Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Maine - "The Way Life Should Be"

Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine



I've been off the blog/social media radar the last week, partly due to being exhausted from our family road trip to Maine (8 very packed but fun-filled days) and partly due to attempting to catch up on laundry, cleaning, work, emails, SLEEP. Finally feeling back to normal, though I'm already looking forward to my next trip (the U.P. - this weekend!) I've got wanderlust, for sure.






Acadia National Park! (that's my brother :))
Have any of you been to Maine? I was there once before 7 years ago and liked it then, but this time I fell in love. It's definitely someplace I could picture myself living (Portland in particular). It is so full of beauty, between the rocky shoreline, historic lighthouses, hills and mountains galore, Acadia National Park, oh and the pretty wildflowers! And the food selections were right up my alley. People there seem to care about what they eat. The flatbread restaurant we ate at in Portland had all organic ingredients and they even milled their own wheat. And the salad was so fresh (with Maine blueberries, yum!) The farmers' market we went to in the little town of Union (where my grandpa grew up) was small but had so much variety, including a selection of flavored goat cheeses, yum! It was so charming, with live folk musicians and such a warm, invigorating community feel. And, again, everything was organic (there is only one organic vendor at our farmers market). I felt at home.


My grandpa's 80th birthday celebration/family reunion was a relaxed but memorable day. I got to meet so many extended family members and had some really great conversations. I met my great aunt Carol for the first time (my mom's middle-namesake) and I could have talked to her for hours! She is a brilliant lady, with a PhD in Genetics(!) She relived with me the ten years her and her hubby lived in a teepee when she was around my age(!) We talked nutrition lots, and I found out that her mother (my great-grandmother) got her degree in Nutrition at Cornell way back in the day.. amazing! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hope to pursue a Masters degree in Nutrition once hubby is a professor :) SO neat to find this out about my great-grandmother.. It's like the passion got passed down. I felt an instant connection to this lady I had never had the chance to meet. I already knew my love for cooking was passed down through my grandma (who instilled it into my mom who instilled it in me), but turns out the roots are even deeper and richer.



Anyway, I did not expect to ramble so much in this post about such things but it was just too meaningful not to gush about. If you've thought about traveling to Maine, you should definitely go! I hope to return with Joel in the not-so-distant future, since he wasn't able to join us because of his summer teaching schedule (so sad). I'm SO looking forward to his incredibly crazy summer schedule to end.. this Fall should be pretty wonderful :)




9 comments:

Tiffany Kadani said...

Welcome back! I have always wanted to go to Maine and this just whet my appetite for it. Speaking of, I love that your love for good eats is deep in your genes. So beautiful! And you look fantastic!!! Wow oh wow! And your bro is so handsome- great family genes for sure!

Sandy a la Mode said...

oh my! what a beautiful place!! this really is making me want to go on a vacation!!

xo,
Sandy
Sandy a la Mode

Beth @ The Goad Abode said...

I love Maine! and it's beautiful rocky coast :) I should go there more often since I'm just a few hours away. It's my goal to get to Acadia next summer, I haven't been there for almost 20 years!

Megan said...

I've always wanted to go to Maine and this post just makes me want to go all the more!! It sounds like you had a wonderful visit with your family!! xo

Blair McLeod said...

i mean ridiculous!!
i have got to get up there!!!! love thse fphotos!

Faith said...

I've wanted to visit Maine for so long! Perhaps when the kids are a little older. Sounds like you had an awesome time! The photos are gorgeous!

nest + venture said...

oh my gosh, that first photo is so gorgeous. what a beautiful area!

becca said...

so, so gorgeous!

I'm happy that you loved your trip as much as you did.
and the food sounds amazing!
so perfect for your new project!

Anonymous said...

beautiful pics!!