Before the era of smart phones and Instagram.
Every summer from the age of five to ten my family and I drove from Chicago, IL to Ogunquit, Maine. Recently I had the privilege of returning to Ogunquit after 12 years with one of my closest friends. While I was filled with both excitement and nerves there was the concerned question floating in the back of my mind asking if it would be the same or had my childhood summer vacation spot been tainted being seeing the whole world with a twinkle in my eyes as a child.
While many of my childhood memories have blurred due to aging and the distraction of technology a few memories I held onto tightly from Ogunquit. I remember fondly hunting for seashells in the marginal way at low tide, chasing birds along the salty ocean spray, searching for starfish in tide pools, and most importantly the Harbor Candy Shop. I’m still a little confused as to how the Harbor Candy Shop got lumped in with all things ocean but they had candy rocks which at the age of 10 were the coolest things in the world.
Now you’re probably waiting for me to get to the point of why returning to my childhood vacation spot was like twelve years later is so important to you. It was like being a kid in a candy store again. Partially because my 22-year-old self discovered that the Harbor Candy Shop was still open and selling candy rocks, but also because a flood of childhood memories I didn’t even know I had come back to me.
Ogunquit is definitely a vacation town with shops lining the streets selling Maine sweatshirts, local artisan gifts, and seashells that probably weren’t even found on Ogunquit Beach. You’re meant to feel like you’re on vacation and you’re allowed to be as cheesy as you want without any shame.
Nowadays we tend to find ourselves seeking out destinations that make a good photo or Instagram rather than having a memorable experience as we try to arch our backs and tilt our heads to get just the right angel. We try to dress edgy all the time in case there’s a good photo op, but we leave taking nothing but photos and is the act of having an hour long photo shoots really a vacation memory to last a lifetime? I’m a firm believer in collecting moments not things; but photos are still things. Sometimes we really need to take our shoes off and stroll along the beach hearing nothing but the roars of the ocean and the taste of the salty air. While I did pickup a cheesy “Maine” sweatshirt, a load of my favorite chocolate rocks, and a stuffed animal lobster. I left Ogunquit feeling the same sentiment that I had at the age of 10 before the era of smart phones and Instagram. I left with pure joy of returning to Maine after 12 years and still feeling like the giddy child that I once was in this very same place.
