Relaxing At A Maine Camp In The Woods

I’m still trying to get use to calling the place we’re staying a camp, even though in my mind it is a Maine cabin. When Jean first told me she used to go to her Maine camp with her family, I thought they owned a campground. That wasn’t the case, it was a cabin in the woods that they called a camp. Our first three nights here in Maine will be spent at Jean’s brother’s camp on Sebec Lake which is about 35 miles north of Bangor. The picture above is from the road leading to our cabin, camp or whatever you want to call it.

When we first drove up and got out of the car we were immediately struck by the smell of the fresh Maine woods. I’m not sure exactly what the smell is, but it is somewhat like sandalwood and a mix of cedar with just a hint of sweetness. That’s interesting because sandalwood doesn’t grow around here, it’s from the Middle East, none the less, it sure smells like it.

It is strikingly quiet here in the Maine woods. You don’t hear the sounds of civilization such as cars, planes, mowers, blowers and the constant hum of activity associated with everyday life. It is so quiet when we were standing on the dock here that stretches out onto Sebec Lake, for a moment we heard a rustling in the air we didn’t recognize. It was the sound of the flapping of ducks wings as they cut through the crisp 47 degree evening air.

I missed this next sound because I went to get the camera back up at the camp, but Jean got to see a flock of ducks taking off and watched as they skimmed thought the water and took flight. As ducks reach flying speed their wings tips come in contact with the surface of the water as they flap. In the still air, Jean could hear the sound of wing tips dipping in and out of the chilly water. These are not the normal sounds of a busy world.

We also don’t have a TV, internet access (I’m writing this post on my Mac in TextEdit) or cell service and it gets dark here around 6:30 in the evening. So what do you do with yourself in the evening? You read for a couple of hours and go to bed at 8:30. Consequently after seven and a half hours of sleep guess what, it’s only 4:00 am and you are wide awake. So, I’m writing this post around 4:30 in the morning with a hot cup of tea enjoying the flickering flames of the gas stove across the room. I can’t think of a better way to relax, can you?

Tags: Maine

One of our first stops after getting here in Bangor Maine was to go shopping for groceries at Hannaford, the largest grocery chain in town. It was another piece of evidence towards my conclusion that Maine is just masquerading as a state. My suspicion is that Maine is secretly another country. The true evidence is in the picture above.

What you are looking at above is a photo of the produce section in Hannaford and it is huge. Let me spell that for you, h-u-g-e!  It is unlike any produce section in any store I have ever seen in Florida. Jean and I eat a mostly raw vegan diet (80% or so) and we were in heaven. We used to shop at Wild Oats in Melbourne until that closed and now shop at Paradise in Palm Bay and the produce section in this store, just the produce section, is as large as Wild Oats and twice as large as Paradise. We’re talking twice as large as the entire store.

There is almost every kind of produce you can imagine here and we came all the way to Maine to find it. Not only does the Hannaford produce section feature stuff we simply can’t find in Florida, it has the freshest fruits and vegetables that look they came right from the garden behind the store. Just a quick look around and we found about 6 different kinds of lettuce, 11 different kinds of mushrooms, a huge organic section and an assortment of veggies that we will need to get out our produce encyclopedia to figure out exactly what they were.

This is all pretty amazing because Bangor Maine is not anywhere near the size of Melbourne or Palm Bay in population, yet at first glance, they have completely blown us away in shopping for quality produce. Another thing that we found kind of interesting is that when you walk into the main entrance at Hannaford, you walk right into the produce section. It’s not like most grocery stores in Florida where the produce is hidden in the back, you simply cannot avoid it, walk in the door and here you are, you are going to go through produce whether you like it or not. Hmm, that sounds like a pretty good start to a better healthcare system, doesn’t it?

The Maine vacation adventure is just beginning.

Tags: Maine

In just one week, my wife Jean and I will be traveling Rockland Maine to enjoy the fall weather, fall foliage and the beautiful rocky coast that only Maine offers. Rockland is located right on Penobscot Bay and within close proximity of Camden and Rockport Maine.

If you have never been in to this area is it nothing less than classic Maine. The last time we were here we stayed at Megunticook Campground which is right on the ocean and about half way between Rockland and Rockport. We spent our days walking through the shops of Camden and Rockland, getting coffee and sitting on benches at Camden Harbor watching lobsters being boiled and sold right out of the steaming hot stock pots. It was quite enjoyable and we are certainly looking forward to it again.

While in Rockport Maine one of the most famous cultural attractions is the Farnsworth Art Museum which boasts the Wyeth Center featuring the incredible works of 3 members of the Wyeth family including N.C., Andrew and James. It is truly amazing what artistic talent one family produced, so you sure don’t want to miss this exhibit.

The first part of our vacation will be spent in Bangor and then we will be off to Rockport for 4 nights staying at The Ledges By The Bay in an oceanview room. Look for more updates and pictures of our adventure on the vacation rentals blog here beginning sometime after October 9th. Jean has talked about getting up to Acadia National Park, but I don’t know if we’re going to make it as we do have a pretty busy schedule and yes, we do hope to have some time to relax.

Tags: Maine