Living in coastal Maine my whole life, I couldn't imagine not growing up right by the ocean. I know some people have never even seen the ocean and that's unimaginable to me. It was a crucial part of my childhood and continues to be very important to me today. I have so many memories that include the ocean and the beach. There are so many reasons why I love living so close to the ocean.
My town has 97 miles of shoreline so there are a lot of beaches. A few public, some private and also some hidden gems. There are probably some that I don't know about. I really enjoy going to the beach no matter the season. The summertime is my favorite though, isn't everyone's? Now I wouldn't go swimming in the oceans around Maine because most of them are freezing. Going out on a boat though, you never know what you will see. You can go whale watching, take a tour to go spot some puffins and fishing is always fun. The smell of the ocean and the sea breeze are a couple of my favorite things. Have you ever stargazed? Amazing, right? Have you ever stargazed on the beach? Unbelievable. My town is small, so the beaches aren't overrun by people which makes it nice and peaceful.
Maine is known for it's lobster and fresh seafood. If you ever find yourself in Maine make sure to try lots of seafood! There's lobster, clams, shrimp, mussels and many more to experience. I am not the biggest seafood fan but I love lobster and clams. I may be biased, but I think Downeast Maine has the best seafood. It's safe to say that the locals would all agree with me.
There are many trails to hike along the coast. The mixture of the ocean and the pine trees is truly a refreshing smell. You can't beat the views, either. There are so many different trails and each of them have unique views. You can even see Canada across the ocean on some of the trails here.
After I graduated high school, I went to a university that was in a city and wasn't close to the ocean, like I've known my whole life. I didn't realize until my first semester of college how much I would miss living by the ocean. I'm used to walking to the beach just across from my house and down over the hill, and falling asleep to the sound and smell of the ocean. The closest ocean beach from my school was at least an hour away, and I didn't go to it or any other ones while I was at college. Now, I've moved back to my town and go to a university about 30 miles away. I'm back by the ocean. Whether it be in Maine or another state, I don't think I could stay away from the ocean permanently.
The ocean is also very important to my community. Many jobs have to do with the ocean. Lobster fishing, clamming, diving, among other fishing jobs. The ocean also attracts a lot of tourists in the summer which brings a lot of business. This helps out our community a lot. We have a lighthouse and a state park in our town which is the main attraction for tourists. We do get quite a lot of people visiting in the summer but it's not nearly as busy as Bar Harbor or Old Orchard Beach. I like it that way. I'm happy I can call this little town on the ocean home.
