The Story of My Marvelous Maine Vacation
From August 23 to 28, 2024, I went on vacation with my family and stayed at an Airbnb in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
My adventure began with a 4 hour 50 minute car ride from Mount Vernon, New York (where I live) to Old Orchard Beach, Maine (in which I traveled through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire in that order along the way). My dad drove while I assisted with travel directions and navigation. We hit the road at 7 AM and arrived at our destination at 11:50 AM. With the exception of some heavy traffic in a couple of spots, the trip with smooth sailing with only light to moderate traffic the rest of the way.
The highlight of the trip for me was definitely going over the Piscataqua River Bridge on Interstate 95 crossing the border from New Hampshire to Maine. This part of my trip was the most enjoyable as spectacular views mountains of New Hampshire and Maine (not visible in these pictures) were visible far away in the distance against the backdrop of a sunny day and clear blue skies.
Different Viewpoints of the Piscataqua River Bridge
At the first rest area my Dad and I stopped at in Maine, I came across this interesting a small statue/figure of Smokey the Bear next to a Maine Forest Service Fire Danger Sign. As shown below, the fire danger that day was moderate. According to the United States Forest Service website, fire danger is determined by weather, fuels, topography, and risks. You can read more about the National Fire Danger Rating System on the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry website.
After departing the rest area, we continued our trip to our destination. We met my Mom and sister on the beach where we dropped off some supplies. My dad and I then headed to the Airbnb we were staying at to unpack our luggage. We then went to the grocery store to buy food.
Over the course of the vacation (again it was from 8/23/24 to 8/28/24), I participated in a number of different activities. As it was a family vacation, I did not specifically keep track exactly what I did each day. The reason for this was to keep the vacation relaxing. One of the great parts of this vacation was the freedom to do whatever I wanted and not be committed to doing anything.
So as I describe my vacation to you, I will tell you what I generally did over the course of the vacation instead of specific activities on specific days. I can also tell you that my sister was not there for the whole time. She stayed only from Friday, 8/23 to Sunday, 8/25. She had to get back to her home in Northampton, Massachusetts to prepare for a new speech therapist position that began on Monday, 8/26.
One of the things I did was take a short 15 minute walk to Ocean Park which is a community within the town of Old Orchard Beach. This walk was a fun way to explore the community. Note that at the end of this street are the grasses associated with sand dunes. On the other side of the sand dunes is the beach and the Atlantic Ocean (Saco Bay, specifically).
Speaking of sand dunes and the beach, here are some spectacular pictures of the beach, sand dunes, and Saco Bay.
The main activities I did at the beach were boogieboarding (similar to surfing except that you ride the waves on your stomach is the board is much smaller), walking, and just sitting on the beach enjoying the views. The Boogieboarding was a fun, exhilarating activity as I enjoyed riding the waves. A tip for going into the ocean is to be mindful of potential rip currents (not a problem here). This beach also has a very practical rule of not swimming in water greater than chest deep. Rip currents are strong, narrow currents of water that go from the shoreline out to sea. If caught in a rip current, the best thing to do is swim parallel to the shore. When the current weakens, then swim in to shore. Swimming directly against a rip current can drown even the strongest of swimmers. Remember, break the grip of the rip!
In addition to going to the beach, I watched several entertaining Yankees games. I also took a walk in Guild Park where pesky bugs were an issue. This park was not far from where I was staying. I would recommend wearing bug spray if you visit outside of the winter season.
Well, that pretty much covers what I did over the vacation. I will jump ahead to the last day of the vacation (Wednesday, 8/28) to describe what I did and my journey home. On the last day of my vacation, the main thing I did was get the COVID-19 vaccine. After getting vaccinated and packing up all my things, my parents drove me to the Old Orchard Beach Amtrak Train Station. I traveled home ahead of my parents (who stayed through Saturday, 8/31). I headed home early to get ready to attend a Yankees game with 2 of my friends from The Social Club on Friday, 8/30. If your interested, you can read that blog entry by clicking here.
On my train ride (which was headed to Boston, MA North Station), I enjoyed a spectacular view of the Maine countryside. The ride went through 3 states (Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts) and lasted from 1:58 PM to 4:15 PM.
Upon arrival at Boston North Station, I took this picture of the beautiful Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.
From Boston North Station, I had to take the subway to Boston Back Bay, MA Station as Amtrak does not provide service between these two stations. The ride took about 10 minutes. Upon arrival at Boston Back Bay Station, I found the station to be very fascinating from an Architectural standpoint.
From Boston Back Bay Station, I boarded my second Amtrak train of the day and took it to New Rochelle, NY. This train went through 4 states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York). This trip lasted from 6:51 PM to 10:16 PM. Once I arrived in New Rochelle, I took a 10 minute bus ride back to where I live in Mount Vernon, NY. All in all, the train trips were a peaceful, relaxing, and enjoyable way to view cities and the countryside of many different states.
