Maine: A vacation wonder land

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You know, I think a lot of people look over Maine. I myself am guilty of it. It's just not a state I, and I assume a vast majority of travelers, tend to think of when planning a vacation or trip. That's a shame. I haven't been here 24 hours yet, and already I can see why Maine displays the phrase "Vacationland" on their license plates. I can't think of a state nickname that is truer. And perhaps my sentiments are such because the first actual excursion I've been on since entering the state yesterday boasts the "million dollar view." Who can beat that?

Not many people. But what people can beat at Popham State Beach is the ocean. At low tide, it's possible to walk across what would be the ocean floor to Fox Island, an island that is situated right off the ever changing coast. It was incredible to walk down on the beach from the parking lot and be able to see where we can walk out to the island. What was more incredible was the fog rolling across the ocean. When we stopped for lunch a tiny little homemade cafe (if you would call it that, it was literally a house/general store/cafe all in one), a woman there said they had just come in from Popham and the fog was rolling in, perfect for great pictures. So we were really excited for that. And once we were out there, out excitement just increased exponentially. It was so cool, walking on the sand bar in the mist. It was very surreal too, because it was such a day of contrasts. One second it'd be very warm out, and then the wind would come and chill you to the bones. It was very sunny out, and yet the haze seemed to make its way all around.

We took our time getting to Fox Island, watching the fog, looking down at the sand to see how strange it was (it wasn't like beach sand; it felt like you were walking a cross between concrete and highly compacted soil, and it was full of little shiny pieces of sand that looked like gold), collecting shells (there were a lot of shells), and watching the tide ebb, back and forth, back and forth very slowly. Actually it didn't really ebb, it kind of just... rolled until it was no more. Since there really wasn't a lot of definition of a coast line, the water just kind of flowed forward until it ran out of momentum. At least for most of the "coast line." Because Popham is situated between two rivers, part of the ocean that touches the beach has a weird confluence that produces random waves. That was another neat thing to see. Normally waves have the white crest once they get to the turf, but at Popham, you'd see waves capping a few hundred feet from shore.

Once we got to Fox Island there were a few people there, but we didn't mind. The island was pretty cool; there were a lot of things to explore. So we climbed to the top and looked around at the surrounding Maine coast line. Man! Good thing I'm not more of a geography nerd otherwise I don't think I'd be able stop talking about how utterly beautiful and unique it is. Suffice it to say that the Mid-Coast region of Maine is breath taking. Go there. You won't regret it. Or at least look at the pictures.

The rest of our time at Popham was spent looking into tide pools around Fox Island and/or wading in fairly large tide pools (I think they were more of a sort of spontaneous river), examining the various patters of sand created by the different water movements (it was really art), and chasing seagulls back along the sandy stretches of beach. I also spent a good deal of time just watching the water hit the rocks of Fox Island. I've got to say, I'm fascinated and completely in love with water. I probably could have stayed there for hours watching the water move in and around the island and beach, though Keith wanted to get moving at a bit faster pace than I did. Oh well. I'll get to see plenty of ocean and waves and new places while I'm here in Maine. I don't even mind the fact that it takes a good amount of time to get most places. We're staying/camping actually on an island just south of Boothbay Harbor called Southport Island, a beautiful place in itself. I would actually be contented to spend the rest of our time here in Maine just around the campsite since it's literally a five minute walk to the ocean from our campsite. And the view is gorgeous. Maine is gorgeous. I love it. Can't wait to see what we stumble upon tomorrow.

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