Ever since I was a little kid, I have gone to Maine with my family on vacations. When I was much younger, we would rent a house with my cousins and grandma for a few days, but in recent years, as we have all gotten older and busier, we have shifted toward road trips to Kennebunkport.
This past weekend, right after I got out of work on Thursday, I drove to Bedford Massachusetts with my mom and sister to visit my cousins, my aunt and my uncle for the weekend. The drive ended up not being bad. It took about two and a half hours to get there.
Right when we arrived, we decided to go to get dinner and see Mama Mia 2 at a nearby movie theater in a shopping plaza. We grabbed food at a pizza place called Midici before where we ate a ton of garlic bread and other delicious things. Afterwards we got ice cream at J.P. Licks. The movie ended up being very entertaining and dramatic and cheesy; exactly like I was expecting. I definitely liked the first Mama Mia better, but I could appreciate the entertaining experience of seeing the second one. We got back to their house late and crashed immediately, since we had a long non-stop day.
The next morning, we set out around 10 am for Maine. The drive took about 2 hours and when we arrived the day was perfect: sunny and 75 with a breeze. We immediately parked and headed to The Clam Shack for lunch. I got fried clam strips on a roll with fries and fresh squeezed lemonade. Once we had eaten, we shopped around in some of the nearby stores like The Green Flamingo and Best of Everything. I ended up buying a few books at Fine Print Bookstore (a great small bookshop with awesome titles) and a Kennebunkport long sleeve.
After shopping around for awhile, we decided to go to Mother’s Beach for a few hours before dinner. We basked in the sun and walked along the water. Since the day was so beautiful and warm, the ocean was less chilly than it normally is.
Around 5 pm we headed to Salt and Honey for dinner. The food was delicious all around. I got a veggie burger and so did Katie. Meaghan got chicken, my mom got fish, and aunt Anne got a regular burger. The burger with caramelized onions and bacon was particularly winning. Once we finished dinner, we got various desserts. Aunt Anne and I chose ice cream and Katie and Meaghan picked out fudge from a sweet shop. We drove home around 7 and arrived by 9 pm.
The rest of the night was spent doing part of Meaghan’s HIIT workout with her before bed and sipping wine and catching up more. At around 11 pm, I was exhausted and ready to sleep, so I retired to bed.
Overall, the family time was much needed. I feel very lucky to have the relatives that I do because our relationships are close and supportive. Not everyone can say that. It’s particularly great having cousins so close in age to you; it means you are able to share the experiences of being in the same stages of life with one another.
Stay tuned for my Boston travel diary coming soon 🙂
The Bucketlister 