The wharf, below Congress Street in the Old Port district of Portland, Maine.

The Amtrak Downeaster Rail begins in Portland, Maine and ends in Boston, Massachusetts. In between there are stops in Old Orchard Beach ME, Saco ME, Wells ME, Dover NH, Durham NH, Exeter NH, Haverhill MA, and Woburn MA. For this series of articles I will expound upon the merits of each stop along the Downeaster Amtrak tour.

I have made absolutely no secret about my love of Portland, Maine. One of my first articles for UpTake was about the Portland Head Light. Then back in September I wrote about how I left my heart there. The fact that the Amtrak Downeaster line begins there (or ends there, depending on where you’re starting from) just adds one more point of excellence to brag about for my favorite city.

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West Palm Beach evening at CityPlace

I believe that every woman should be required to spend at least one weekend a year hanging out with her girlfriends.  This is especially important, I believe, if a woman has a husband and/or child(ren) that she is responsible for taking care of on a regular basis.  A weekend spent with other women who do not need to be cared for reminds us how to take care of ourselves, laugh, breathe and appreciate the things that are actually awesome about being born female.

West Palm Beach is a perfect destination for one such girls’ weekend.  Use this quick guide to help you plan your trip.

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UpTake on Pie Ranch

My calendar now has every third Saturday of the month blocked out for volunteer farm day, pot luck and barn dance at Pie Ranch. I can get dirt under my finger nails and do-si-so all in one day. Git on yer boots and swing yer partner!!

You may ask yourself, “what exactly is Pie Ranch? What does it all mean?”

I discovered Pie Ranch while driving on Highway 1 south of Pescadero and Pigeon Point and I saw the sign in front of an old barn beckoning me in, “Pie Ranch”.  Hmmm, I imagined fields of pie grazing on lush green grass like free range cattle or chickens. I have a really active imagination! So, I had to satisfy my curiosity and perhaps craving for pie and pulled into the dirt parking lot to find out the answer.

The answer is Pie Ranch is a non-profit educational farm with the mission “to inspire and connect rural and urban people to know the source of their food, and to work together to bring greater health to the food system from seed to table.” Read More »

Yarmouth, Maine

This year’s vacation to Maine was purposefully scheduled to coincide with the Yarmouth Clam Festival, which takes place, naturally, in the town of Yarmouth. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the event, which is always held the weekend of the third Friday in July. Festival admission is always free, and is hosted by a network of volunteers dedicated to raising money for Yarmouth’s non-profit organizations, school groups, and churches.

This festival is a fixture in my childhood memories, so when I planned our vacation it was with a sense of excited nostalgia that I would be able to stroll among the food booths and craft vendors, hand in hand with my husband, who hasn’t had that particular pleasure as of yet. To be sure, he’s not quite as excited about the prospect as I am, but then he just doesn’t GET it yet. He soon will. Oh yes, he soon will.

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