In August 2014, my parents and I decided to take a vacation to Nova Scotia in Canada. We planned on driving from where I live in New York to Maine, and cross the border from there. While driving through Massachusetts we all, somehow at the same time, realized that the worst thing has happened. We forgot a very important thing: our passports. At this point, being about two hours from home, we were in it for the long haul and did not want to turn back.
We continued on all the way to Maine, hoping that by some miracle, the border police would let us through. At the border, just as one would expect, we were turned away even though we mentioned that we’re frequent visitors to Canada. Apparently, my work permit and social security number isn’t enough to prove that I’m a valid citizen of the U.S.
After the harsh rejection, we picked up our heads and spent the night at a motel in the town right by the border: Calais, Maine (at this point, it’s around 1 am). We agreed to talk about what we’re going to do after a few hours of sleep.
After a good six hours of sleep, we woke up, and checked out. In the car, my mom tried to make plans on places to go, but my dad and I overruled her. My dad and I thought that we should take this opportunity to just wander. Just drive around Maine, find places to visit (eccentric or popular, anything goes), and worry about where to sleep later in the day. My mom was reluctant at first, but eventually she realized that it’d probably be a fun experience.
And so our wandering began. From seemingly middle-of-nowhere Calais, we headed to the popular vacation site: Bar Harbor. It was absolutely beautiful there. It’s located on an island, so even though it was August and hot, it didn’t feel that humid or hot because the cool ocean breeze helped lessen the heat.
After spending all day in Bar Harbor, we decided to drive to the popular town of Bangor in hopes of finding a hotel to stay in. With no reservations and some luck on our side, we got a room.
The next day we decided to check out Acadia National Park. It’s a spectacular park with such beautiful scenery. It’s easy to get lost in the moment there, and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how long we spent there. It might have been an hour or so, or it might have been five hours. From walking around to climbing rocks, it’s easy to lose track of time there.
After some more wandering in random places in Maine (Augusta, Portland, etc.), we decided to head back home. On the way home, however, we got sidetracked. We passed by Rhode Island and decided that we just had to stop and experience the state.
We stopped by Providence, walked around the city, and had lunch at the mall. It was great because we didn’t actually feel like tourists, we felt like people who actually lived there and were just going about their normal day.
After, we headed over to our last wandering: Newport Beach. We, once again, walked around the town and on the beach/coastal trail. It’s another breathtakingly beautiful place that just makes you forget all your troubles in an instant.
After some resistance from me about not wanting to leave yet, we eventually left the beautiful landscape behind. We headed back home to New York and went back to our normal lives. Our wandering was officially done.
Erin Gatdula — 17
Yonkers, New York