Vacation to Maine 2020 - Jason Baldanza

         The year 2020 was a crazy adventure and time to live in. I was enjoying my everyday life with little to worry about while I was hanging out with my friends, snowboarding, going to school, and making memories. One day in March, life as everyone knew it changed unexpectedly with the surge of corona-virus cases in America. School continued virtually and my friends and I couldn't see each other for a long time because of the quarantine. I hadn't seen any of my friends until August and it was extremely boring to experience six months without seeing people that make you happy and sitting at home doing nothing productive besides schoolwork. One day in August, my mother invited my best friend, Nick, over to go swimming and it was great to see my closest friend after 6 months apart. While we were swimming, my mother told my brother and I that Nick was coming on vacation to Maine with us which was so exciting. It was a great surprise and it was very unexpected. We packed our bags and prepared for the five hour road-trip to Wells, Maine.

        My family and I have been going to Maine since I was born but this was the first time we were bringing a friend to Maine. Once we checked in to the condo we had rented, we relaxed and started to plan what events we were going to do for the week we were spending there. There are many fun things to do around Wells, Maine. Throughout the week, we took two trips to the beach, went crabbing two times, went fishing, went hiking, and ate many great foods at restaurants around the area we stayed at. The ocean water is frigid and numbing but Nick and I thought it was a great idea to swim in the bay. My family and I also go crabbing in the bay which is a very fun process because we always catch so many crabs. They are very small crabs so we don't eat them although you could but the joy of catching hundreds of crabs per hour is what makes it so fun. We also look at lighthouses in the area and like to take a hike on a path known as the Marginal Way. It is a walkway along the ocean in which you can climb rocks and oversee the boats and view of the Atlantic Ocean. My family took us to go shopping throughout the surrounding towns and we enjoyed every day that we were there to the fullest. Along the way to every place we went, there was always a great restaurant to eat at. Everywhere we went to eat was delicious. Maine is known for lobster and other great seafood and getting to enjoy those foods every year is a memorable experience. Each day after eating good foods and doing a specific event, we returned to our condo that looked over the bay area. We never took a day off and kept busy with fun activities throughout the week we were there.

        After we had stuffed ourselves with outstanding meals and had fun doing many events throughout the week, we had to leave and head back home. The week went by swiftly and although we were sad to leave, my family, Nick, and I had a great time and were grateful to have such a good experience in such a bad time. This upcoming summer, we are renting an oceanfront house to stay at in the same location to have another great time but in a different place. Going on a vacation with a friend in such a crazy time was the highlight of my year and I would highly recommend taking a trip to southern Maine if you would like to relax and enjoy such a beautiful location. Despite the rough times, my family made the best of the situation by inviting my best friend on vacation with us and allowing me to make a memory that will last forever in my head.