From the Giant Stairs on Bailey Island Maine to the shimmering waters of Casco Bay and the rustic Bailey Island hotels this unique island is well worth a visit.

Our first day in and around Alpine was busy. And cold! I’d brought only warm weather clothing, other than what I’d worn on the plane in from Maine. When we woke up to 35 degrees and wind, I found myself wearing my jeans and fleece jacket again that day.

All my life, I’d heard my dad talk about Alpine and about Sul Ross University (where is father was a professor) and now here it all was right before my eyes.

Not surprisingly, he had so many stories to tell. This was the radio station where he worked in high school. He says it still looks the same. Wow – shocker! Lol.

The field where he went to some surprisingly big baseball games.

The old train depot, no longer in use.

His old high school, which is now an admin building.

This made me very glad we didn’t get hurt or sick while there – it just didn’t look very promising!

However, this was promising. Drive-thru liquor store – who’da thought?

More scenes from around town, including the theater where my dad also had a high school job.

Then we went out to his friend Carol’s house on the outskirts of town. I nearly died when I saw the views, the cliffs, the wildlife…

And the house was very cool, too!

Carol accompanied us to her favorite restaurant in town – La Casita. We liked it so much, we ended up going there two more times.

Afterward, we dropped off Carol, dodged some cows in the road, we drove through the hills and enjoyed the full moon rising.

Copyright © 2013 – Paulla Estes

A few summers ago, I met my dad in Colorado for a 3-day whirlwind road trip to see many of the places we both had come to love while I was growing up there. Since then, he’s been saying that we need to make a similar trip to West Texas so he can show me the place where he grew up.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas. We went to Houston nearly every summer (ugh yes, summer in Houston!) to visit my grandmother, and we seemed to drive all over the eastern part of the state. I even spent a year there for college. And during all this time, I had no idea about the western parts of Texas.

So we decided on a date and my dad made out an insane 7-day itinerary that would fill up two weeks for most people.

We met in El Paso and drove east on Interstate 10. He had promised that there would be mountains.

Oh THERE they are!

We saw many of these…

And this. And no, we didn’t eat any of the diesel chicken, lol.

Soon, we turned south to drive to the town of Alpine (his hometown) by way of Marfa.

This seriously classified as the middle of nowhere. Yet, out there, far from any other homes or structures, we found this…

We stared at it for some time, trying to make sense of it. Upon my return, when I showed the photo to my family, my daughter suggested that it’s probably one of the portals for the underground Men in Black establishment. Yeah, could be.

Next day photos coming soon…

Copyright © 2013 – Paulla Estes

It was another amazing event at the Blaine House yesterday as First Lady Ann LePage graciously hosted, along with representatives from our congressional offices, a reception for the 2013 Congressional Arts Award Recipients.

Joining our hosts were Don Tuski from the Maine College of Art, who brought scholarships for students wishing to attend the college once they graduate. Also speaking at the event were Charles Stanhope and Julie Richard from the Maine Arts Commission. Many state representatives also attended.

All of these distinguished speakers offered words of encouragement, and of gratitude, for the award recipients. Don Tuski reminded the students that they should use their creativity in every area of their future careers.

The true stars of course were the students who received multiple rounds of applause and were photographed with the various people in attendance. The First Lady, as always, was more than happy to pose with students for photos after the event.

You can read more about the recipients on this blog by clicking this link.

Great Maine Vacations begin with a great Maine Travel Guide. And, the best Maine Guides are written by people who have experienced the best places to visit in Maine.

I spent the last few weeks in and out of town. First to Far West Texas to spend some time with my dad, and then to upstate New York to pick up our daughter from her first year in college.

Now I’m putting photos and thoughts together to share about my time out west. In between enjoying the amazing, early-May, 70 degree weather that is, and tooling around the gardens to see what’s coming up.

Spring has sprung in Maine – always a happy time!

Copyright © 2013 – Paulla Estes

You can now show your support of the arts by purchasing your very own “State of the Arts” license plate. The new specialty license plate features artwork by long-time Vinalhaven resident, Robert Indiana. The plate features the world-famous “Love” sculpture that was installed in Central Park in 1969, and later became the number one seller when issued as a stamp by the U.S. Postal Service.

But before we can all sport this amazing new plate we need to gather 2,000 pre-orders. The Maine Arts Commission and Maine Crafts Association (MCA) are seeking pre-payments to offer the plate statewide.

The specialty plate will serve as a fundraiser for the MCA and will have a direct positive impact on the arts in Maine through the organization’s marketing, business and outreach programming. The Maine Arts Commission will receive a portion of the funds to put toward their statewide arts initiatives.

We need 2,000 Mainers, with cars registered in their name, to pre-pay $29 for the specialty plate. Upon reaching that goal the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will release the plate to the 2,000 pre-paid registrants and make the plate available for purchase at all Maine BMV’s. Please visit www.mainecrafts.org/programs/license-plate to sign-up and pre-pay for your own plate today.

Activities and events in Maine, July 2013 lists the best things to do in Maine in July, Yarmouth Clam Festival, Maine Lobster Boat Races, Bangor State Fair, and more.

Maine festivals in summer, fall, winter and spring are fun celebrations of Maine’s distinct seasons. List of the most popular and best festivals for 2013.

Congressman Michael Michaud and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree have announced the winners of the 2013 Congressional Art Competition in Maine.

Wiggly Bridge in the Rain—York, Maine – Eliza Hazen
A Constructed Home – Brianna Hall

Brianna Hall of Rangeley Lakes Regional School and Eliza Hazen of York, a senior at Berwick Academy, were selected by a panel of experts to represent Maine in a year-long show in Washington, D.C. These students are among over 700,000 that have now taken part in this contest nationwide.

The Congressional Art Competition, jointly run by the Maine Arts Commission and Maine’s congressional offices, began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. It is open to all high school students. The over-all winner of each participating district has the opportunity to have their work displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for the entire year, beginning in June. In addition, winners will be flown to Washington, DC, for the official opening of the show in June.

Congressman Michaud congratulated Brianna Hall and noted that her winning artwork, A Constructed Home, which is a collage of gelatin monoprints “will bring some much-needed Maine-made artwork to the nation’s capital.”

Congresswoman Pingree praised Eliza Hazen for her award winning painting, Wiggly Bridge in the Rain—York, Maine. “Her painting speaks from the heart about the special connection Mainers have with the water,”

The 2013 first place winners will be joined by four runners-up from each congressional district when they meet with representatives from the Congressional Offices at a Blaine House reception held in their honor. This event is the culmination of a close partnership between the Maine Arts Commission and Maine’s Congressional offices. Both of Maine’s congressional delegates support this program enthusiastically and have provided their full support throughout the process.

The 2013 Student Honorees in full:

 1st Congressional District

• Eliza Hazen, 12th Grade, Berwick Academy, York
• Lauren Merritt, 11th Grade, Camden Hills Regional High School, Camden
• Jacob Richards, 12th Grade, Gray-New Gloucester High School, New Gloucester
• Jocelyn DeSisto, 12th Grade, Marshwood High School, South Berwick
• Katerina Adams, 11th Grade, Sacopee Valley High School, Parsonsfield

2nd Congressional District

• Brianna Hall, 11th Grade, Rangeley Lakes Regional School, Rangeley
• Sarah McQuoid, 11th Grade, Bangor High School, Bangor
• Taylor Leighton, 12th Grade, Bangor High School, Bangor
• Dayna DeRaps, 12th Grade, Nokomis Regional High School, St. Albans
• Caroline Colan, 12th Grade, Maranacook Community High School, Readfield