How Amazing and Normal Did Maine Feel This Past Weekend?

We've been craving a weekend like this for over a year. A weekend where we could just be normal Mainers doing normal things -- going out for a walk on a beautiful weather day. Interacting with other humans without having to have a foot-long q-tip stuck up our nose first, or having to sit at home going nowhere for 14 days before we could go somewhere.

This past weekend in Maine felt...normal(ish).

According to Channel 8 WMTW, with this past Saturday being the first day that Maine travel restrictions were lifted (eliminating the need to quarantine before traveling here from away or to present a negative COVID test in order to come here), coastal areas in the state saw a huge uptick in people for the first time in over a year since the pandemic and restrictions began.

How AMAZING did that feel? To do something as crazy and wild as heading over to Old Orchard Beach, parking your car, and just walking around and taking in the fresh air and sunshine? To pop in a shop (or all the shops) and just look around to see what clothes were hanging on the racks or displays were on the wall? Even channeling our inner kid again and playing arcade games?

We're getting there, baby step by baby step. This past weekend felt the most normal that a weekend has felt since Summer 2019. BUT, just because we're coming off a weekend like this, doesn't mean we can take our eye off the prize, and that's being able to fully put this pandemic behind us.

Because even though we finally shed the travel restrictions, the Maine CDC told WMTW that if travelers come from hot spots and cases start popping up rapidly again, the restrictions could be put back in place. So let's stay the course, stay healthy, stay smart, and keep moving forward one baby step at a time!