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Log inVacationland awaits: Here's how to have fun
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Vacationland awaits: Here's how to have fun
by Outspoken on Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:11 am
Vacationland awaits: Here's how to have fun
By Emily Burnham
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
Remember a few years back, right after Hurricane Katrina, when gas jumped from around $2.30 to more than $3 a gallon? We all watched, horrified, outraged and utterly disgusted that such a thing could occur. It can't get any worse than this. Anything higher is inconceivable.
How we long for those halcyon days. In July 2008, people would run over each other to be first in line for $3 a gallon. It’s that bad.
And as prices climb ever higher and wallets grow ever lighter, plans for a big summer vacation are stymied. Who wants to drive to Pennsylvania to visit Aunt Edna when it costs 60 bucks to fill up the tank? You can’t really afford that big lobster feed on the coast this year when winter heating bills loom large on the horizon.
Take it easy, weary traveler. You don’t have to resign yourself to a summer of swatting mosquitoes while sitting on your back porch. There’s plenty to do right here in our fair state, and it’s all within reasonable driving distance. Better yet, it’s all cheap. Some of it’s even free.
Take a look at these 10 options for summer fun in Maine. Try some of them out. They don’t call it Vacationland for nothing.
Fields Pond, Holden
Here you’ll find 192 acres of pristine waters, forests and fields, and it’s a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Bangor. You could spend a whole day at Fields Pond Audubon Center canoeing and hiking in the summer or snowshoeing in winter. In any season, there’s lots of wildlife to spot. The L. Robert Rolde Nature Center offers workshops on everything from native bird species to nature poetry. Fields Pond is open from dawn to dusk every day all year. The Nature Center is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. To get there, take a left off Parkway South in Brewer onto Elm Street, which becomes Wiswell Road. Fields Pond Road will be on your right. For information, call 989-2591.
Contradances
Be a part of a tradition that stretches back to the 17th century, and try your hand (or feet, as it were) at contradancing. The contradance has enjoyed an extended revival for 60 years, especially in New England. Typically, a dance is preceded by a lesson for beginners. There’s often a potluck, and admission to dances generally runs from $6 to $8. Regular contradances are held in Orono (fall through spring at the Keith Anderson Community Center), Belfast (monthly at the American Legion Hall, www.belfastflyingshoes.org), Blue Hill (at the Blue Hill Town Hall) and in Bangor (at Unitarian Universalist Church).
More here: http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=167615&zoneid=164
(Photos By Bangor Daily News/Bridget Brown)
AP PHOTO BY PAT WELLENBACH
(Bangor Daily News/Kevin Bennett)
By Emily Burnham
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
Remember a few years back, right after Hurricane Katrina, when gas jumped from around $2.30 to more than $3 a gallon? We all watched, horrified, outraged and utterly disgusted that such a thing could occur. It can't get any worse than this. Anything higher is inconceivable.
How we long for those halcyon days. In July 2008, people would run over each other to be first in line for $3 a gallon. It’s that bad.
And as prices climb ever higher and wallets grow ever lighter, plans for a big summer vacation are stymied. Who wants to drive to Pennsylvania to visit Aunt Edna when it costs 60 bucks to fill up the tank? You can’t really afford that big lobster feed on the coast this year when winter heating bills loom large on the horizon.
Take it easy, weary traveler. You don’t have to resign yourself to a summer of swatting mosquitoes while sitting on your back porch. There’s plenty to do right here in our fair state, and it’s all within reasonable driving distance. Better yet, it’s all cheap. Some of it’s even free.
Take a look at these 10 options for summer fun in Maine. Try some of them out. They don’t call it Vacationland for nothing.
Fields Pond, Holden
Here you’ll find 192 acres of pristine waters, forests and fields, and it’s a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Bangor. You could spend a whole day at Fields Pond Audubon Center canoeing and hiking in the summer or snowshoeing in winter. In any season, there’s lots of wildlife to spot. The L. Robert Rolde Nature Center offers workshops on everything from native bird species to nature poetry. Fields Pond is open from dawn to dusk every day all year. The Nature Center is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. To get there, take a left off Parkway South in Brewer onto Elm Street, which becomes Wiswell Road. Fields Pond Road will be on your right. For information, call 989-2591.
Contradances
Be a part of a tradition that stretches back to the 17th century, and try your hand (or feet, as it were) at contradancing. The contradance has enjoyed an extended revival for 60 years, especially in New England. Typically, a dance is preceded by a lesson for beginners. There’s often a potluck, and admission to dances generally runs from $6 to $8. Regular contradances are held in Orono (fall through spring at the Keith Anderson Community Center), Belfast (monthly at the American Legion Hall, www.belfastflyingshoes.org), Blue Hill (at the Blue Hill Town Hall) and in Bangor (at Unitarian Universalist Church).
More here: http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=167615&zoneid=164
(Photos By Bangor Daily News/Bridget Brown)
AP PHOTO BY PAT WELLENBACH
(Bangor Daily News/Kevin Bennett)
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
