Maine in the off season: Old Orchard Beach to Kittery (Van life couple on New England road trip)

[@jkandkiminthecamper]

I was in York 25 years ago-loved it!!! Tide was out so walked down on the lower rocks. It was October when I was there and it was chilly!! Such a beautiful spot!

[@SteveAudra]

@@jkandkiminthecamper I love when the tide is out. My absolute favorite!!!

[@debberkebile4396]

My friend from work goes here every year and loves ot

[@SteveAudra]

@@debberkebile4396 We can totally understand why!

[@Travelingwalker121]

Love seeing you drive through where I live 👌.

[@SteveAudra]

@@Travelingwalker121 And we loved driving through where you live! 🙂

[@grayandgrumpy]

You guys did a great job of capturing the spirit of Maine throughout these videos. We especially liked your take on the places that we have already visited.

[@SteveAudra]

@@grayandgrumpy We're glad you enjoyed the videos! We had such a great time!.

[@tammycruz8189]

Merry Christmas 🎅🤶🎄

[@SteveAudra]

@@tammycruz8189 Thank you, Michigan Tam! ❤️ Same to you!

[@lauraboggs4415]

My husband and I were in Old Orchard Beach at the Beach Motel just down the street from the boardwalk Oct 4-7. Who knows.. maybe we could’ve crossed paths?? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Then we headed up to Acadia that next week. We loved it as well! Not sure we’d love winter but we’ll have to go back to see someday.

[@SteveAudra]

@@lauraboggs4415 Oh, how fun! We were there a little ahead of you. What a beautiful area! We really had a fun time in the winter back in 2002 because of how quaint everything was and how friendly everyone was. But in general we definitely try to avoid the cold!

[@jshenderson]

BIG!!! what a fun movie. :)

[@SteveAudra]

@@jshenderson Such a great movie. Now I want to watch it again!

[@mccproc]

Enjoyed your synopsis of Maine and all the little towns within. I would love to be a 6 month resident in a Northern State and Florida for 6 months. In my older age i have grown tired of the long hot and sticky Summers in Florida. I guess that you would half to experience all 4 Seasons in 1 place to make a firm decision regarding long term residency. I would be interested in knowing what you thought of the friendliness of the people in New England They always struck me as being a bit odd. Maybe it was just me! Loved the Video. Rob McCann

[@SteveAudra]

@@mccproc We're really glad you enjoyed it! There are certainly pros and cons for any place although we really love Florida, even in the summer. We've heard Maine is terrible during some of the summer with black flies and other bugs. But then Florida has Noseeums and plenty of mosquitoes! We probably wouldn't want to be in Maine during the winter months. We found the people in Maine to be really friendly, or at least some of them! We had so many people who chatted with us and even offered up recommendations without us asking!

[@fisherman5845]

Don't come a knock 'en if the van is rock'"en

[@user-PBM4444]

High theft in OOB. We had a camera etc., stolen from our tent. Amazing area of Maine is, Ogunquit. Small touristy town where Sally Struthers plays the Ogunquit theater in the spring/summer. (They say she has a summer place there.) Used to be this great gay-bar there and they had a piano and all these guys would do show tunes, it was like having a front row seat to the greatest vocals on earth....very entertaining! Anyways, Wells has a cool outlet store in a shopping strip mall area and a great dinner.

[@SteveAudra]

@@user-PBM4444 We've visited Ogunquit a couple times. It's such a charming town!

[@user-PBM4444]

sorry, kinda behind with videos

[@SteveAudra]

No problem. We didn't stop in Ogunquit on this trip. We were there in 2002 before having the van and then stopped in 2020 in one of our earliest travel videos.

[@southerngirlyall6497]

How do you determine which places you will visit?

[@SteveAudra]

@@southerngirlyall6497 Do you mean once we're already in a region or when we map out plans for the year? There are a lot of factors that go into the larger plan. This year we started with a different plan but because of the progression and timing with my dad's cancer, we ended up staying in the northeast and we planned around being with family and some places we knew we'd like to visit without going to far away from family. We also plan around weather for sure!

[@southerngirlyall6497]

@SteveAudra Both, please.

