A trip back to Maine in 14 years

Hi I%26#39;m Thai. I was once an exchange student attending Oxford Hills High School in South Paris. I, my wife and my little 2 years old daughter are planning a surprise visit to my host family there during Mid of Aug, perhaps for a week and also would like to visit some other places too.

I%26#39;d been to Portland/Freeport/Bangor/Naple and Limestone.

Please help us by suggesting:

1. where should we visit and stay after meeting my host family in south paris?

2. what are the proper means of transportation of getting around. (we%26#39;ll flying off from Chicago as my wife will be attending a class at Kelloge and visiting her host family there too - i believe there are daily UA flight from/to Chicago and ME, isn%26#39;t it?.

Thank you so much for all your kind help and contribution.

Regards,

Chalit

A trip back to Maine in 14 years

Here%26#39;s the Portland jetport site for flight info, etc.:

http://www.portlandjetport.org/

I%26#39;m sure you remember from your time living here, that mass transit is largely unavailable. You will need to rent a car. There are several places at or near the jetport to to that.

I would recommend hitting the coast of Maine, as you have seen quite a bit of the inland. (Even Limestone!)

The mid-coast area is about 1 1/2 hours from South Paris and offers a variety of activities. You could base yourself in Boothbay Harbor. There are many posts in this site outlining activities.

If you will not be staying with your host family, a nice spot in Norway is Hillside Cottages:

http://www.hillsidecottages.com/

A trip back to Maine in 14 years

I would recommend spending the week nearby in the Bethel/Sunday River area as your home base. There are a lot of nice inns and/or condos/homes that you can rent for a week.

August is blueberry month -- take a lift up the Sunday River ski trails, hike the ridge and bring your container to fill with wild blueberries.

Take a picnic out to Screw Auger falls (perfect for a 2 year old).

Get wet in any of the numerous Sunday River swimming holes -- Lazy S is great for that age group. (bring your tadpole net)

Drive over to the N.H., Mt. Washington area -- do the auto road up the mountain, check out the weather observatory and the fabulous views. Continue into N. Conway -- stop at Story Land with the little one -- really geared towards her age group! Follow up with a little shopping and the scenic railroad tour in town.

Invite your host family to join you for some of these activities -- South Paris is a very short ride.

Enjoy your trip!