Today was another Maine Photography Meetup (or at Facebook). Like the last one I attended, the conditions were ideal: the temperatures climbed into the 60 °F range. Remember, it’s November in Maine!

As is usual, the girls and I got to spend time with old friends and make some new ones. We hiked down Scarborough Beach and then along the cliffs of Prout’s Neck Bird Sanctuary. And back.

After our long hike we enjoyed brunch at The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth. It was incredible. My $6 mug of hot apple cider with rum was worth every penny! Hayley’s $2.25 bottle of “real” maple syrup…not so much.

Dune grass preservation at Scarborough Beach, Maine

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beach · maine · meetup · photography · scarborough

Mackworth Island, Maine

Kirsten and I enjoyed each other and the gorgeousness of Maine on Tuesday. I received a tweet last week about Mackworth Island and planned to take Kirsten after her class. Kirsten wanted to go to the beach. So we did both.

The temperature reached an unseasonably warm 96.5 °F, which is a bit warmer than my preference.

The hike around Mackworth Island was very nice. The tourists aren’t here yet so there were only a few people and plenty of available parking. Neither of us had ever hiked the 1.25 mile perimeter trail around the island. The vistas are beautiful, of course. The center of the island is the Baxter School for the Deaf, so Kirsten said we could make as much noise as we wanted. On the east side there is a fairy village in the woods. The girls will LOVE that when we go back. Kirsten and I held hands as we walked and spent a long time relaxing on a swinging bench on the south side overlooking Portland.

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bay view · beach · brent · date · kirsten · mackworth island · maine · saco · summer

After voting this morning Kirsten and I went to Ferry Beach here in Saco to read, talk and just enjoy each others’ company.

What could be better than a coffee, bagel, Maine beach and Kirsten?

Kirsten studied anatomy and physiology on our date this morning.

This friendly and enterprising gull enjoyed part of my bagel and Kirsten’s veggie eggwhite flatbread sandwich.

Kirsten noticed a bit of a rainbow in the contrail, so I took a picture of it.

Kirsten is a very dedicated student.

Aren’t I the coolest?

beach · brent · ferry beach · maine · saco

brentdanley

We live four miles from a white sand beach in Saco, Maine. Could life get any better? I don’t know how. Especially since our high speed internet was installed yesterday ;)

To be fair I’ve considered what might be better about Wichita, Kansas than Southern Maine and have come up with a very short list.

1. Clouds – They seem to be about the same; no better, no worse. This is important because I love looking at and photographing them.

2. Driver’s license – The Maine driver’s license is ugly and is in serious need of an update.

3. Parking at the baseball game – There’s never a parking problem at the Wichita Wrangler’s Lawrence Dumont Stadium. If Kansas has one thing in it’s favor it’s plenty of wide open spaces that could be utilized for parking. We drove past the stadium here just before game time and parking was a mess and expensive. It won’t keep us away though since the Sea Dogs are affiliated with the Boston Red Sox and are sure to be much better than the Wranglers.

4. Quiktrip – Maine seems to be completely void of the best gas station/convenience stores anywhere! Oh well. We do have Dunkin Donuts on every corner. I suppose that makes up for it :(

Besides these few things Maine is superior in every way! The weather is perfect, the scenery is natural and beautiful, the cities and towns have character and charm, the people are super kind and–for the most part–love being Mainers.

beach · maine · saco