It’s not typical of me to head back for a winter vacation in Maine, but this year’s different, since we’re going to the New England Patriots game the week before Christmas, we decided to make the most of enjoying the holidays in classic New England style while visiting family & friends. With 3 nights in the Boston area, followed by 4 nights staying a hotel on the Portland Waterfront (rather than stressing over staying with family & friends) – we are treating this very much like a relaxing vacation, rather than stressful holiday visits.

We’re planning on eating our way through these very foodie cities, with only one thing our minds – real Italian food in Boston’s North End, and all the fresh seafood I could ever want – which means  chowdah, chowdah and maybe some more clam chowder, or I’ll mix it up with Lobster Stew.

With all that eating, it may be a good idea to plan a day of outdoor activity or two in Maine – so snow permitting, some cross country skiing or snowshoeing, which is easy enough to do either at Pineland Farms or Bradbury Mountain. (we don’t want to get too far away from all the eating and drinking that needs to be done in the Old Port!

Congrats go out to the crew @SundayRiver in Bethel Maine, one of our favorite haunts back in the day, for being the first ski resort not just in Maine, but in all of the US to open for the 2010-2011 ski season — take that, Colorado!!

So while it may seem early to dream about hitting White Heat and Jordan Bowl and every trail in between at the Rivah, a classic Maine winter is just around the corner! Are you ready?

As the snow starts to fly, don’t forget to find the best deals on Maine lift tickets from our friends at Liftopia.com – save 50-85% when you buy Maine discount ski passes  in advance!

With the long Labor Day weekend about to descend on the great state o’ Maine, there’s a lot to love and hate about the summer send off. For starters, the holiday weekend is bound to have massive amounts of traffic coming up the ‘pike, as the hordes of tourists from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York converge on the York tollbooths one last time.

For these eager travelers, it’s the last great getaway of the summer… for Mainers, it’s the welcome end to tourist season. On the other hand, it also

Things to Love on Labor Day in Maine:

• The line for lobster rolls at Red’s Eats will get shorter after the tourists go home, until they close in October for the winter season.
• It’s the last chance to enjoy a sundae and stock up on Hodgman’s Frozen Custard in New Gloucester.
• It marks the time when the Maine Microbrews start coming out with their fall seasonals and heavy winter beers.
• It is the start of the nice little Indian summer season, one last chance to hit the beach, before fall foliage season hits Maine.
• A great weekend to hit a couple of end of summer country & coast line fairs & festivals – Windsor Fair, Camden Windjammer Festival, the Bluegrass festival in Fort Fairfield, among other local events.

No stranger to Maine, since her family has long vacationed at the Bush family compound, Walker Point in Kennebunkport, one half of the Bush twins, Jenna Bush Hager (she also got engaged at Acadia National Park), is now a special correspondent for the Today Show, took viewers on a special tour of Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Shipyard Summer Ale

Maine is a microbrewing megastar! one of things I missed the most are the local brews and brewpubs across the state of Maine.

Here are my absolute favorite flavors of special suds and seasonal brews, and my favorite brew pubs to snag a snack & drinks on drafts.

Best Maine Microbrews

• Shipyard Summer Ale! My favorite Maine summer ale, next to Samuel Adams Summer, which isn’t a maine microbrew, but it’s New England, so it almost counts!
• Shipyard Pumpkinhead – as you might imagine, this is a fall pumpkin beer.
• Allagash White by Allagash Brewing Co.
• Sebago Brewing – Frye’s Leap IPA
• Geary’s Hampshire Special Ale
• Bar Harbor Blueberry Wheat – wild maine blueberry beer!
• Vacationland by Gritty McDuffs

Maine’s Best Brewpubs:

• Sebago Brewing Company – multiple locations, but I love the Old Port one the best and work on the free wifi when I visit, although the newest location in South Portland is pretty sweet too. Favorite snacks: Lobster Quesdilla & Maine Mussels in beer.
• Sea Dog Brewing Company in Topsham, Maine. Love the location in the old Mill.
• Gritty McDuffs – Old Port, Lewiston / Auburn locale on the Androscoggin River is pretty nice actually, free wifi here, too.
• Federal Jacks in Kennebunk, Maine.
• Sunday River Brewing Company in Bethel Maine – the perfect place to stop after a long day of skiing!

Must Do Brewery Tours in Maine:

Take the tour of the Shipyard Brewery on the historic Portland Waterfront, Full Brewery Tours  are offered on Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 7:00 pm!

Learn more about local Maine beer breweries at: http://www.mainebrewersguild.org/

Can’t visit Maine right now to enjoy a microbrew? No problem… well, not as long as you live in a state that beer can be shipped to – the Beer of the Month Club might be able to help you out!

My favorite Maine Fairs & Festivals – annual events around the state:

• Yarmouth Clam Festival
• Rockland Lobster Festival
• Old Port Festival
• Moxie Festival
• Fryeburg Fair
• Cumberland Fair

It’s true what they say … you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

Raised near Portland, Maine, I’m a true Mainer, ayuh… but six years ago, I made the move out west in search of bigger mountains for skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking. True, I loved skiing at the Rivah (Sunday River, that is) and I’m a Loafer at heart .. and I’m a New England Patriots fan to the core…

Sure, I miss the ocean – most notably, I miss my Maine Lobster rolls, and my favorite food in the world, the lobster quesadilla at Sebago Brewing company. Luckily, my mom still lives in Maine, so I have an excuse to go back to visit often! Maybe one day I’ll buy a vacation home in Maine on the ocean.

One thing I loved about living in Maine I can say without a doubt – was the variety of things to do in the Maine woods, on a lake or by the ocean, whether you stepped out your back door or drove up north to “The Forks” for redneck wilderness fun (ATVing, Snowmobiling, Hunting & Fishing, more) – Maine truly had anything you could think of to do in the great outdoors.

And I can say that now that I don’t live there, I have a better appreciation for the natural beauty that is Maine, and every time I go back, I find something new to experience.

So what better way to celebrate the outdoors in Maine, than to start this site? Enjoy!