Oh my, it's Summer!

When I mention that we have a place in Maine, so many (non-Maine) people say to me, 'but isn't it SO COLD up there!??!!!'  Well yes, in the Wintertime.  But the Summers......ahhh, the Summers in Maine are something else entirely.  Mosquitoes, yup.  Black flies.  Gnats.  Mmm-hmm.  But the WEATHER!  The weather is truly something else.

Unlike our home in Virginia, our home in Maine is considerably less humid and sticky, atmospherically-speaking.  Maine can indeed get humid, but it's usually short-lived and not quite as all-enveloping & suffocating as it is in the mid-Atlantic and Southern states.  The sun is still hot during the days in Maine, but the nights are comfortable.

Also, there's something extra-special about being on the coast of Maine during the Summer.  Summertime and ocean water/beaches simply go together.  Everyone knows that.  People are drawn to the water, no matter the season. But even the colour of the ocean water is VERY different in Maine.  It's such a beautiful aqua/turquoise blue.  Not to be confused with the Caribbean's aqua-ice-blue water.  Maine's sea water is different.  It's deeper.  MORE intensely blue. 

Along Maine's coast, watching the tall ships and lobster boats come and go is charmingly picturesque and so photo-worthy.  Smelling the fresh Atlantic sea air, slightly tinged with the odor of sea kelp and seaweed., is one of my favorites.  

Oh and the lupines!  Wild lupines pop-up everywhere and Mainers love them!  With good reason!  They're such a lovely ambassador of Summer.

Mostly, Summertime in Maine is special because of the people!  Nothing is taken for granted in Maine.  The warmer weather months are overrun with people on the go, free concerts, yard sales, church gatherings, picnics, sports games & always some sort of boat race.  I don't think that I've ever seen so many community-based events and gatherings where absolutely everyone is welcomed!

To sound like a broken record, if you've never been to Maine, please go!  Experience coastal Maine, in particular.  Take an airplane ride along the bold coast and be mesmerized by the myriad of scattered rocky, pine tree covered islands and craggy granite inlets & coves.  Spend a day, or two, going from lobster pound to lobster pound, savoring all of the traditional recipes.  Book a whale-watching or Atlantic Puffin cruise!  Go to Acadia National Park and stand there in awe of the natural, raw beauty that is DownEast coastal Maine.  Please.