March 7, 2010
Area Attractions, Camp Activities
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Yesterday, I was listening in on Tami’s phone conversation with a camper, and they asked her what there was to do in the area.
“Why would anyone want to LEAVE the campground?” I grumbled, after she’d hung up the phone.
“Maxx, Maxx, Maxx,” she laughed. “There’s more out in the world than just the campground you know.”
GASP! “Bite your tongue!” I said. “Everything they need is right here!
Like swimming and kayaking and fishing in the lake
Wildlife watching too! Especially the eagles, beavers, loons and herons.
What about races in the pool, huh?
and other cool kids activities like ice cream making, horseshoes, kids candy bar bingo, Wednesday night campfires with popcorn, pool tournaments, arts and crafts and sports and games and stuff
I mean, we’ve got lots of wicked fun themes and stuff happening every day, all day in July and August!”
I was on a roll now! “And . . and . . . there’s spectacular shows like BJ Hickman, The Steelgraves and Mad Science . . .”
Tami held up a hand to interrupt me. “All those things are fun Maxx, but so is going to the Maine Wildlife Park just down the road. I love to watch the moose, raccoons, mountain lion, lynx and coyotes, porcupines and black bears.
And you know how much we like to go hiking and geo-caching. Especially on our two new favorite trails, Mt. Apatite and Mt. Rattlesnake The views from the peaks were amazing, and our customers will think so too.
exploring Portland’s Old Port, is always fun, and so is taking a cruise around the harbor, spending time in the museums, hanging out at the Head Light
and exploring the rocky coastline of Two Lights.”
Tami shook her finger at me. “Even David and I escape one day a week to play outside the campground. There’s so many places to go and things to do, we always have a hard time choosing. Beaches, museums, shopping, restaurants, tours . . . I had to make a booklet for our customers about it all.”
I folded my arms. “Yeah. Okay. So, maybe your right. But we have one thing that NONE of those places has.”
“Really? And what’s that Maxx?”
“None of them have ME!
Maxwell Moose!”
Tami patted my nose. “You are one of a kind Maxx. That’s why we keep you.”
Tami adds: Click on the tags to the right: hiking, day trips or things to do to bring up blog posts about other fun things to do in the area.
October 2, 2009
Area Attractions
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Hey! Maxx here!!
This summer, Tami, Dave and Ben discovered two awesome hiking trails. And they’re only 15 to 20 minutes away from the campground! Sheesh. You think they would have found them sooner . . .
The first was Mt Apatite in Auburn Maine, just off of Route 11.
Mt. Apatite was an important part of Maine’s mining history. They mined commercial feldspar, and found (among other precious minerals and crystals) green and pink tourmaline. So if you like rock hounding, this is a great spot!
Tami said she saw lots of quartz and mica on the trails, and she brought me a couple pieces.
Dave said he and Ben got to play with their new hiking GPS a little bit . . . this photo makes me think of the commercial for UP
“With my handy dandy GPS, we’ll NEVER get lost!”
Not only didn’t they get lost, but they found two geo-caches with it!
Ben was pretty excited to have found these humongous polywogs sunning just below the surface of the water, too.
He said it was the best hike ever!
But he says that about aaaaaaallll the hikes.
Later on in the summer, they hiked to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain off of Rt. 85.
Tami said it it was a nice hike with an early upward climb and fabulous views! They took a picnic lunch and looked out over Sebago Lake, Panther Pond and Jordan’s Bay.
Then they kept following the trail across the top of the mountain to another lookout point with a view of the White Mountains.
Unfortunately, the geo cache on this mountain was missing, but Dave and Ben left a note in a bottle in it’s place so the next treasure hunters would have something to find.
Tami and Dave love to try out new hiking trails and area attractions. After 19 years of exploring with the kids, they have a wicked long list of local things to do from hiking, to beaches to shopping to wildlife farms to museums! Everyone who checks into the campground is given a list. If your looking for recommendations, just ask Tami! Or you can click on a tag at the right of the screen to bring up past blog posts.
Did ya notice that Alex and I didn’t get to go hiking this year?
We had to stay behind and work.
I think we’re gonna have to do something about that in 2010!
April 9, 2008
Area Attractions
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The Freeport area is one of our favorite family Monday outings. It has something for all of us and is only thirty to forty miles from the campground.
We usually pack a picnic lunch and go to Wolf Neck Woods State Park first to get a little hiking in.
