There’s a reason they call them “Maine-iacs.” The folks in the Northeast’s northernmost state are a breed apart; quirky, inscrutable, and—when you break the ice—the most down-to-earth people you could meet. Maine is where to meet real people doing real work, from lobster fishing to lumber cutting.
The state’s other reputation as “Vacationland” is well deserved: Of all the New England states, Maine’s rocky coastline is the most picturesque, while inland lakes and mountains offer enormous tracts of silent wilderness broken only by the cries of loons.