A few days in Maine

We don't usually go vacationing during the high season because of the higher prices and denser crowds, but that also means we don't get to go swimming in the ocean because it's not hot enough when we're near it. This year, we had extra stress (mostly me, due to work), a little more money to work with (due to being clear on credit cards, plus some overtime due to the aforementioned work issues), and we have a dog. So we decided to book an extra few-days-long trip to the seacoast structured around pet-friendly places, and today is the first day of it.

Though it's high season, arriving on a Sunday and staying through Wednesday means the crowds are still not too bad. And we got really lucky on weather. In a year when there's been lots of rain and very little heat, we arrived with the temperature in the high 80s and the forecast all hot and humid until we leave. Which means a chance to get into the sea.

We already biked to the beach and did a bit of swimming, and the water was lovely. Socks found the waves a bit too much to deal with, however. At first she had to chase each wave crest, but as wave after wave pummeled her, she got more and more reluctant. I tried to encourage her far enough in that she would be facing swells instead of waves, but by then she just wanted back out. She spent most of the time trying to lunge at seagulls or dig in the sand, but I think she enjoyed herself on balance.

The sea is especially restorative for me, and our plans don't include a lot of activities -- in fact, pretty much none. Just hanging around. Not many places we could go anyway as few are pet-friendly. We might do a little shopping, but mostly we'll just relax, go to the beach, read, swim in the pool, go biking, stuff like that. Heck, we probably won't even be going to restaurants -- again, pet friendly ones are scarce, and we'd rather not leave her in the car much -- so we'll just get delivery and take-out mostly. We're not really doing a lot of planning this time.