Over the holiday weekend, I traveled with my boyfriend to Houlton, Maine. It was a four hour drive from our small apartment in Southern Maine. A four hour drive that was filled with me singing really off-key the entire way. For those who aren't familiar with Houlton, it's a fairly small town (though one of the biggest up there!) in Aroostook County, Maine. It sits a solid fifteen miles off the border of Canada. The town has everything you could wish for though! A Wal-Mart, an Irvings with a truck stop dinner attached, a McDonald's and 4G LTE! The best part of it all is that it is surrounded by nature.

I grew up in Central Maine which meant many of my fourth of Julys were spent at the celebration in Winslow, Maine. I would go to the parade with my family or my best friend once I was old enough to go alone. We would spend the day at Halifax Park repeatedly patting the goats and sheep and ponies on display and filling up on Doughboys and Cotton Candy. I would end my night watching the fireworks over the Kennebec River with my best friend and her younger sister. This tradition had been going on for as long as I can remember. My boyfriend, however, has spent most of his fourth of Julys up in Houlton. His family takes a long four-wheeling trip on the third. They wake up early and go to the parade on the Fourth. They go to the Houlton parade right after. And then they end the day with a big family barbeque! This year I was invited to tag along.

I was hesitant at first. I was sad to have to part way with tradition. My best friend was too and that made it a little bit harder. We left from Scarborough at 4:30pm on Saturday, July 2. We planned to stop at my parents in Waterville to say hello since it was right on the way and to grab a bite to eat at Governor's. Governor's ended up being incredibly slow and it cost us an hour and half of our trip.

The view from the front window around Island Falls

By the time we got to Houlton it was already 11pm and we still had to drive to his uncle's house in Linneus, a small town just outside of Houlton. My boyfriend jokingly told me to shut off my data because sometimes the cell phone can't tell we are still in the United States and he was certain I didn't want international roaming charges on my phone.

When we finally made it to his uncle's we were greeted with silence, a beautiful night sky, a dog and a cat. I was eager to get inside as it was cold, but to our dismay, his family was enjoying the fair still and we had to wait for them to return home. I entertained myself with the dog and the cat while we waited. The first night ended with introductions and then everyone going straight to bed as tomorrow meant the big four-wheeling trip. The next morning came fast. We were up at 7:30 and out the door but 8:15 to pack up the four-wheelers. I threw my hair up into a messy ponytail, pulled on the purple camouflage hat I bought at Wal-Mart and a pair of old Converse.

I was happy to not have to drive the 106 miles that we rode that day. I was happy to take in all the beautiful scenery around me. I was happy to take pictures of absolutely everything. My first pictures were of the windmills in Oakfield, Maine. These windmills generate a lot of power. There are a little ominous standing tall against the bright blue sky.

We didn't stop too much along the way and it made it a little hard to take a lot of pictures. One of the first places we went to was a small waterfall at the end of a tough, rocky trail. The bugs were awful there, but we were all thankful to be able to walk around and snack a bit. The water was beautifully clear and the waterfall was gorgeous.

As we continued to drive (or in my case ride) along the trails I took in everything around me. Dust filled my lungs, mud streaked through my hair and my hand burned in the weirdest spot from all the exposure to the sun. However, with dust and mud and sun burns come the perfect opportunities to document with pictures how much fun you're having.

No makeup. Blood shot eyes from all the dust, but still a smile on my face.

We ended our trip with a stop at a small beach along on of the lakes in Northern Maine. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains and the water was rippled with waves.

It was the perfect end to a long day of riding. We were all starting to get tired. I was starting to get sore from the way I'd been sitting all day. I was hungry. The sun was setting and it was starting to get cold out. We peeled out of the beach and headed back to our starting location to call it a night. And to scrub all the mud off our bodies and out of hair, eyes, noses and ears!

The next day started with breakfast at a small diner in Houlton. Then it was off to the parade! I was used to having lots of police cars at the parade in Winslow. However, there were only four in this parade and one border patrol car!

My boyfriend and I didn't get to stay for the family barbeque due to us both having to work early the next morning. We drove the four hours home and went right to bed (no fireworks for me this year) when we arrived home. We were both dead tired at work the next day.

One thing I learned in my trip up North is that sometimes getting out of your comfort zone and breaking routine is a way to discover new things. I was sad that I was missing my traditions back home, but I learned that I loved four-wheeling and that I would've missed out on a lot of beautiful nature if I had stayed home. Relationships are about compromise and compromise means making sacrifices for each other. Holidays will always be tricky and it will always be hard to decide where we go for each one. While I was upset to miss the fireworks, I don't regret my trip one bit.