A slice of Maine
We'd barely arrived home before I heard one of the girls say, "I miss Maine."
After our glorious week in Bar Harbor, we arrived home tired, but happy. An extra night had to be spent in Portland, next to the airport, as storms and lightning in the Baltimore region made the only evening flight impossible.
“Wouldn't it be great if we had our own place in Maine?”
Sweating in the evening humidity and 90 degree heat of the day, I wished for the cool ocean breezes along the coast of Maine. "I miss the fog," my husband said. We both sighed.
Frequently during the following months we referred to our trip, the sights, the beauty of Acadia. We told our family and friends about our adventures, and how much we yearned to go back. The food at home didn't taste as good as in Bar Harbor. There were no beaches nearby, and no rocky shores to explore. The sunsets were hidden by the neighbor's houses, and the mid-Atlantic heat was stifling.
"Wouldn't it be great if we had our own place in Maine?" I asked no one in particular.
Confined due to Covid
For Christmas, we decided to reduce our spending on gifts and "stuff," and save money for our vacations in 2020. We focused on family for the holidays, and welcomed a shining New Year.
In January, Holly and the girls and mom started taking rock climbing lessons and joined the local climbing gym. Five years old was big enough to begin bouldering, and Lilah loved it. Violet took 'after school' lessons, and begged to practice rappelling every night once Mom passed the test.
We decided to make Holly's bucket list trip to the Grand Canyon during spring break -- a trip to Arizona. We'd visit the botanical gardens, star-gazing sites, and as many of the buildings created by Frank Lloyd Wright as possible. The ladies would also go climbing in the canyons, and Dad --who isn't as fond of heights-- would take photos.
For our summer vacation, we planned a return to Maine and an exploration of the more southerly areas of Down East. Maybe another nature cruise, a lobster bake, and the Botanical Gardens. "We're saving money for vacation!" was a frequent refrain when the girls begged for take-out food or extra treats...
But then in March, Covid-19 came. What looked to be a localized virus which could be contained ended up taking over the world. Maryland entered lockdown as the pandemic swirled across the Americas. We were sent home from work for 'two weeks, just to be safe.' The children were sent home from school, and 'super-spreader' events tracked transmission from one US city to the next. We watched the nightly news, shocked and terrified.
As spring moved on, we stayed in place. We cancelled our travel plans and started talking about 'after it's over' as something that would in the very near-future. Spring turned into summer, though, and the community pools were closed. Parks and beaches were closed. Like so many other Americans, we started shopping 100% online, staying home unless absolutely necessary. The streets in our neighborhood were emptied of cars, and we took long walks in the early mornings and evenings.
The hot summer dragged on, and we thought wistfully of Maine. "It would be so cool there," we'd say, thinking of the fogs rolling into Bar Harbor each night.
"We could eat lobster!" Holly would suddenly declare during at-home dinners.
"We could go to the beach," the girls said sadly.
As August approached, we had no idea when we'd be able to move about freely or to travel out-of-state. Many required proof of negative Covid tests, or blocked out-of-staters altogether. The need to escape the heat and to regain our lives was growing. Maybe became the mantra for another trip to Maine. Maybe.
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