June is a rather fickle month in Maine. You can have gorgeous days, or it could rain all week. Temperatures in the 40's are just as likely as temperatures in the 90s. And that lack of certainty is why the Maine tourist season doesn't really get going until July.
But not this year.
Oh, no, not at all! First of all, the weather has been spectacular. Yes, we had a few hot days and a few cool days, but overall you really couldn't ask for more. Second, a few locals have lamented the continued closure of the Canadian border. My response? "Do you realize the entire eastern seaboard is on their way to Maine right now?"
I've crushed my booking rate for June, and on pace for another record year. The calls started in March and I've booked several cruises for July and August. One fellow called in April about a cruise in October. I had to break it to him that the season would be over, before it had even started!
The secret is out: Maine is the place to be. Of course, it was like that for much of the lat 19th and early 20th century, too. As the railroads were built into Maine and the cities of the northeast got hot and humid, the well-to-do fled to our cooler beaches and lakes. This is how much of the southern Maine tourist industry got started. Places like Old Orchard Beach, Wells, Ogunquit, and even the islands of Casco Bay became the summer playgrounds for the wealthy elite. Maine children's summer camps are still hot tickets for NYC kids every year and Maine summer-stock theater was the off-off-off-off Broadway destination for theater companies looking for a place to cool off. This tradition remains with fantastic shows at the Ogunquit Playhouse every year.
So welcome everyone. Sit back, toast a marshmallow over the fire and enjoy Maine, the way life should be.
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