Posted on 08/23/2022 5:39:13 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
Welcome to Vacationland Wondering where this column was last week? Sorry. I forgot to say I’m taking two days off. My computer’s exhausted. I went to Maine. Why? I’m a world traveler. Done Cambodia, Indonesia, most of South America, Fiji, Kabul, Kathmandu, Beirut, Siberia, India, Outback, Galapagos, Iran, Iraq, Laos, the whole Caribbean, all Europe, Fiji, Samoa, New Guinea, China, Japan, Taipei, Alaska, Hawaii, Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Guam, etc — but Maine? Not. I’ve also not seen Oklahoma — but who cares? Longtime friends whose ancestors founded the state of Maine in the 1800s and are in its museums and histories invited me. It’s north. Eight hours as the crow and a BMW flies. Borders Canada, so it’s cool. Clean. Airy. Fresh. Ocean. Shoreline. Beaches. Open sky. Green. Trees. Lighthouses. Boats. Harbors. Coastlines. No litter. No trash. It’s polite. Friendly. Inexpensive. Seafood. Lobsters the size of Radio City. Locals whose behinds overlap the state of Texas all stuffed into shorts. Realtors could establish an entire campsite on the average ass.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
her newspaper paid for her travel
Well, most Mainers I know only have the one tooth to brush! (Grin), all that Maple Surple.
But here is one of my favorite places:
Maine Highland Games: Thomas Point Beach
https://www.mainehighlandgames.org/blog/2022-maine-highland-games-scottish-festival
Pretty much what I got.
I was born there ( Loring AFB ) and have no desire to go back. I’ve been to over 4/5 of the US and half the world.
I have been to Loring several times, Once in 1956 at the annual air show,in the company of a WWII Spitfore pilot. I was only 6 yoa but have never forgot, He got us on to a tanker and had them let me lie down in the refulers couch looking out the rear.
Again in 1963 , touring with air cadets, I touched a nuclear war head up over a roped in area when the guards and their pooches were not looking.
Its a damn shame that Clinton shut it down. I miss those B52s.
A point to ponder: the least diverse state has the lowest violent crime statistic. Hmmm.
Canadian men in French bikinis……
I just decided I’d never go to Maine for vacation.
They mostly go to Old Orchard Beach, ME and Hampton Beach, NH.
These are both honky tonk type beach places. Think Daytona Beach in Maine/NH. Lots of tattoos. There many other family friendly places along the coast like Wells, York, Bar Harbor, Boothbay, Camden, Rockport and Kennbunkport.
Maine is really a beautiful state. Especially the islands that are off shore in central ME. There are huge lakes, mountains, great ski areas and vast forests. It is the most forested state in the country.
Yep, I won't look it up but it's something like 80% of the population is within 20 miles of the coast, meaning the Western half is pretty rural/forest.
Next time you come up to NH, you should go to Jenness or Wallis Sands beaches in Rye, NH. These are much less commercialized. There are state parks at both of these locations.
Jenness is my personal favorite. It tends to primarily be people from Rye and North Hampton, NH. There is a very limited amount of parking. Most of the time you have to park on rt 1A and walk 5-10 minutes to the beach. The north end of the beach is the best area. The side streets are for Rye residents only. You will get ticketed if you do not have town resident sticker.
My other personal favorite is Plum Island. Especially the southern end down by Ipswich/Essex and the bay on the north side of Cape Ann. This is also where Crane Beach and Wingesheet(sp?) are located.
The issue is none of these beaches are habitable until about the middle of August after the GREEN HEAD flies die off. After that, they are the best beaches north of outer Cape Cod. Plus no White Sharks. No seals.
Most of the northern half of Maine is owned by forestry companies. Private timber lands. Not National Forest.
James D. Irving(the same guy that owns the gas stations) is one of the largest land owners. He also owns most of the province of New Brunswick.
Private land ownership keeps the land available for forestry practices without the intervention of the US Federal Government like out west.
As you state, we are now in "prime beach season" for New England as the greenheads and other biting flies are mostly gone. Also, the water temps rise all through September even while the air temperature cools substantially. My favorite time for the beaches is mid-September. Not sure I'm going to be able to work a trip in this year though.
What is great about Plum Island is that the southern half of the island has parking lots one mile apart. There are only 20 parking spots at these. The very southern tip is a MA state park. It only has 55 parking spots.
So, if you get there early enough in the off season, you can literally have a 1/4 mile or more beach to yourself. Especially between lots 5 and 6.
It is Parker River National Wildlife refuge. There are a lot of bird watchers there. So, many people that go there do not really care about going to the beach. There are no bathrooms at these smaller parking lots except for the northern and southern tip of the island. No boogy boards, surf boards, paddle boards allowed either. People do clam out in the tidal flats.
In the early summer they literally close down miles of beach for the nesting Piping Plovers. They have “Plover Wardens” stationed on the beach to keep you from walking onto the closed sections. The state beach at the south end will fence off sections of the beach where Plovers are nesting, but not shut down 2 miles of beach.
I took a cruise along the coast of Maine last August to several of those places - very pleasant.
Ms. Adams needs to stay in her 9-room penthouse.
No doubt most is like a beautiful and quaint New England post card. Except my X wife lives in Bathe so I try to stay south of the Pa/NY border as much as possible.LOL
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