4th of July in Maine

I know I'm biased, but I truly think Maine is the best place to be for the 4th of July. No intense humidity? Check. No big cities with huge crowds? Check. BBQ and lakes on every corner? Check.

Other people definitely agree with me, as evidenced by the crazy amounts of out-of-state cars that pour into our state the weekend before and make interstate traffic absolutely unbearable. But once you're done sitting on the highway surrounded by foreign cars - congrats! You're in the best spot for 4th of July!

Dress: Gingham Express Dress (similar Here)

I had so many friends from high school and college in town for the holiday weekend, so we started with one crazy night. Our philosophy was, we needed to get a party night out of our system, so we could truly relax for the rest of the long weekend. That makes sense, right? No? Well, we did it anyways.

I had moved to Portland on Friday (post coming on that soon!!) and by Saturday night, I already had 6 people sleeping on my floor. I thought it would be stressful, but it was mostly just really fun. It's so funny being back with my high school friends, having a sleepover on the floor, like we used to 6 years ago. We woke up the next morning and I explored my new neighborhood with them, but eventually we went our separate ways so I could head off to my friends island for the weekend.

If you go to big lakes like Sebago Lake, I can promise you it will be nowhere as relaxing. Those are the big lakes that the tourists go to - there are definitely spots on them that are a lot quieter, but if you can find a rental or friend with a more secluded spot - that's my suggestion.

I was at an island the rest of the weekend off of Cundy's Harbor in Brunswick. We spent most of the day on Monday doing outdoor activities.

Top: Similar Here Denim: Mom Jeans

We were jumping in and out of the water all day, went kayaking, and eventually took a sunset boat ride to go get dinner. A lot of lakes in Maine have dinner places on the water that you can either boat or drive to, based on where you're staying and what your preferred mode of transportation is. We opted for boating because, well, it's just more fun.

If you're looking for great fireworks in Maine look no further - just go to Portland. For a pretty small city, they have a pretty awesome fireworks show. The couple times I've stayed in town to watch them, I've been impressed. If you don't want to leave the lake to go to Portland, have no fear! Almost every lake I've ever stayed on over the 4th of July (and there has been many) has had their own local firework show. Whether it's some rich people who own a house that opted to entertain the whole lake, or the town, fireworks are hard to miss when you're in Maine (considering it is the only day out of the year that fireworks are legal - people tend to go pretty crazy).

I can't imagine doing 4th of July anywhere else - but if you have anywhere you feel the same about, please let me know! Maybe I'll venture out of the state next year (probably not).