Ten miles out to sea, tiny Monhegan Island is Maine in miniature, a 700-acre artist’s rendering of everything that makes this stretch of coast called Down East great. On its eastern side, towering headland cliffs greet the pounding Atlantic, while from the western (village) side hikers can set out on 17 miles of wooded trails that criss-cross the island. Only about 60 people live here year-round. There are no cars, and no paved roads; until 1984 there wasn’t even electricity. What there is is peace and quiet—and artists, lots of artists.

Monhegan Island Maine

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Voted one of the World’s Best by Travel + Leisure Magazine in 2011, Inn by the Sea is Maine’s premier luxury beach destination. All 57 guest rooms, suites and cottages have been designed to pamper you with comfort in a sophisticated palette of deep red, cognac and charcoal with maple furnishings and locally commissioned artwork.

Inn By The Sea Maine

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If you had to pick one symbol to represent coastal Maine, it would have to be the lighthouse. Standing out on a cliff, or on top of a storm-racked island, these beacons act as earthbound stars to sailors on the dark sea. More than 60 of them dot the state’s shoreline, from Cape Neddick in the south to West Quoddy Head in the north, at the Canadian border; and many of them are accessible to the public.

Maine Lighthouses

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It is always a difficult task to try and come up with interesting activities for the children when they accompany you on your trips around the country. Notice I say it may be difficult but it is not impossible. As an example, we decided to take a vacation to the state of Maine and as anyone would guess there simply is not an abundance of things for children to do. We still decided that there was sufficient interest on our part to visit this great part of America and as such we decided to still complete our travel plans.

Most visitors to Maine never consider the possibility that Maine could also be considered a farm rich area. There are in fact a vast number of actual working farms located in this section of the nation. We decided that one way in which we could enjoy the state’s great outdoor environment as well as to provide the children with some interesting activities was to spend the day on one of the many animal farms in the state. The children were actually excited about this prospect as they would be able to see what happens on the farm while getting to know and understand other children.

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