Experience New England: The Kennebunks!

My sister and I have desired to go to Kennebunkport, Maine for quite some time now. It's coastal charm called our names, and finally we planned the trip!

Located on the edge of Maine just 90 minutes north east of Boston, the Kennebunks are a group of about 5 towns that stretch across the shoreline.

From a tourism perspective, I was blown away with the breadth of niches that the Kennebunk area was able to fill. They are a perfect destination for families, nature lovers, beach bums, foodies, romantic escapes, and girlfriend getaways. Everyone was always friendly and helpful, parking was never a frustration, the bathrooms were numerous, free, and clean, and we never felt like we were caught in a tourist trap.

There are many resorts, cottages, cabins, and villas to choose from, but we decided to set up tent at Red Apple Campground in Arundel, Maine (literally 3 minutes from KBP). It is small, but one of the top rated campgrounds in the country. I was IMPRESSED with the hospitality of the staff. We arrived and the man in the office hooked us up with tons of information on the area. He also was kind enough to show us where everything was on the map! Our tent site was a good size for two people, and came with picnic table and fire pit. The bathrooms were astoundingly clean and never busy. It is definitely a family camp, but we didn't mind because we were usually only there when it was dark out and everyone was sleeping.

We only had about two days, and we had two dedicated activities that we wanted to do. Everything just fell right into place!

Our first afternoon was a little overcast, so we went into the downtown shopping district and walked around. So many neat little shops, restaurants, and art galleries. We wandered to the nearest Hannafords in Wells to buy bug spray (with the coupons included in the campground welcome package), then looped 'round to briefly check out Wells beach, saw some glorious summer homes right on the water in kennebunk, and by the time we got back to the campground it was time to start a fire, cook up some hot dogs, and then get to bed!

The next day we woke up with a plan. We started off on the road north to Cape Porpoise. Since it was already noon when we hit the road, we stopped and grabbed lunch at the Cape Porpoise Kitchen (best turkey reuben of my life) and hit the beach, Goose Rocks Beach. The sand was fine, the water was cool, and the sun was a blazin.

After getting a nice bronze, we headed down Ocean Ave to see former president Bush's summer home on Walker's Point.

We stopped a few times along the drive to admire the rugged beauty of the ocean coupled with whatever it was playfully interacting with whether it was sailboats, the chapel on the sea, a man with his painters eisel, or just the rocky shore.

Later that night, we arrived at our anticipated destination, The Lobster Bake and Fourth of July Celebration at the Nonantum Resort! We had been so excited for this- with the live band, fresh lobster, sand bar, ice cream, fireworks over the beach. It felt like we were at a picnic with 500 of our closest friends. Everyone was having a great time hanging out, cracking open lobsters, and enjoying the weather.

This trip went by too fast, that's all I can really say to sum it up. We are thinking about making it a tradition, and I think Kennebunk is definitely a place I would like to spend more time.

Rhode Island Tourism News 6/24

Just a collection of Rhode Island tourism news this week.

Via Armistead Cottage.com

Largest Carrot Collection In The World (is in Rhode Island)

I was reading this ABC article about onions, and they mentioned that there is a tiny Carrot Museum tucked in a Rhode Island bed-and-breakfast. Alas, it is in Newport! Whatt?

Is Providence Rhode Island the Countries Most Creative City? by Paul Brady on Gadling
"But no sooner had I parked the car than I stumbled across a storefront packed with bizarre costumes, alien heads and smiling ogres, looking across the street at City Hall. Summer in New England is so pleasant and so cliche, I didn't arrive in Rhode Island expecting to find much more than craft breweries, lobster rolls and some wicked good times. And they certainly have those!"

AT&T Expands Mobile Broadband Wireless Capacity on Block Island 
"Our goal is for our customers to have an extraordinary experience everywhere they use their mobile devices, including at popular summer destination spots like Block Island. We're 
always looking for new opportunities to provide an enhanced customer experience..."


Rhode Island Map Collection
This is a random collection of Rhode Island Maps, but there are some really cool ones! Im obsessed with maps. 


Catch an Express Bus From The Cape to Providence 
Love to get to the Cape sometime this summer, but hate the thought of the traffic and the gas prices? Megabus may be the answer.




Family Matters, Summer Staycations In Rhode Island by Anisa Raoof
"Staycations have become a fashionable necessity during these days of higher gas prices and reduced work weeks, unemployment, or the fear of losing a job. For many, the idea of a pricey vacation is simply out of the question."

Rethink Voluntourism

For the whole trimester, I have been trying to come up with a topic to research for a large year end Sociology project. At first I had all these crazy ideas about topics that had nothing to do with anything. Then my wonderful mom said "Why don't you just do a topic that has to do with your major? You like that stuff." Shazaamwow, an idea was born.

"The Effects of Symbolism in Voluntourism." I don't really know how I came up with it, but the basic premise is that in voluntourism (volunteer tourism) there is a lot of incorrect symbolism, which negatively (and I am reluctant to say, but positively as well) affects other cultures.

Symbolism is a sociological term, and it is just what you think it is, when we see something and take it to represent a larger thing. 

I started my project off by asking people what they thought of when they thought of Las Vegas. Obviously everyone thinks of gambling, sex, drugs, etc. Perfect, as that is the marketed symbol. They want you to think that. But did you know that Vegas has a growing homeless rate? That it has a large elderly population? That it has a unique historical heritage? Then I asked what people thought of when they thought "Africa." Safaris, poverty, hunger, orphans. -Wow, what symbols. 
  

We often create symbols in voluntourism that benefit us, that assuage our guilt, that don't really encompass the reality of the situation, or provide long term sustainable growth for those we intend to "help." We think "I need to go build a church in Mexico." Or "I need to donate all these old clothes to poor naked African children." 

 I found this great example from Vagabondish that goes as follows:

"You would think that donating old clothing to poor African communities would be a good thing, right. You give the clothes to your church group, a local tailor makes any necessary repairs, and the duds are shipped off to the naked people of Africa. I mean – they’d be naked if they didn’t have our clothes, right? Wrong. Instead, local African tailors are put out of business, because people can get their clothes for free from donation shipments. Local economies suffer, the local tailors eventually die, and their skills die with them, since there is no need for a tailor in the community."

What if instead of wasting money traveling down to Mexico to build a church, you give that job to someone who needs it. Send money or building materials down there. Let a local man get paid to do his job and support his family. Unless you are a trained contractor, do not think that your American church building skills are any better than his, and don't think you are doing some grandiose heavenly favor. 

In the rest of my project, I just discuss some other issues with how our interpretations of a voluntourism destination can be both hurtful, and sometimes helpful. 

As a Christian, I am called to help others in need, and I think there are legitimate times when it is good to give  freely, (you know- times of war, plague, disaster etc).  

But in order for volunteer work to be helpful we have to think about the bigger, long term, sustainable picture. We want to not only give a man a fish, but we want to teach him how to fish. Maybe instead of throwing my crappy donations at the problem, or doing a job we are not trained to do- We can teach. We can empower. We can finance. We can provide resources.

Volunteering isn't bad. But we have to check out our motives, goals, and the reality of the situation.      

 My professor told me "great presentation on a unique topic with a functional perspective on the consequences of these programs as they ripple through global cultures." So hopefully I get an A on that :)

Thoughts? Do you agree? Do you think we should just give freely without concern? Should we rethink charity or a donations system? Does this apply to any other industry (perhaps food banks? or clothing drives?)