A story by Rebekah Tower
Maine is one of my most favorite places to go. My grandparents bought a vacation home in Ogunquit, Maine in September 1991, a month before I was born. My mom drove 2 ½ hours from Charlton, Massachusetts to Ogunquit by herself for Columbus Day weekend. Once she got to my grandparent’s house, my Poppa spent the whole weekend panicking that my mom would go into labor while she was there. My mom had to keep telling him that she was pretty sure there were hospitals in Maine, just in case. Fortunately, I waited a little longer and was born later that week.
I have many fond memories of going to Maine as a kid. My whole family somehow managed to fit in that little house at one time without any drama. We always had a routine of what we did every time we visited. Every trip was just as special as the last. We always went to Footbridge Beach. Since parking was expensive, we would all pile into somebody’s van with our beach accoutrements and my Poppa would drop us off at the parking lot. Or we would walk from the house to the beach, which was probably only a mile, but when you are five or six years old and spent the whole day jumping the waves and playing in the sand, the walk back felt like it took forever.
Another tradition we always had to do was ride the trolley. We would wait at the closest trolley stop with such anticipation and excitement, wondering and guessing which trolley would pick us up (each trolley had their own name). We would ride the trolley to Perkins Cove and go to the Perkins Cove Candy Store, or after supper we would ride the whole trolley route. It felt good with the wind blowing in my face as the sun was setting. Riding the trolley was one of my favorite things to do. When it was time to go home, I always cried because I did not want to leave Maine.
My grandparents sold their house in Ogunquit when I was thirteen years old. When my mom told me, I was so devastated that I cried my eyes out. Fortunately, Maine is not a far drive, so we would go on day trips to go to the beach and do all the things we had done before. Even now that I am living in another state, I always try to go to Maine when I visit my family. When I go to Maine, all my trials and worries stay at the border and I feel at peace; everything is going to be okay. Hopefully I will have a family of my own someday and I look forward to the time that I get to introduce them to the paradise that is Maine and do all the things that I have always done before.
