It's raining. The kitties (Panthers) are losing. So I figured...before I go back to work tomorrow...let's take one more day to remember vacation and give you that review I promised you...The Maine Experience!
As a quick preface, let me just say that this was not meant to be an extravagant vacation. The hubs and I wanted to get away from life for a week (which we tried to do, with varying success!). We didn't care where. We wanted to be active, be together, and do something cool for my birthday.
So like any other addicted athlete, i looked around for marathons within driving distance. Due to injury, a full was out, but the Portland Marathon had a half option that was really affordable ($45) and was only 7 hours away, so that sealed the deal. Pretty foliage, somewhere neither of us had been, and a race on the weekend of my bday? Sign me up!
Travel: The place we stayed in was 475 miles from our house. We drive an SUV, and filled up twice during the trip, with a little extra for a 3rd fill up (gas was about the same in Maine-$3.97. Gas cost about $125. Tolls were ridiculous-all 4 states (NY, Maine, Mass and NH) had tolls...NY was the worst, but tolls were $35 for both ways. Cost of travel: $160.
Food: Okay, the hubs and I are a bit weird here. We looked for a place that had a kitchen because...we don't eat out alot. We bought food at Trader Joe's, brought sandwich stuff, and ate dinner out 3 times in the 6 days....and made stuff at "home" the rest of the week-which was a treat with stuff from a store we don't have back home. Oh, and one of our meals we used a groupon. Trust me, we felt like that was enough-we go out to eat maybe every other month (no joke) so 3 times in a week was awesome! Total cost of groceries and going out to eat (with tips): $120.
Lodging: This, of course, is the big one. When I looked for places (Expedia, Hotwire, Craigslist, etc.) I was looking for something that: had a kicthen, had a gym/pool (hopefully), was within a 20 mile radius of Portland (where the race was) and was less than $100 a night. Yikes. Well, it took alot of patience and searching, but I found the Elmwood Motor Court on Tripadvisor.com.
It was in Old Orchard Beach, which was about 12 miles south of Portland. We were also able to visit Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Kittery, and Portland during the trip. Another bonus-the Eastern trail (65 mile trail road for bikes/running) was really close by, so we could bring our bikes as well.
It was less than a mile from the ocean (score!) and had cottages with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen with microwave, stove and fridge, and porches. It had a pool (we didn't use it). Grills, picnic tables, table tennis, fire pits, playgrounds, shuffleboard courts....and weekly rates. For two bedrooms (the one bedroom was super super small)....the weekly cost was $260. Yeah, you heard that right. For 6 nights, we paid $275 with tax. We were a little nervous....but it was a great place to stay! The bathroom was kind of small, and you had to vent it well, but it worked. The first bedroom had a TV (no VCR or DVD, but 60 channels), so we used it as a living room. The back bedroom was decent sized (both had full beds), and the kitchen was great sized and fine for cooking. The owners were pleasant, had free coffee every morning, and plenty of board games in case of a rainy day. It was within walking distance from the restaurants and beach, and 3 miles from the Eastern trail (on bikeable roads) so we barely used the car at all. Win win. The only downer was that it was pretty gray and some days were straight rain, so it got a bit damp, but that was our fault for opening the windows! It also had AC and heat, which was a bonus.
Etc.: We bought a few "Maine" things" (shot glass, Shipyard brewery, things for a few people at home) and of course, our camera broke the first day we were there, so we had to dash to Walmart and buy a new one ($135) (you know I would die without a camera!). Total cost of "etc": $170 (yeah, we're wild).
Week Long Vacation in Maine Total cost: $725 (well, plus $45 for the race, but that was a birthday present, so I don't count it).
Call us cheap or whatever, but it was a great week filled with racing, beach walks, trail riding, some treats, and everything we needed in a vacation (well, we forgot to pay the weather gods, but that's another story!)
Will we go back? you bet! Rev3 has a race in August right in OOB and we now know the course....hmmm.....not a hard decision!
Have you ever been to Maine? What do you look for when finding a place to go or stay on vacation?
So like any other addicted athlete, i looked around for marathons within driving distance. Due to injury, a full was out, but the Portland Marathon had a half option that was really affordable ($45) and was only 7 hours away, so that sealed the deal. Pretty foliage, somewhere neither of us had been, and a race on the weekend of my bday? Sign me up!
Travel: The place we stayed in was 475 miles from our house. We drive an SUV, and filled up twice during the trip, with a little extra for a 3rd fill up (gas was about the same in Maine-$3.97. Gas cost about $125. Tolls were ridiculous-all 4 states (NY, Maine, Mass and NH) had tolls...NY was the worst, but tolls were $35 for both ways. Cost of travel: $160.
Lodging: This, of course, is the big one. When I looked for places (Expedia, Hotwire, Craigslist, etc.) I was looking for something that: had a kicthen, had a gym/pool (hopefully), was within a 20 mile radius of Portland (where the race was) and was less than $100 a night. Yikes. Well, it took alot of patience and searching, but I found the Elmwood Motor Court on Tripadvisor.com.
It was in Old Orchard Beach, which was about 12 miles south of Portland. We were also able to visit Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Kittery, and Portland during the trip. Another bonus-the Eastern trail (65 mile trail road for bikes/running) was really close by, so we could bring our bikes as well.
Etc.: We bought a few "Maine" things" (shot glass, Shipyard brewery, things for a few people at home) and of course, our camera broke the first day we were there, so we had to dash to Walmart and buy a new one ($135) (you know I would die without a camera!). Total cost of "etc": $170 (yeah, we're wild).
Week Long Vacation in Maine Total cost: $725 (well, plus $45 for the race, but that was a birthday present, so I don't count it).
Call us cheap or whatever, but it was a great week filled with racing, beach walks, trail riding, some treats, and everything we needed in a vacation (well, we forgot to pay the weather gods, but that's another story!)
Will we go back? you bet! Rev3 has a race in August right in OOB and we now know the course....hmmm.....not a hard decision!
Have you ever been to Maine? What do you look for when finding a place to go or stay on vacation?
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