[@SteveAudra]

@@southerngirlyall6497 That's a bit difficult to answer. We usually choose some specific things/areas that are top priority for the year (such as specific national parks, people we want to see, and specific landmarks) and then consider existing obligations and weather and make a plan that works with that, is efficient for driving (a straightish path instead of back and forths or backtracking) and that leaves enough time for us in each area. We also try to factor in time with family and visiting people we know along the way. For the more day to day we work on balancing work and sightseeing. We choose spots based on recommendations from others, places we've saved from Instagram, places we have found on the map, etc. We always start with things that are free to do first. Then we look to see if there are things that are especially unique to an area such as food or landmarks that we don't want to miss. We often look for local parks, state or national parks, botanical gardens that are part of the American Horticultural Society reciprocal program, hiking trails, etc. I also search for blogs about an area trying to find things that locals or other travelers recommend.

[@southerngirlyall6497]

@SteveAudra I need to plan a little better so I'm not backtracking so much.

[@jshenderson]

You guys do know that winter hits Maine different than Florida, right? :)

[@SteveAudra]

@@jshenderson What? Nobody told us that! I guess we'd have to be snowbirds!

[@jshenderson]

@@SteveAudra Well i am just passing along what i heard from friends who used to live there long ago. So things might have changed. Perhaps Google could help ;)

[@SteveAudra]

@jshenderson Lol! But with global warming we probably wouldn't notice a difference. I mean, we did see people swimming in the ocean while we were there like it was the most normal thing in the world to do at that time of the year!

[@jshenderson]

@@SteveAudra LOL. Yep and i remember how Steve described that person :)

[@E6fireman237]

Comment!

[@SteveAudra]

@@E6fireman237 🏡🚐

[@rongreen7308]

We love the video. Of course its getting cold now. I am thinking back to Forida and no snow, at least you are mobile. 2 likes +2 views+1 comment = Lots of 😃

[@SteveAudra]

@@rongreen7308 Yup! We avoid the cold as much as possible!!! We're so glad you've been enjoying the videos! Thanks, Ron and Ginger!

[@rongreen7308]

@@SteveAudra We are so much looking forward to VanFest and meeting you and Steve. We feel like we know you. Ginger likes how you are always smiling. Enjoy the holidays. Merry Christmas.

[@grayandgrumpy]

Smuggling pepper spray into Canada and now driving the wrong way. Who are you people?

[@SteveAudra]

@@grayandgrumpy I don't even know. I don't even recognize us anymore. And now we're even begging! 😆

[@grayandgrumpy]

@SteveAudra fame does go to your head.

[@SteveAudra]

@@grayandgrumpy 🤣

[@Christina0623]

​@SteveAudra hahaha. You're ruining your good rep, S&A 😂

[@SteveAudra]

@@Christina0623 Lol! Maybe we're going to need to change our channel name!

[@firemanbenk]

Saco is pronounced “Sock-o”

[@SteveAudra]

@@firemanbenk We've been schooled on this twice now. Now we know better for next time! (There was the Saco River and covered bridge in NH as well.)

[@SteveAudra]

@@firemanbenk Which I now see on the map is the same river!

[@firemanbenk]

@ enjoy the videos. Just subscribed! You’re living the way I want to with my wife but our kids are still in the house. I live in Clinton, Maine north of Waterville. A town with more cows than people, I yearn for more

[@SteveAudra]

@@firemanbenk We appreciate that! Just kick those kids out and get out on the road! 🤣 But seriously, we hope you can do some exploring at some point. We absolutely love it!

[@robm5091]

Thanks for not coming back to Maine.

[@SteveAudra]

@@robm5091 Thanks for watching! We loved our time in Maine and look forward to coming back!

[@firemanbenk]

Higgins beach has hot showers at their beach parking area

[@SteveAudra]

@@firemanbenk Wow, good to know! That seems like quite the novelty!

[@firemanbenk]

@@SteveAudra yeah I surf that beach and it’s great to come out in the winter and rinse off in a hot shower before heading home

[@Jeremy-rv7fm]

Getting Audra on camera mote would get you more views and you wouldn't have to beg for money 🫡

[@SteveAudra]

It's more of a demand than beg.

Great video! Maine is really something soecial

[@grayandgrumpy]

That's interesting. We think they need to feature Steve more. He's like the cowbell skit from SNL... more cowbell

[@Jeremy-rv7fm]

@@SteveAudra mind on the money and money on the mind. MONEY MONEY MONEY

[@Jeremy-rv7fm]

@@SteveAudra I enjoy your videos just saying pretty women get more views and more donations/tips/gifts probably 10 times more profitable than demanding lmao