The Maine Plan

Maine has called my name for years. I think if I didn’t live in the middle of the United States near some of my family, Maine is the place I’d live. You’d think I have visited Maine often to have these feelings. I have not. You’d think I have numerous connections that would draw me to Maine. I do not. And still…I’m drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

So this past spring when I was attending a co-worker’s wedding, my other co-workers began to talk travel. I knew this would be my first summer where I would either (1.) travel alone, (2.) stay home, or (3.) find some new travel buddies. With the travel bug taking hold and my desire NOT to spend the summer alone, I immediately attached my hopes in traveling with them. I knew Jenny and I would take our epic adventure to South Africa (and I’d visit a friend in Michigan and family in New Jersey), but I still had a week or two to fill.

Yes, Tracy and Madison would travel with me, and they would be delighted to visit my number one selection–Maine. Elation filled my heart that I had another trip in the books…but I also knew sometimes the excitement of a moment takes over, and people agree to things before they really commit to things. I decided I would need to pursue the idea more.

To be clear, I didn’t know either Madison or Tracy particularly well. Tracy works in my building with our dear autistic students, and Madison was her former para. Besides school, we had never spent time together. Well, except for the wedding when we hatched this plan. At any rate, Madison and I began texting. We hadn’t heard more from Tracy, so I decided to visit her in her classroom. I put a little pressure on, and she finally agreed. It so happened that Hannah was in the room. Immediately, she said she wanted to go, so our amazing excursion increased by one. And that, my friends, made up our traveling team–Madison, Hannah, Tracy, and Reba. This was going to be fun.

None of my traveling companions had ever taken a friends’ trip before. They’d traveled with family, and Hannah had a solo European summer excursion or two under her belt, but to travel with friends was new to them. I couldn’t wait to introduce this type of travel.

I began searching for flights into Bangor, Maine. This seemed to be the best airport for reaching Acadia National Park (my goal), and I found tickets at a great price. We needed to act fast, so I offered to buy the tickets. Hannah and Madison both wanted window seats, so I alternated where Tracy and I would sit, giving us the chance to sit with different people on the flight. The plan was for us to travel on American from Kansas City to Chicago then connect in Chicago and enter Bangor International airport at noon. All agreed and texted me their details, so I could make the purchase.

FINANCIAL THOUGHTS: When I travel with friends, I don’t mind putting up funds to purchase in bulk. However, if we are all paying equally, friendships can be lost if we aren’t clear on the financial parameters. One thing I always do is create a spreadsheet. Information contained in the spreadsheet includes: names, who has purchased what, the total amount spent divided by the number of participants, and how much each person owes to make the cost equal. I have not yet been able to create the formula that shows who pays what to whom, so I do that manually. I’m sure there is a program out there to calculate everything, but I love to create the visual that works best with my mind.

Summer arrived, and seeing Hannah and Tracy daily ceased, so I invited everyone over for a taco dinner/planning session. This invigorated us all, and we caught up on our current adventures while looking forward to our future ones. In the preceding weeks we had shared ideas, talked with friends, began rudimentary research, and texted one another. Then after dinner I displayed the compiled information on my tv, and we all hashed out the plan. Our itinerary included: Acadia National Park, shopping at the LL Bean store, watching a sunrise, visiting a lighthouse, and eating copious amounts of seafood.

As we said our goodbyes that evening, each of us left with great expectations. We didn’t want to breeze through summer to get to our vacation, but we all had the end of July on our radars. My heart was filled with joy; this was going to be a great vacation!