It’s that time of year again—Maine is on the brain. Stacey took off for Ogunquit this week, and my wife and I started planning our annual August vacation in Damariscotta in earnest last night. Already, we’ve got our tickets on the Hardy Boat for a day trip to Monhegan Island, I’ve planned an overnight camping trip to Acadia with my son, Henry, and we’re heading back to the Chebeague Island Inn for our anniversary. Since we had kids, it seems like our precious vacation days fill up faster than ever. But on the plus side, both boys both tried lobster this past weekend… and liked it!

And as if Maine couldn’t get any better, big news today: a new independent bookstore is opening in Portland. Print: A Bookstore will join the three other independent booksellers in town, and the idea that a city of 100,000 can support four bookstores is sure to warm any booklovers heart. But the more I think about it, books are all around whenever we head up north. Damariscotta, a town of less than 3,000 residents not only has a thriving bookstore in the Maine Coast Book Shop, but the adjacent Skidompha Public Library is the cultural center of town (with possibly the best name ever).

Sadly, Print: A Bookstore won’t be open until October, so we’ll miss it this summer. But knowing that there will be a new place to browse on our way up (we often spend the night in Portland on the way to Damariscotta) is a good incentive to plan a fall trip…