How about Maine USA???

Maine is a river in France. The name is also used for the area containing the river, and for the département of Maine-et-Loire.

Touristically speaking it is generally considered part of the Loire valley. Tourist attractions include:

• The Loire Valley and its castles.
• The largest vineyard of the Loire Valley.
• The boule de fort, the traditional boules game in Anjou

Angers and around:

• The Angers castle and the Apocalypse Tapestry, the largest tapestry in the world.
• The Cointreau museum, in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou
• The Château de Brissac, the tallest castle of the Loire Valley.
• The crooked spires in Baugé region.

Saumur and around:

• The Cadre Noir, one of the most famous horsemanship school in the world.
• Around Saumur, the largest concentration of troglodyte house in Europe.
• The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud and the graves of the House of Plantagenet, including Richard I of England.
• The Tank museum of Saumur, which display the largest tank collection in France.

Cholet and around:

• The textile museum of Cholet, and the creation of the famous red and white handkerchief.
• The Château de Touvois
• The Parc Oriental de Maulévrier, the largest Japanese garden of France

Segré and around:

• The fortified city of Pouancé and its medieval castle.
• The Blue Mine, a slate mine, with a funicular which goes 130 metres under the surface.
• The National stud of Le Lion-d'Angers, which host every year Le Mondial du Lion
• The Château de Challain-la-Potherie

P.S. Some places outside France may have mis-appropriated the name :-)

Groups don't start themselves. Someone has to take the lead and organize it. I did just that almost 5 years ago, when I posted asking if anyone from the Sacramento area was interested in meeting. We have been meeting the 3rd Saturday of each month since then. Asking if anyone is interested in Maine is a bit broad. What part of Maine do you live in? If there are other people in your area that are interested in meeting, then decide where and when. Many of the groups meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month. Some groups meet on varying days and not necessarily monthly. In Sacramento we found that always meeting at the same place at the same time each month provides a consistency, so even people who are rarely on the forum know where to find us. If you are interested in putting something together and you would like further assistance, just let me know.

Thanks for info. Yes I can see the broadness of my What about Maine? How many people are in your group? Do you travel together or just meet to chat? Thanks for insight, Deb

How many in our group? The numbers fluctuate. There are about 12 - 14 'regulars' and other people come and go. We've had as many as 21. Some of us have done things outside of the meetings. There is currently discussion about a trip to Italy next year. We've had people attend from as far away as Frankfurt, Germany. It has been a fantastic way to make friends with people who share a mutual love of travel.

What area in Maine are you in. My husband and I love to travel and I certainly enjoy learning from the experience of others! I have been looking at the forums to help plan our upcoming trip to Eastern Europe and stumbled on you post. We are 30 minutes NW of Portland.

Several folks down here in Massachusetts tried to get a group started. Someone was regularly traveling down from Maine, and up from Cape Cod. I didn't make the few meetings which I knew of (illness in family). I'd certainly come up to Portland for a group meeting. I travel there to visit family halfway from Agusta.

I know several people on the boards who probably would be interested. Perhaps we could car pool from Massachusetts area to Portland, Maine. Ok, let's keep the dialogue on going here!!!