I created an infographic that highlighted how to spend a perfect weekend in Portland, Maine.  Now that we’re all staying home and access to public spaces is more limited due to the pandemic, I thought it would be fun to create a new infographic focused on how to spend a perfect socially distanced weekend in Maine.

Even if we can’t currently visit our local restaurants, breweries, museums, shops and all the other amazing places that Maine has to offer there are still many ways to support our local businesses while practicing social distancing and having a great time.

The links to all of the sites mentioned in the infographic are listed at the bottom of the blog post. Wishing everyone a fun filled virtual weekend!

Continue reading

10 Maine Adventures on My Bucket List for 2019

For the last few years I have been putting together an annual bucket list of things I want to do in Maine for the upcoming year. It’s a fun exercise that gets me thinking about the adventures that we want to have and the places we want to visit.

This past year was especially challenging and we actually got through only a couple of things on the list which does make me wonder if perhaps a bucket list is not the best approach but I’m going to give it one more shot.

Below is a list of ten things on my bucket list for the coming year. Many are ones we didn’t get to last year although I’ve added a few new ones into the mix. Here’s hoping we have better results this time around.

Continue reading

Looking for free things to do? Here’s a monthly breakdown of free events in Maine for 2019.

A few years ago, my family and I did the Living Well Spending Zero challenge from Ruth Soukup. As part of the challenge, we spent minimal money for the entire month. No groceries, no entertainment, no take-out. We allowed ourselves a small amount of cash at the start of the month for minor necessities, and activities that had already been planned, but that was it. We ate through the food in our refrigerator and pantry, learned to ration our seltzer, and went to some free events like the Fork Food Lab grand opening.

Overall, we did a great job, or at least until the last day of the month when our cat came down with a UTI, and we had to do an emergency visit to the vet complete with x-rays, anesthesia, and multiple antibiotics, all of which negated most of our savings from our zero spend month. Still it was a fun, creative experiment and one we are about to embark on again.

Continue reading

Sunrise Views from Cadillac Mountain

The full size bed took up all but a narrow path that circled the perimeter of the room requiring us to take turns as we got dressed in the dark. We had chosen this bed and breakfast because of sentimentality. We got engaged here almost a half century earlier. We’d chosen this particular room because of the lower cost and the fact that it was available on short notice.

I didn’t need my phone alarm to rouse me although I had set it as a precaution. I woke up naturally when I heard my husband get up first and, once he finished dressing, I got out of bed reluctantly but determined not to miss the first rays of sunshine to hit the East Coast. We were quick and ready to leave in ten minutes giving us just enough time to get to Cadillac Mountain before the scheduled sunrise which according to our tandem google searches the day before would be 4:50 am.

Continue reading

10 Maine Adventures on My Bucket List for 2018

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.

Continue reading