Quick thoughts about my recent solo excursion to Maine while visiting friend and business colleague, Chris Mathan of The Sportman's Cabinet in Gorham.....

Who knew May would be the perfect time to visit? The weather cooperated in that fine spring way with fresh breezes and bright skies. It's pre-season (i.e., not crowded) in an area that crawls with out-of-state tourists during the summer months. Also, lilacs were in full bloom everywhere.

I have never seen so many lilacs. They seem to be planted in the garden of every Maine home and planted with gusto. A lone lilac was rare; usually they were part of a shrub border or hedge. For the most part, the plants were the old-fashioned purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Sprinkled in, though, and just enough for contrast, were white lilacs (Syringa vulgaris 'Alba') and occasionally, some darker lavenders and pale pinks.

I felt completely at home for, in many ways, Maine is like Minnesota and full of pines, moose, loons and blueberries. Maine looks like Minnesota but with an ocean instead of 11,842 lakes.

My trip was a series of bests.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best caramel roll, called a Morning Bun at Standard Baking Co., located just off the wharf in Portland. The dough was the perfect consistency–light, almost croissant-like–and swirled with just enough caramel and cinnamon. Plus the size was exactly right. I felt like Goldilocks.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best container and fountain selection at very cool garden shop, Fiachre, in Portland.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best dry-laid rock walls fashioned of granite or field stones outside of the British Isles.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best hand-poured, fragrant (Orange & Sage), beeswax candle at chic boutique, Minka, in Kennebunkport.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best lobster meal at Bob's Seafood in Windham.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best label, Sea Glass, for a bottle of sauvignon blanc.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best walk with a friend on an expansive bit of sandy Popham Beach on the Atlantic Ocean when the tide was receding.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best two-fer: huge slice of real blueberry pie at Sarah's Café in the quintessentially quaint seaside village, Wiscasset.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best crab at the casual family restaurant, Estes Lobster House, at the tip of a picturesque neck of land in South Harpswell.

?Ø‚Äö‚Ñ¢ best Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe (swoon) and Cate Blanchett (ethereal).

On my final evening in Maine, the best garden tour in the enchanting, romantic garden of Mary Emerson in Gorham followed by take-out cartons of Thai food and a jug of pinot grigio.