The lazy days of summer… Maine is one of our favorite places to visit in the summer! The weather is beautiful, the food is fantastic and there are always fun activities to enjoy. We look forward to the trek to visit my uncle and escape the North Carolina heat and humidity. Our time spent in Maine consists of simple pleasures like canoeing, kayaking, sailing, fishing, hiking, clamming, boating, stargazing, and always making great family memories. Every day is an adventure in Maine. Unlike many of our vacations, where we have a specific itinerary, our time in Maine is very laid back and unstructured. Our activities are dependent on the tides, the weather and our whim. That’s not to say that we don’t have our favorite activities. We look forward to doing some of the same activities each year. Here are some of our favorites: Jumping off the bridge at a local swimming hole in Damariscotta Mills Watching the lobster trap races at the Maine Lobster festival in Rockland Relaxing on the water in a kayak, canoe or aboard one of the boats Hiking local mountains like Mt. Washington or Mt. Katahdin Eating Lobster rolls at Robinson’s Wharf Enjoying on blueberry ice cream at Down East Ice Cream in Boothbay Harbor Taking the power boat to Bath & shopping for basics at Reny’s Going clamming and making clam chowder Capturing the kids in another picture by Treats in Wiscasset Watching gorgeous sunsets from the dock on the Back River We have made some wonderful family memories in Maine. We recommend visiting and creating your own memories that will last a lifetime! We have enjoyed exploring all over Maine from Acadia National Park to Moosehead Lake and across the Downeast area of the state. It’s a beautiful part of the country, especially during the summer. We look forward to returning again next summer. If you have the opportunity and are looking for some cooler summer temps we highly recommend you plan a visit to Maine!
Adventures/Travel
Learning to dive
Some people are happy puttering around their home, some people have an artistic or crafty flair and others thrive on exploring and new adventures! At Shookhill, we are a little bit of all of these. However, if we are able, we will rework our schedule and find a way to include an unexpected outing. Planned or spontaneous, our adventures encapsulate some of our favorite memories. When our children were younger, we used to tease them by saying, “Do you have durance for our ventures?” Our children have grown up and are now young adults. Each one of them truly has durance. They are all unique, but they are truly kind and curious individuals. And our willingness to explore absolutely lives on in the adventurous spirit within each of them. If we have learned anything over the course of our lifes, it’s that we have durance. No, we’re not an extreme adventurists. We will not be planning a trek for Everest or diving any shark-infested wrecks. We do draw the line on extreme danger. However, we live to plan adventures. We enjoy seeing how people live throughout the world and plan our excursions to learn more about the area and people where we are traveling. We can find little adventures by getting in my car and driving somewhere we have never been before or planning a month-long trip to Europe. We enjoy preparing for and being prepared for the next adventure. It’s an important life skill that this year has put to the test. Our year started in the Florida Keys where our kids earned their scuba certification at Rainbow Reef Dive Center. It was our hope that we would be able to dive together as a family on escapades throughout the year and for years to come. Unfortunately, life got in the way. The kids did get their scuba rating but my husband also experienced a life flight ride from the Keys to Miami and subsequently spent 48 days in a Charlotte hospital battling Leukemia. The remainder of this year has been an adventure but it has been more about survival than exploring. As a family we have been surviving an APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia) diagnosis, surviving Covid-19 and keeping our dreams alive. Unfortunately, 2020 has put a bit of a damper on my actual travels as it has for most people. I have had to pivot and use this year to reflect on past experiences and research future ventures. We are happy for the opportunity to learn to dive and look forward to when we can plan trips again. Still, through these tough times, we remember the adventures that we have had together and know we have durance for our future.