For non-Mainers, L.L. Bean is a Maine institution. They’re a clothing and outdoor equipment company based in Freeport, Maine; open 24 hours, 365 days a year. They make iconic Bean boots and we’re huge fans of their Wicked Good moccasin slippers and tote bags.

Approximately 24 hours before our latest guests arrived from Dublin, I discovered L.L. Bean’s Discovery Tours. I can’t even tell you how I came across them, but I landed on their website and immediately decided we’d be signing up.

I called the next day and made reservations for kayaking and clay shooting, three spots in each. I sent Michael with my brother and his friend to go clay shooting, knowing he wouldn’t be too excited about deep, open water. He’s a city kid at heart. And I joined our friends Andy and Naomi for a few hours of kayaking.

Can I just say? What a steal. Each class is $20 per person and runs between an hour and a half to two and a half hours. I would do it again every weekend if I could.

I don’t have photos from the clay shooting class, but the boys loved it. They all came home with souvenir clays, slightly tender shoulders, and bigger egos. I only brought my iTouch in the kayak – I was too nervous I’d dunk my big camera, so forgive the blurry pics. Just imagine it’s because of the wavy bobbing of the ocean water!

So here’s how the Discovery Tours work. You call your local store and sign up, then show up and pay on the day. After we paid and signed a liability form, we hopped on the L.L. Bean bus and drove off to Wolf Neck State Park to meet our guides.

When we hopped off the bus, Pete and Rob met us and got us fitted in water shoes, life jackets and paddles. They gave us a little tutorial on how to paddle properly, and made sure we were sunscreened and bugsprayed up before they took us down the dock to the kayaks.

The dock has ramps, so you climb into the kayak, and they just slide you in. If you were a little nervous about trying to climb into a kayak from the dock, fear not! It feels very secure.

And then you’re off! Your guides take you on a tour up the Haraseeket River inlet and then down again through all the boats moored there.

At one point, Rob stopped us to show a horseshoe crab he’d found in the water. My friends from Dublin had never seen one before! And between the two of them, Rob and Pete explained lots about the surrounding area, the islands at the mouth of the river, and the wildlife.

On the way back to the dock, we spent a little time ‘boat shopping’ in the harbor. It was so fun to get so close to the boats and weave in and out between them.

We lucked out with a nearly perfect day on the water – just warm enough but not too hot and not too breezy. It was the perfect way to show Maine off to visitors, and the perfect way for me to fall in love with it all over again!

If you’re in the area, check L.L. Bean’s website for more about their Outdoor Discovery classes.

Earlier in the week, my friend Emily gifted me a few past copies of Maine Magazine. And they couldn’t have come at a better time. Just a few days earlier, I was struggling to find inspiration for exploring Maine. Since I’ve moved to Ireland, I’ve never had that problem on trips home. There’s always been at least a short list of things I’ve been meaning to do and places I’ve wanted to explore. But this trip, I somehow lost some of my motivation.

So enter Maine Magazine. It’s an absolute gold mine of things to do and see, places to eat, galleries to visit and events to add to your calendar.

Each issue made me so excited about this state – there is so much going on!

Maine Magazine does a feature in each issue where they visit an area for 48 hours and explore tons of spots – both on and off the beaten track. And the best part? They’re all available online!

My one small criticism about the magazine is that there are a lot of ads. But I could even turn that into a positive – from those ads I got lots of extra info about what’s going on, what restaurants have opened, specials on offer. That ad above for the Cellardoor winemakers – I had no idea people were making wine in Maine – how cool!

Whether you’re a visitor or a real Mainer, Maine Magazine is a great resource – they’re highlighting the wonderful people, creative entrepreneurs and fabulous food this state has to share. I can definitely get on board with that. In fact, if I lived in Maine, I’d probably camp out on their doorstep with my resume until they hired me. What a fun job that would be!

These photos are going to give you a very specific image of my family. Please disregard. Overall, we are not nearly this preppy, posh or fussy (not that there’s anything wrong with that either). But last weekend, we had a little extended family gathering with a croquet match.

My aunt found a book of croquet rules and gave it to my grandmother for her birthday. Croquet is my grandmother’s game, but no one else ever really knew the rules. Instead, we played by my grandmother’s rules and my grandfather was always a little dubious.

So this weekend, we used the book of rules, roped in 12 family members, and played an epic round of croquet. In the end, my grandmother (teamed with my ultra-competitive father who did dance moves that would be banned by the NFL every time he nailed a wicket) schooled us all, to spite that darn rule book.

Here’s how we play*:

Set up the court like this. Get into six teams of two – because more people make for more laughs. Hit the ball with the mallet through the wickets to the stake. If you go through a stake, you get an extra turn; if you hit another ball, you get an extra turn. Expect an attrition rate of about fifty percent – we lost people at an alarming rate, so this is another good reason to have so many players. When someone wins, call it a day. Croquet can be one long game! Optional: cocktails and bug spray. Some of us needed both.

Michael was a natural, until he ditched the game to cheer for the Irish football team playing against Croatia. He should have stayed with the croquet – he was the only one who could have given my grandmother any competition!

My brother showed up dressed to win. He’s trying out a new look – croquet chic. He’s still got a little work to do on his game though.

The champion herself, showing off the winning technique.

And that about sums up the Boyle/Foley/Westbrooks school of croquet. Does your family play? Any fun rules we haven’t discovered yet?

*No guarantees we’ve taken any of that new rule book to heart!

Tonight I was so thrilled that I got to attend an event at the South Portland Public Library, where my dad was speaking. Did you know he’s a famous author?

My dad writes mystery novels. He’s published eleven, in fact. And they’re so good. Those eleven books count two different series – one with a freelance reporter protagonist and another with a police officer protagonist. I think you should read every one of them, you’ll get sucked right in.

I love attending my dad’s book signings and readings when I’m home. I always learn something new about the thought process behind his work or a little snippet from his past. Tonight he speculated that most crime novelists, himself included, are really sentimental at heart. They write crime novels because they want to see justice served, better or more fully than it is in real life. That about sums up my dad. He wants to see justice served a little more fairly.

So in his books, there is crime, but there’s also a good dose of honor and justice. And a whole lotta heart. Which makes me one proud daughter.

With any luck, we might even have a byline together soon!

You can find all of his books on Amazon or visit his website for more speaking events in Maine this summer.