maine

I’m going to distil my recent trip to North America into 5 posts because there’s so much so them. Then there’s all the stationery I brought back. I feel like I have enough to keep The London Parchment going for a year! Here’s a little map I drew of my trip, starting and finishing in Boston at the bottom of the right page (apologies for my scrawl):

Sketch map of my trip in a Field Notes Pitch Black

We had such an amazing time. Such a diverse holiday with so much to do and so much to see. To help in communicating it to you without writing a full on essay, I’ve drawn a little brainstorm of my impressions of each place.

In America Maine is known as Vacationland and I couldn’t put it better myself. It’s a vast state, America’s most north-easterly and is full of juxtaposition, from coastline to mountains, forests to rocky outcrops, winters skiing to summers doing watersports. We’re very lucky because my fiance’s family live in Maine in a great, cavernous, wooden house overlooking a lovely town on Maine’s interior called Norway so we got to spend a few days taking in the best of it all.

How to sum a couple of days in Maine up?

The views. You seem to be able to find the most unexpected and unbelievable view on any drive you go on. We barely saw a car in front of us or passing us on several of our drives. Just us and the landscapes.

We found an enormous frozen lake on one of our drives. — We found an enormous frozen lake on our way north, we glimpsed white through some trees, got out to explore, and found this in front of us.

Viewpoint across the Appalachian mountains and into Canada.

Beer. I love American Pale Ale and I didn’t really know that until this trip. Maine has an enormous range of microbreweries and local craft breweries, the variety on offer is endless and the cans are all bright and colourful.

Just a few of the beers we could choose from on one of our evenings out.

My favourite of the beers we tried. That's our family's house in the background (see the British flag flying in the breeze?) — My favourite of the beers we tried. That’s our family’s house in the background (see the British flag flying in the breeze?)

The sea. The coastline is awesome. Lighthouses standing tall, waves crashing ashore, shades of deep blues, turquoise and white.

We stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse on our drive north. Gorgeous eh?

The sea provideth some amazing food. We didn't try these oysters in Portland, but we did have a fresh lobster roll just down the road. — The sea provideth some amazing food. We didn’t try these oysters in Portland, but we did have a fresh lobster roll just down the road.

Trees, trees and more trees. I would love to come back here in the autumn. We spent a day in a state park an hour or so away from Norway and saw a waterfall full of meltwater, the start of the famous Appalachian Trail, rivers… all within an endless stretch of forest.

Grafton Notch State Park. Apparently in the summer everyone comes out to play in the water.

This tree was bright white and had bark like paper. — This tree was bright white and had bark as fine as paper.

It’s just, well, such a cool state and I have barely even scratched the surface of Maine so far. It’s a state for all seasons and has a great character to it. Here are some of the many little eccentricities I found…

On fire hydrants... — On bright yellow fire hydrants…

The street signs are pretty comprehensive... — The street signs are pretty comprehensive…

Look carefully on the side of high-speed roads and you might see a big orange house full of books... — Look carefully on the side of high-speed roads and you might just see a big orange house full of books…

You might spot a rare bird... — The wildlife is not to be missed…

The architecture is as colourful as Christmas... — Mainers aren’t afraid of colour…

There are mini railroads... — The railroads are weeny…

You might even see a chunk of the Berlin Wall. — You might even see a chunk of world history in a car park.

My next post: Quebec City, Canada.

The next couple of weeks will see a break from posts on The London Parchment as I’m off on an adventure. My fiancé and I are off to spend a couple of weeks taking in the springtime Maine countryside, Quebec City, Montreal, New York City and Boston. I’m really looking forward to it!

I'm bringing three pocket notebooks all wrapped up in my beautiful new fauxdori. Yellow and green - I can't get enough of these colours. — I’m bringing three pocket notebooks all wrapped up in my beautiful new fauxdori. Yellow and green – I can’t get enough of these colours.

I’m going to be travelling very light on the stationery front on this trip because I plan on stocking up big time. I’ve already had a few treats delivered to the friends we’re staying with in Boston to pick up tonight when we land! But much more on that after I return. Suffice it to say I’m travelling with a singular everything: my trusty Staedtler Mars Lumograph B grade, my Kaweco Sport F nib with Diamine teal, my Ballograf Chrome Epoca, my Milan eraser, Uni Jetstream and a yellow Muji double ended pen. I’m also bringing my Hobonichi Techo to keep up with journaling, and my Polaroid ZIP because I really want to include a daily photo from this trip. I’ve realised that a daily photo from “normal” life isn’t sustainable with the Techo because it would just become too big over the year. But daily photos during holidays are essential, as I’m sure you’ll agree. Finally this is all topped off by three pocket notebooks full of travel tips that I’ve been amassing for each of the places we’re visiting, all cosied up in leather and elastic in my gorgeous green fauxdori. That’s it! We’ll see what I return with!

If you have any tips, stationery related or otherwise, for any of the places I’m heading to, I’d love to hear them!

The London Parchment

thoughts on stationery from a desk in london

North America Part 1: Maine

Parchment Pause: Holiday Time