Eight Can’t Miss Summer Activities in Maine

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I know this is not my strongest opening sentence, but I’m working on a little admin with this post.

Summer is in full swing and it’s a beauty. We had a cold, rainy spring which makes these gorgeous sunny days all the more wonderful. With July 4th behind us, we’re hitting our summer stride. Below is a list of eight summer activities you don’t want to miss.

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R is for Recycled Lobster Rope Mats | No better way to say “welcome to my home”.

A recycled lobster rope doormat has been on my wish list for years. I love the ingenuity of their evolution. When federal regulations banned the use of float rope by Maine lobstermen, due to issues with whale entanglement, they had to switch over to sink rope and retire the float rope. While the rope could have ended up in a landfill, instead it became the manufacturing material for a new line of products.

While it’s still possible to find recycled versions of the float rope doormat, there are also other companies that now manufacture them using new rope opening up more tailored designs and colors. They are wonderful, but I prefer the environmentally friendly nature of recycling the used float rope.

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10 Maine Adventures on My Bucket List for 2017

As inevitably happens at the start of a new year, resolutions are made and plans for how things will be different begin to form. There are the traditional resolutions such as lose weight, exercise more, save money, and get organized. While those are perpetually on my list, for my resolution this year, I went a different route. I put together a bucket list of Maine related activities that I want to check off my list. Some are small things, others will require more planning but they are all adventures I hope to have this year.

  1. Join a CSA | Community Supported Agriculture. This one has been tumbling around my head for a few years now. Usually, I miss the sign-up period as most CSAs need to be ordered in the winter, and my thoughts of fresh summer produce don’t kick in until spring, but this year I am going to use the wonder of technology and set a reminder on my calendar so that I can sign-up. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website has a search tool to locate various CSAs throughout the state so I have a great place to start.
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A Hot Night at the Portland Lobster Company

There are about three nights during the summer that are stifling hot. I don’t have air conditioning at my house which is by choice. While there are many warm summer days, I have an abundance of windows which usually provide a nice breeze and, along with a few fans, is enough to keep me relatively cool and happy. But, there are those few random days each summer when I feel like I’m going to melt. On a recent Friday, when after doing something as simple as washing the dishes I was sweating as if I had dug a six foot trench, I knew we’d hit one of those days. I was drenched and desperately looking for a way to cool off.

What to do on such a hot day? Head into Portland and grab dinner at one of their many outside venues, and hope for an encounter with a lovely ocean side breeze. We hadn’t been to the Portland Lobster Company yet this season, and a hot night seemed like the perfect time to enjoy this fun summer outside destination. It’s one of my favorites, but things have been hectic and the timing hadn’t worked before now.

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Five Fun Summer Festivals Happening in Maine

Some summer activities unfold organically as a lazy weekend lays before you and you decide a day or two before how you want to get the most from the warm days. Other events take a bit more planning. You need to clear your schedule and, in some cases, get tickets ahead of time so that you don’t miss out on the fun.

Both types of activities have a place on my summer to do list, but for those that require advanced planning now is the time to start marking them down on the calendar. With that in mind, here’s a hit list of a few of the festivals happening in Maine this summer that are worth planning for ahead of time.

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