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My wife and I are currently on vacation in Maine. We’re visiting my family and it’s cold. It feels like fall has set in already and on the highway here I saw trees already starting to change color just outside of Bangor! According to my family the summer has been brutally dry and hot, unusually so and the blueberry harvest was abysmal, the worst in a very long time. We had hoped to go mushrooming but it’s been so dry the chantarelles are not showing at all.

We also missed the Blueberry Festival which is a shame since it is generally a good time and we eat lots of good food and buy a few crafts.
Next year.

This area of Maine is currently cold. I woke to temps in the 50s and predicted day time temps barely reaching the 70s! I’ve got on jeans for the first time since June!

Despite the cold we have plans to visit a few choice places- West Quoddy Head, Jasper’s Beach, and Roque Bluffs. Unfortunately Cobscook Bay State Park is closed for renovations. If you are an out of state visitor to any of these parks the fees for day use is low and very affordable. Adult fee is between $4 and $10 per adult and is generally done through a self administered drop box and cash only. Maine should really consider getting a Venmo or other app to charge for these spots. (Jasper’s Beach isn’t a park per se, but more of a local scenic spot- the beach is full of polished stones and is gorgeous. Not great for swimming but great for looking.)  There are signs at every location telling you about fees. Be prepared with cash at every spot.

Interesting to note that in Mass every campground is $17 per spot for residents for non-residents the fees are substantially higher. In Maine the camping spots are more expensive and vary widely from location to location. Fees aren’t that much more expensive for non-residents.

I plan on doing some drawing at each spot while my wife chills out.

Our trip here was uneventful except we made an unusual stop in Portland- to go to Artist and Craftsman Supply. When I was in college this was a road trip for us. We’d all pile into someone’s car and drive down to Portland with our class supply list and pick up our art supplies at a much better price than the local art supply store. Since their location in Saugus (just a few miles from me at home in Mass) has gone out of business I have been searching for my favorite watercolors in person. Sadly, this location does NOT carry Holbein watercolors. Instead they had quite a few other brands so I picked up my color selection from a mix of more expensive (Daniel Smith) and less expensive (Qor) brands. They did not have several colors in stock so I’ll be forced to order those tubes online, though, I’m tempted to make a road trip to Providence, RI and see if Jerry’s has any in stock. I realize that I could make a trip into Boston and go to Blick but for whatever reason Blick is always my last choice for art supplies.

I spent far to much but actually stuck to my rule for buying art supplies- I may only purchase supplies that I have run out of, I may not buy new supplies.