The Fog Lifted, Mind Was At Peace (True story with photos)

We all get burned out or have stress that can last for long periods of time. If we endure stress which may be on-going for more than 6 months it can feel as though you've fallen into an abyss. Usually, when stress has been a part of our daily lives 24/7 it can lead to anxiety and/or depression. I won't lie, that happened to me this past year. My mom was terminal, another family member of mine had a Chronic illness that they had a hard time diagnosing, and when you own a business that alone can add a lot of stress to your life. 

When my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer I put my life on hold (subconsciously). I guess I had a deep rooted fear that if I did anything fun or went too far from her- I would feel too guilty (referring to fun) and feared her sudden loss  if I was not within driving distance.  Keep reading, I promise my post end on a positive note.  

*Side note*- I get distracted easily when writing and I keep the TV on because it helps me to write easier for some reason. Anyhow, I used to hate country music. I heard a song on The Fallon show and it was Blake Shelton singing, "That's what we came in to forget." Awesome song! Not twangy and great message. Ok, a bit of my ADD just kicked in, now back to my story. 

Mom passed in January of this year. It was tough but I feel I'm dealing with it fairly well. It's never easy to lose your mother,  who was the Matriarch of our family. I have written a lot of private things about my life on Linkedin, so those who know me from Linkedin and follow my articles also know I suffer from Anxiety Disease. I was anxious while mom was ill but didn't have many panic attacks which I feared I would. After mom passed the damn panic attacks decided to visit me again with a fervor. My medicine wasn't helping so I decided it was time to make some changes. I decided it was time to steal a few ideas from my mother's rule- book and plan a vacation!  I know it's not possible for everyone to go on vacation for various reasons but if you can, please consider some time for yourself. Many times we put ourselves last and we are the one's who pay the price for it. 

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca  
Someone famous in Source Title

In March,  I began to plan a getaway for my husband and myself! Part of the fun of going on vacation is the planning. I spent a lot of time on Homeaway.com also known as VRBO. com . I began looking at places I knew we could not afford to visit but it was still fun and mindless. When I'm in a mindless mode, I don't feel stressed. After 2 weeks of searching,  I decided we would head to Maine. We have been to Mount Desert Island, Acadia and Bar Harbor Maine in the past with our children but we never  vacationed in Maine without our children. We never took a vacation that didn't involve our children- even after they were grown adults. This was our first trip as a couple. We decided to check out Midcoast Maine this time. I found a lovely rental on Penobscot Bay in Northport Maine. It was centrally located to Camden, Rockland, Rockport, Belfast and a few other towns which are all located on the coast and filled with typical New England fishing Wharfs and villages. 

The photo above was taken at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. If you drive about 15 minutes down the coast you will arrive in Portsmouth New Hampshire which is what we did.  Hampton Beach and Portsmouth is full of history with Pre-1900 homes and many expensive homes as well. The beach is beautiful and I wouldn't mind spending a week or two in the summer here.

A working harbor in Portsmouth New Hampshire. We were eating dinner at a Restaurant called The Wharf and I shot this photo from the deck. Some of the photos were taken with my Samsung and the quality isn't as good as it would have been with my Canon. We had a tasty dinner- scallops with a red pepper sauce, micro greens, couscous, dessert and of course dinner isn't complete unless you have one of your favorite spirits, mine happened to be a chocolate Martini on this particular evening! For those who don't drink, enjoy an Ice Tea or water! 

When we arrived at our Cottage we immediately brought cheese and wine down to our lower deck and this was our view! My stress seemed to vanish as soon as were settled in. Everyone has different settings that help melt away stress, for me, it's the ocean!

I'm not an early morning riser so I stayed up all night to get shots of the sun rising over the bay. The sunrise was breathtaking and a reminder that a new day means renewal if we allow.

On our second day we decided to head to Camden, Maine. We ate at a place called Cuzzys Restaurant in Camden and then headed to the harbor so I could get a shot of the Curtis Island Lighthouse. The lighthouse was at least 2 miles out and I was happy to get this shot. If you go to Maine during in-season you can find many cruises that will take you to the islands or near the islands so you can get a close-up view. I was happy with this shot. 

This is a male Eider Duck. I've never seen Eider Ducks before and I will admit from a distance I thought I was seeing Puffins.  The Puffins arrive in Maine sometime in June to breed in colonies. I wasn't disappointed to see the Eider Ducks but if we ever get back to Maine, I'd love to visit when the Puffins are nesting on the Islands. The only way to view Puffins is by taking a cruise around the Islands. Be sure to check out the link for the Puffins- it's a kick ass page! 

On day three we headed to Rockland Maine to view the Breakwater Lighthouse. You begin your walk on the breakwater from shore. The lighthouse is located 1 mile from shore. Needless to say, there's a lot of walking to do in order to get to this lighthouse. The photo on the left is looking back at shore. Of course, the photo on the right is the Breakwater lighthouse. Don't walk out on the breakwater if you have a fear of water. You have to watch your footing because there are crevices between the rocks so you do have to watch your footing.  I found that I got a bit dizzy watching my footing because I could see the water moving in my peripheal vision. It's worth the walk if you can do it!

The photo to the left is the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. If you drive down below the bridge you can purchase tickets to go up into the Observatory tower- 42 flights. The tower has an elevator that takes you to the observation deck and you can view the bay and ocean. On a sunny day,  you can see Cadillac Mountain clearly,  in Acadia National Park, located 65 miles away. As you can see from many of my photos the weather was fairly dreary while we were vacationing. That didn't put a damper on our time. The photo to the right is the bay leading out to the Atlantic Ocean, seen from the Observatory Tower.  

The photo to the left IS Cadillac Mountain. It's a bit grainy because of the weather. The  photo to the right was also taken from the Observatory tower,  which is  Bucksport Maine across the bay. 

Upper left photo was taken from the Observatory, it's an exterior photo of Fort Knox in Prospect Maine. The last 3 photos were taken as we did a self-guided tour through old Fort Knox. Click on the link to learn more about the history of Fort Knox. 

Day 5, Camden Maine. We decided to hike up a Mountain on a trail called the Maiden Cliff Trail. The trail was 1 mile with ungroomed paths, boulders, slate and rocks the entire way up the mountain. I have to admit, it was TOUGH! I didn't wear hiking shoes and they sure would have helped. I think my thighs were on fire for 2 days after this hike. However, the hike up was worth is. On the right is me standing on the cliff which overlooks Megunticook Lake and you can see the Ocean off in the distance. I grabbed a shot of the Ocean but it was so overcast that day, the photo wasn't worth posting. We traversed along this beautiful fall for a period of time on our way up and back down the Mountain. 

Finally, back to where we began- sitting out on the deck enjoying the sounds of the ocean, birds along with a sense of peace. My stress I hung onto for months was released into the breeze and my mind was at peace. A fog that had loomed in my mind for so long had lifted. Looking forward to our next adventure, even if it's not far from home!