My husband and I have been working our way through the Maine Beer Trail as part of my bucket list adventures for 2017. There are a lot of local craft breweries and the number continues to expand. It will probably take us longer than one year to get all the stamps on our beer trail map and that’s okay. The adventure is in working our way through the stops and getting to explore more of Maine.
For this week’s Friday Favorites, here are five craft beer activities happening in Maine this weekend.
My first concert was Shaun Cassidy. I remember little of the concert today but I still have some pictures. This was no easy feat for a show held decades before cell phones. I wish I could take credit for this work of photo artistry but it was actually my friend Ann who took them. She had the better seats. I’d still be bitter except she did share her pictures with me. She’s a good friend.
Even though it was a short week with the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, it doesn’t make this weekend’s arrival any less sweet. While I am a planner and often have my weekends scheduled out well ahead of time, sometimes it’s fun to just be spontaneous.
For the kickoff of my Friday Favorites series, I’ve listed five free activities happening in and around the Portland area this weekend.
Want to go to a neighborhood block party, but there are none in your area? Head to Funky Bow Brewery for a truly festive experience. After a winter hike that turned into a more extended four mile trek, we were ready for some refreshments and relaxation so we headed to Funky Bow Brewery &  Beer Company in Lyman for pizza and beer.
It turned out to be a perfect afternoon and a real slice of American life. When we arrived around two, we discovered that it was Rock & Roll Saturday and the place was already busy. The brewery dining area is enclosed in a large greenhouse with plastic sheeting for walls. It has a dirt floor with rows of picnic tables lining each side, and a few taller round folding tables in the center. There’s a cashier in the outer room as you arrive where you can pay and are given beer tokens in exchange.
Last September, 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 would definitely try again. More importantly, our cat, other than one minor setback, is doing great now.
Weekends in Maine 