Maine

So, I recently flew across the country to camp (yes, camp) in the wilds of Maine for a few days.

Let me back up. Long, long ago, before I decided to move myself to the middle of nowhere (i.e. Nebraska) to subject myself to a grueling path of pain and study (i.e. graduate school), I had this lovely thing called a job which provided oh..., it's been so long....how you say?...money... for which to purchase extravagances like food, shelter, clothing. You know, the little things.

Now, lest you think I'm hobbling around in a burlap sack trying to stay warm huddled inside my cardboard box, I can assure you that I'm doing alright for myself. But, it is not an exaggeration to say that, since returning to school, I've had to readjust to life without some "conveniences" to which I had become so accustomed in my few years as a working, contributing member of society.

One thing that has hit the chopping block is the yearly trips my sister and I used to take together during the summer. My sister and I both worked for the public schools and, as such, enjoyed vacations that coincided with each other. We loved venturing up and down the Oregon/California coasts and one year even made a memorable cross-country roadtrip to Chicago and back. These trips were loads of fun. We'd stop on a whim to sightsee, played killer games of 20 Questions, ate cheese curds and muddy buddies, and chatted the whole time. I'm telling you, loads of fun.

Unfortunately, now that I live halfway across the country, no longer work for the public schools, and presently enjoy the monetary standing of a graduate student (perhaps "monetary sitting" would be more appropriate...or "monetary laying on the ground"), it is now ixnay on the awesome ips-tray.

But, this year, we decided to reinvoke the Sarah-and-Katy Roadtrip Extravaganza!

As we considered where to go and what to do--cost was certainly a factor because of aforementioned current socioeconomic standing (mine, not hers...)--we settled on exploring the northern part of New England in Maine, a place neither of us had ever explored before. I was excited to visit an unfamiliar coastline and frolic in the Atlantic Ocean. As we discussed cost-effective alternatives to save on dinero, we talked about the feasibility of camping to save on lodging costs. We knew it would be cheaper, but wondered if the tradeoffs (the absence of consistent showering facilities....having to transport camping gear across the country...) would be worth the gains (camping in Maine!!!). In the end, we decided it was a crapshoot and the only way to know if it'd be a good idea was to give it a whirl. We made some reservations, finnagled gear into our respective baggage, and finalized the plans.

And here is my verdict.

Camping in Maine was AWESOME.

I had just finished a grueling 3-week exam and could not have hand-selected a better place to go to escape school, escape the world, and just recharge. No cell phone service. No e-mail. No TV. Just glorious, glorious wilderness. And my sister.

We made some delicious meals over the campfire. Hot dogs, s'mores (we found using Ghiradelli chocolate squares in place of a Hershey bar is muy bueno), spontaneous tinfoil dinners, roasted corn on the cob, blueberry cobbler (using fresh Maine blueberries, crushed graham crackers, a smidgeon of butter, and marshmallows for sugar), bacon on a stick, grilled laughing-cow ham-and-cheese bagelthin sandwiches, and roasted starbursts (oh my goodness...pure heaven).

We splurged on Maine specialties such as lobster rolls and whoopie pies.

We explored coastline. We drove on beautiful winding roads.

And I recharged.

Would I camp in Maine again? Heck yes, I would.