Wolf Neck boasts five miles of fairly level trails, with one of them being handicapped accessible. You can choose from several lengths of trail, and all are easy hiking. Still, be sure to carry some drinking water and wear your sneakers.
There’s plenty of streams to poke around in
and some bridges to cross
Just be careful you don’t run into a troll!!
Some of the trails wind along the edge of Casco Bay and the Harraseeket River where the boys climbed rocks, poked in crevices and explored tidal pools to their hearts content.
Our favorite trail is the Casco Bay Trail. It takes you down to where you can see a series of islands. Osprey’s nest there. Have you ever seen them fish? They’re fun to watch.
So bring your binoculars and/or camera!
When we reach the coastline, we usually sit for a bit and drink it all in. The views are gorgeous. The forest is peaceful. It’s the perfect place to get away from everything, experience nature and do a little bird watching.
After hiking, we have lunch in the picnic area under the trees. Tables and grills are provided . . . bathrooms are nearby.
Then we load up and drive into downtown Freeport, home of the famous L. L. Bean. We always hit the Outlet Store before going to the retail store. You can usually find some wicked good deals there.
After shopping at L. L. Bean, we get an ice cream at the Ben and Jerry’s stand. It’s conveniently located right outside Bean’s entrance. Mmmmmm . . . coffee heathbar on a sugar cone. My favorite!
Then we shop a little more: Cool As A Moose, The Mangy Moose, Yankee Candle, Lindt Chocolate, Earrings and Co., Reebok . . . the list goes on and on and on! It’s fun to walk the streets and look at everything they have to offer.
There are many, many fabulous places to eat in Freeport, from hot dog stands, to pubs to fine dining. You’ll see a list on the Freeport website (link is listed above) as well as other sightseeing ideas.
But we like to stop on the way home at the Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth, right off of Route 1. Steak, seafood, pasta . . . their menu has something for everyone. I can recommend the Broiled Seafood Medley.
March 11, 2008
Area Attractions
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In July and August, my family and I try to arrange one day a week to play outside the campground. It’s become a tradition we call Family Day, and has been a fabulous way to connect with our kids as well as recharge.
It also allows us to experience/experiment with day trips, seeing which ones our kids like vs. what we adults like. Then we pass on the information to you, our campers.
Last year our favorite trip was Monhegan Island. It had everything! Hiking, wildlife watching, quaint stores, views galore!
We chose to ride the Hardy Boat Cruises Monhegan Ferry out of New Harbor, a pretty little coastal town. It took approximately 1 hour to drive there from the campground. Parking was $2 for the day. The boat ride was $30 per adult and $18 for children under 12, and well worth it. This was not our boat, but we rode one similar
We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the view. The captain kept us entertained with historical information about the harbor and the coastline. Pretty soon, he slowed down to show us a basking shark. A little while later we saw puffins!
Once on Monhegan, you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. There were very few vehicles. Dirt roads wound past quaint shops and homes.
We were there for the hiking though, and we set off to find it. We were not disappointed with the views:
There are short, fairly easy hiking trails and then there are the longer and more difficult ones. We chose the longer trails that wound along the islands shoreline. Ben, who had just turned 10, had no problem. He totally enjoyed the opportunity to climb to his hearts content. We packed a picnic lunch to eat on the trail, but there were plenty of places to sit and eat on Monhegan itself. A tip: if you plan to hike, bring a plenty of water with you or buy it on the island before you set out. We saw too many families who hadn’t taken any water at all, and were tired and thirsty halfway through their hike. We ended up sharing some of our water with an older couple.
Toward the end of the trail we discovered a huge display of fairy houses! Visitors to the island are encouraged to build them. There had to be at least fifty
Back in town, we found some ice cream (we always manage to find ice cream!) and wandered the streets to find photo opportunities like these:
I had more fun taking pictures of gardens, homes, signs, views, piles of lobster traps, the lighthouse . .. Monhegan is a photographer’s dream.
Before we set out on this trip, one of my friends said, “You can’t walk two feet without finding an artist”. She wasn’t kidding! Painters are everywhere on Monhegan. Even on the trails.
As we sat on the top deck of the Ferry heading home, I thought for sure my day was complete. But then we saw this guy
A seal! We actually saw five or six more before our trip was done.
Back in New Harbor, we watched some lobstermen unload their boats. Then we had a fabulous seafood dinner right on the pier at Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf.
