Charlie and Molly McKinnon, both 7, of Bow, N.H., throw bread to the gulls while visiting Nubble Light with their cousins from California, who had never seen a lighthouse.
From left, Danielle Belanger and Rene Veilleux relax with their family on one of the beaches near their campground at Sebago Lake State Park. The family, who are from St-Combe in Quebec, come down to Sebago for two weeks every summer. Belanger has been coming for 56 years. She came with her father, who died just three weeks ago at 88, every summer as a child. She said that he loved it there so much he even had a spot booked for himself this summer.
During the height of the tourist season, traffic tie-ups along parts of Route 1 in Wiscasset and throughout the state become the norm.
Hundreds of visitors flock to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to watch the sunrise. At 1,530 foot Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain along the Eastern Coast of the United States.
Sophia Arcuri takes in the view of Old Orchard Beach from the Electra Wheel at Palace Playland.
Indira Chakravarti walks her dog on the corner of Albert Meadow and Main streets in downtown Bar Harbor past Maine souvenir shops and an ice cream parlor. Chakravarti is from Baltimore, but summers in Bar Harbor. Maine has a number of seasonal residents and the 2010 census reported that of the 721,830 housing units counted, 118,310 were listed as “seasonal, recreational, occasional use.” Another 18,848 were listed as “vacant, for rent” and “rented, not occupied."
Writing in the sand that said "Portland 2017" is washed away by the waves at the beach next to Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse.
Karen Cleary, left, and Jackie Soares consult a Greater Portland Discovery Map from the corner of Fore and Union streets in an effort to find a higher concentration of shops. "We're trying to spend our money here, but we haven't had much luck yet," Cleary joked. Every year, the local franchise of Discovery Map prints 375,000 of the free maps and distributes them at 300 locations throughout the area, according to franchise owner Susan Allen.
Cooks from Solo Italiano take one last smoke break in an alley behind the Thomas Block before a Friday dinner rush will keep them indoors - and smoke-free - for more than five hours. The restaurant tries to cater to a year-round customer base, but they see a spike during tourist season, according to the sous chef, right, who goes by the name Oni. Tourist season also coincides with an abundance of produce from local farms, which makes the season particularly exciting from a creative standpoint. Also shown from left: the restaurant's crudo Cole Herbst and secondi Adam Jalbert.
Julieann Ciccarelli of Wareham, Mass., Miriam Trainer of Watertown, Mass., and Gina Hughes of Medford, Mass., have the beach to themselves on a cloudy Thursday in Camp Ellis. Hughes has a place in Old Orchard Beach and tries to spend much of the summer in Maine while Ciccarelli and Trainer come up to visit as much as they can. All three are nurses in Massachusetts.
Parking and lines can be intense at the Lobster Shack Restaurant, but many say that it is worth the ambiance of the rocky coastline in Cape Elizabeth.
Richard Chen takes photos of his girlfriend Arlene Shih as she twirls upon the rocks after they had lunch at the Lobster Shack Restaurant in Cape Elizabeth. The Manhattan couple made the stop at the popular tourist attraction while on vacation in Maine.
James Pinski, 8, of Madison, Conn., explores the rocky coastline in Cape Elizabeth after having lunch with his family at the Lobster Shack Restaurant.
Debra Roy of Ayerscliff, Quebec, Canada, serves a barbecue dinner for visiting family from New Hampshire on the last night of her two-week vacation at Libby’s Oceanside Camp in York Harbor. Roy and her husband, Serg, have vacationed in their RV at Libby’s every summer for nine years. “Because of the good people in Maine and New Hampshire,” she says, “that is why we love coming here.” The Roys have developed a fond relationship with Norm and Candy Davidson, owners of Libby’s, and say, “you just can’t get this experience anywhere else.”
Sad to have to leave, Debra Roy and her daughter Alexia, 18, share a hug on their last night of a two-week vacation at Libby’s Oceanside Camp in York Harbor. “To be seasonal, that is my goal,” said Deb Roy, who is a N.H. native, but moved to Canada with her husband, Serg, upon retirement.
Local & State 
