"I LOVE life right now...

...I'm so HAPPY!"
~hearing those words from your 13 year old daughter
as we cruised down the coastal road in Kennebunkport Maine
with the music playing
and the breeze blowing our hair through the open window...
made ME so happy.

HAPPY that I was on a girls road trip with my own girls...


HAPPY that they have the ability to recognize the "special moments".
HAPPY that they LOVED being in Maine as much as I did!

What's to love about life in Maine???
Hmmm...where do I begin...
(and before I get started, let me apologize for so many photos...
but there is just so much to share!
So Mom, please feel free to delete them all after reading
so you don't eat up all of your computer space:)
Okay, so we flew to Portland and drove to Kennebunkport for the weekend


before dropping Taylor off for a 6 week summer Russian ballet program.

Reasons to LOVE life in Maine:

1. Being greeted at the airport by rocking chairs.


Already I know...I'm in LOVE and I might never want to go home:)

2. The weather. Sunny with blue skies but WITHOUT the sweltering humidity
we live with during Florida summers.

3. Green grass, flowers and trees everywhere.


Including Jordie's favorite flower...
the daisy...because they are HAPPY:)


Maui...I'm so sorry we don't live here.
You would LOVE running in the soft green grass!

4. Driving to Kennebunkport.
This HAS to be the cutest name of a city ever...
and it's so much fun to say.
Go ahead...say it..."Kenn-e-bunk-port":)
Have I mentioned how much we LOVED Kennebunkport???

5. NICE people!
Seriously...the nicest people I have met in a long time.
Always smiling, friendly, proud of their city, willing to help...
AND, they actually let you in to traffic rather than cutting you off...
which I have become accustomed to, unfortunately.

6. Churches EVERYWHERE!
Usually pretty white churches with beautiful steeples.


Steeples EVERYWHERE!


And if you have read my blog for a long time,
you know I LOVE steeples...
and barns.
And there are LOTS of those!

7. Shopping...
in Kennebunkport!


Great shops, selling everything from jewelry (can you say sea glass?)
souvenirs, home decor (especially the coastal New England style...LOVE IT),
pretty clothing and accessories,
TONS of beautiful art work and crafts too,
Quilt shops
and ANTIQUES...OH YEAH!!!



8. EATING in Kennebunkport...
especially whoopie pies,


homemade candy (best saltwater taffy EVER)
blueberries,
and seafood...especially seafood...
especially lobster.
(which we found very hard to eat once we found some
cute little lobsters along the rocky shore)


And wouldn't you know it...
we fell in love with a little pizza place!
Some things never change:)

9. Beautiful homes...
with large front porches!


I want one...
Like this...


or even this...


Phil, are you listening? haha
The house across from our B & B was a beautiful white
house with a big porch...
and they had a dinner party for friends...
on the LAWN...
with tables, tablecloths, candles...
It was so pretty!
And something we NEVER have down here.
I loved it...
and I want to be their friend too..
so I can go to the dinner party on the lawn:)

10. Lovely Bed & Breakfast's...
like The Kennebunkport Inn


which is where we stayed.


This is the life!

11. Things to do...
like Whale Watching boat rides,


carriage rides,
visiting the"Wedding Cake Mansion"...


and...
the Franciscan Monastery...


which we did and which was a beautiful, calming place.
It could only have been better if we stumbled on some monks
making some fabulous fruitcake!!! :)

12. Let's see...what else...
the obvious appreciation of history and faith.
The side of a barn in Kennebunkport...



Renovating old homes and buildings instead of tearing them down,
like this old gas station...


turned into a cool place to live...
complete with AMAZING barn doors...


and an AWESOME vintage gas pump out front.



APPRECIATING the presence of people who have served this country...
and made Kennebunkport their home...
like the Bush family.
Driving along the coast you see the beautiful rocky landscape of
Walker's Point...


summer home to former President Bush and his family.

13. Speaking of the rocky coast...


we know beaches!
We LOVE beaches!!
but it has been a LONG time since we enjoyed a beach as much as
Kennebunkport Beach and Mother's Beach.


Cool water splashing on the rocks...


families playing on the beach...
children looking for crabs...
(something that has been done for generations, I might add)...
breeze blowing to keep you cool from the bright sun...
lighthouses in the distance...
beautiful homes



and shingled barn-like resorts along the coast.


Amazing beaches!



14. I can talk about the beaches without mentioning the BEST part...
SEAGLASS!!!


I would go back tomorrow just to find more seaglass!!!
Because it is rare down here,
when we find ONE piece on the beach down here,
it is automatically a GOOD day at the beach!
(More on seaglass tomorrow...lucky you:)

15. Okay...I have to mention this...
It is DOG-FRIENDLY!!!
So boys, maybe one day I'll get you up there!!
Wouldn't you love this dog mat we found?



16. Just downright QUAINT...
Look at these signs.


There are no traditional street signs in Kennebunkport that we say...
just signs like this pointing you in the right direction
for where you need to go.
We saw plenty of yard sales, picnics
and even a preschool graduation ceremony.
Oh...and how about a lemonade stand on main street???


So...what about the rest of Maine???
More of the same...
antiques, steeples, barns, nice people, cute shops...
How about this McDonalds in Freeport...


in a restored historical home.
Your eyes aren't playing tricks...
if you look closely the sign says McDonalds.
See...preserve the old and make it new again!
Seeing the state capitol building in August over a valley


and nestled in some trees...
Beautiful!

Why am I going on and on...
because we had such a great time, of course...
but maybe it's because it was a reminder that there are great
little places like this in every state...
if we take the opportunity to travel
and explore.
The slogan of Maine is...
Maine..."The way life should be"...
Guess that says it all for me:)
and the mascot of Maine seems to be the Moose.


My message to you is...




So...
until we meet again,
hopefully Tomorrow when I write about... Seaglass, Whoopie Pies...and God.
Please stop by again:)

XOXOXO
Suzanne