I’m borrowing the title for this post from a book by Bill Caldwell, who was a newspaper columnist based in Maine. Although not a native, Caldwell made a career writing about his love of the places and people of Maine. He wrote a popular book in 1977 titled Enjoying Maine. I grew up in Maine. It’s not my home anymore, but it’s still a special place for me.

The post title sums up how I spent a part of my summer. I took several trips to Maine – enjoying some familiar places and exploring some new ones. It was part of my plan of staying close to home. I knew the sights and places in Maine are just as pretty and spectacular as any I could see across the country. This post is a summary of these trips so I can remember the great moments and share them with others.

July

In July, I headed to southern Maine to attend my 50th high school reunion. I’ve kept in touch with a few of my high school classmates and was looking forward to seeing some others. But I had to bail out of the reunion at the last minute due to a Covid outbreak in Maine. Since I was already up in southern Maine, I decided to extend my stay for another week or more. That’s the advantage of being retired and having an RV.- I can spontaneously just go, change plans, and stay longer.

My wife and I enjoyed a few days of summertime in southern Maine – going to the beach, visiting some favorite places, and eating lobster. We also spent a day walking around Peaks Island. Peaks is in Casco Bay and its a short (and inexpensive) ferry ride from Portland. It’s easy to walk or bike ride) around the island as there are few cars and it’s not that big (maybe 4 miles to walk around the entire island). There’s some specular ocean views along Seashore Ave. The pictures below tell that story of what we did.

After a few days, Anne headed home. Southern Maine is good, I grew up there and had a second home there. But my favorite parts of Maine are in the northwest mountains. So, I headed north to visit Anne’s Mom in Phillips, ME. She had some maintenance work that was needed at her house. So, I spent 3 days camped in her driveway fixing things, pruning trees, and doing yard work. And I got to spend time with my favorite mother-in-law 😉

After I got the work done, I decided to check out a new-to-me state park – Mount Blue State Park in Weld, ME. It’s a little off the beaten path, but this is a lovely state park which sits on Webb Lake. I was only there for 2 days, but I really enjoyed it – camping in the woods after I had been camping in a driveway. I made a video of my stay which you can see below.

After Mount Blue State Park I decided to head further north to Rangeley Lake State Park. It had been hot in southern Maine, in Phillips, and at Mount Blue, so I went north to escape the heat. Rangeley sits at 1,700 ft above sea level and it’s always cooler in the mountains.

Rangeley Lake is another beautiful state park that I’ve visited several times. I got to enjoy more rustic camping in the woods beside a beautiful lake. I only stayed one day but it was a nice break from the heat – sitting by a campfire, listening to the wind in the trees, and hearing the loons at night.

From there I headed south to Sebago Lake State Park. This is a popular (and busy) state park near southern Maine known for it’s beautiful lakeside camping. I’ve camped there several times with my family. I was lucky to snag a site for 2 nights in the Naples Beach section.

My intent was to enjoy the huge lake. I had a great 2 days, sitting by the lake and swimming. I rarely go swimming theses days because of my ostomy bag. But, I couldn’t pass up swimming in Sebago. I went in the water several times and it was heavenly. It reminded me how great swimming in cool soft lake water is on a hot summer day.

My original plan of spending 4 days in Maine had turned into 14 days. They were all great.

August

I usually go to Maine in mid August to attend the Phillips Old Home Days celebration. This week long celebration has become an annual family gathering event. This year, I decided to do something a little different. I rented a house just 25 miles from Phillips in Rangeley, ME. I wanted a place that could house my family so we could all spend time together. It worked out great. The house was beautiful and had a million dollar view of Rangeley Lake.

Everyone has a great time together. We traveled to Phillips for events, held a family cook out, and enjoyed scenic spots in Rangeley. Here are some pictures.

While I was there, I made a video of some of the best scenic places we visited in Rangeley. These places are just as beautiful as places I’ve been to in Colorado IMHO.

Wrapping Up Summer

Overall, I spent 23 days in Maine this summer. Some of the highlights of those days were

• Eating lobster with my wife and sister on the pier at The Bait Shed in Scarboro,
• Enjoying a picnic lunch at scenic Bug Light Park in South Portland with my wife
• Walking along Seashore Ave on Peaks with my wife.
• Floating in the water at Sebago Lake
• Being part of the Margie Toothaker Memorial Cancer Walk in Phillips
• Having a family gathering in Rangeley
• Spending an afternoon boating on Rangeley Lake with my family.

Most of these involved experiencing Maine with other people. I did spend a fair amount of solo time in Maine but being there with other people is perhaps the best way to enjoy Maine.