1. Coastal Naturopathic Center
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Health Care
Telephone: (207) 781-4447
Address: 4 Fundy Road
Description: Dr. Richard Maurer, a naturopathic practitioner, and his wife, Alexandra Maurer, a licensed acupuncturist, have run this successful holistic health center in Portland since 1994. Maurer is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and is trained in naturopathic medicine and the Bowen Technique—the practice of gentle muscle manipulation that was developed more than 50 years ago in Australia. Maurer uses the Bowen Technique to treat a variety of ailments, including asthma, fibromyalgia, and hip and back pain. The Maurers claim to be able to treat a lengthy list of ailments with their alternative approach, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and high cholesterol.
2. To Life Chiropractic
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Health Care
Telephone: (207) 781-8008
Address: 190 Route 1
Description: At To Life Chiropractic, based in Falmouth, chiropractor Paul Perreault emphasizes holistic health. For example, staff massage therapists and physical trainers work out of an expanded classroom in the chiropractic office to enhance treatment. Trainers offer breathing and relaxation classes as well as movement and flexibility workshops using the Yamuna body rolling technique. In line with its commitment to overall health, To Life Chiropractic also houses the Total Wellness Center. Chiropractic and some services at To Life Chiropractic are covered by most health insurance providers. Call the office for more details.
3. The Forecaster
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Media
Telephone: (207) 781-3661
Address: 8 Fundy Road
Description: The Forecaster, which originally covered the northern suburbs of Falmouth and Yarmouth, expanded in 2003 to cover South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, and Scarborough. In 2004 it added a Portland edition. The three Forecaster incarnations are all weekly newspapers focusing on news and human-interest stories in the various communities in their coverage area. The Portland edition usually includes several news stories on city politics that are hard to find anywhere else. The Forecaster is free and can be picked up most anywhere, including in vending machines in downtown Portland. For a complete list of the distribution sites, visit their Web site.
4. Gilsland Farm
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 781-2330
Address: 20 Gilsland Farm Rd.
Description: It’s somewhat surprising to find such a peaceful sanctuary in the town just to the north of the state’s largest city, but then these 65 acres are the headquarters of Maine Audubon Society, so it makes a certain amount of sense. Still, 2.5 miles of trails wandering through woods and meadows and along the banks of marshes isn’t what you expect scant minutes from downtown Portland. The beauty of the former cow farm is the diversity of habitats—visitors can tromp through fields, explore woods, skirt a pond, and stand on the edge of a salt marsh on the three primary trails. Also on-site is the Gilsland Farm Environmental Center, where the society maintains three classrooms, and the Nature Store, where you can pick up those great Audubon field guides. The property is open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, year-round. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. year-round. Free.
5. Mill Creek Preserve
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 729-5181
Address: Route 88
Description: Along with the neighboring preserve owned by the town of Falmouth, the Nature Conservancy’s Mill Creek property protects some 50 acres of marsh on Casco Bay. There are trails on the town side, which make for great hiking through the woods and down to the water. Popular with great blue herons and snowy egrets, the preserve is enjoyed by those people savvy enough to find it. Take State Route 88 past the Falmouth Pumping Station and park in the next parking lot.
6. O’ Naturals
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 781-8889
Address: 240 Route 1
Description: Don’t be surprised to see this fast-food joint taking over the country. Founded by some of the folks behind popular Stonyfield Yogurt, the eatery provides a healthy alternative to the greasy, processed McGrub at your chain burger joints. The menu is built around soups, sandwiches, salads, noodle dishes, and, yes, burgers made with organic and local produce, free-range meats, and no preservatives, additives, or “multiple-syllable stuff that you find in processed foods.” How’s it taste, though? Great. Try the miso noodles, the curried chicken, the spicy peanut salad, the chap chae Korean noodles, or the hoisin portobello sandwiches on flatbread—all delicious and prepared on demand for you in woks and grills by an eager young staff. Amazingly, it comes out just about as quickly as it does at the Golden Arches across the street. The ambience is nice—like a comfortable cosmpolitan coffee bar, with its art deco lights and exposed industrial piping. Opened in the late 1990s, the place has already expanded three times—it now has restaurants in Portland’s Old Port and in Asheville, North Carolina, and Wichita, Kansas—and with food this good and an idea this sensible, it’s sure to grow again soon.
7. Oceanview At Falmouth
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (207) 781-4460
Address: 20 Blueberry Lane
Description: OceanView is one of a trio of retirement villages owned by developer John Wasileski that advertises all over the place, from print to radio. “It’s about life, it’s about time” is their motto, and in many ways they live up to it. The OceanView campus is located on a side street in Falmouth, Portland’s tony easterly neighbor, and includes 71 independent apartments in the Lodge, a large condo building, 107 cottages, and 38 assisted-living apartments. All units are purchased, and they come in pleasant one- or two-bedroom layouts. The complex sits on 45 acres within a few minutes’ drive of Portland, so there is the quiet of the country but the convenience of being next to the state’s largest city. And, as the name suggests, the water is not far. Activities are aplenty right at OceanView, however, so you needn’t travel much. The retirement center offers workouts for the mind—a library and Internet access—as well as for the body—strength training, yoga, and tai chi. It also has an active calendar of social activities, from talks to musical performances to art shows. Best of all, though, are the services provided, from complete maintenance to grocery delivery to a hair salon. It’s like living in a small Maine village where everything is taken care of.
8. Maine State Ballet
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 781-7672
Address: 348 Route 1
Description: The Maine State Ballet (MSB) was incorporated in 1982 by artistic director Linda MacArthur Miele, a former member of George Balanchine’s famous New York City Ballet. The company includes 36 professional dancers who are often joined in performances by students from the Maine State School for the Performing Arts—the ballet school affiliated with MSB. Past MSB performances have included Cinderella, Don Quixote, and, of course, The Nutcracker.
9. Maine Audubon Society
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 781-2330
Address: 20 Gilsland Farm Rd.
Description: Education has always been at the core of the Maine Audubon Society’s mission, and the old conservation organization has helped generations of Maine kids gain a greater appreciation for the outdoors. The society hosts a vast array of workshops, programs, and field trips that are oriented toward families and children. These activities are open to nonmembers, and they have names like Explore Fields and Forest and Explore the Pond. There are also programs filled with nature walks, outdoor games, and songs geared to preschoolers, as well as a raft of summer camps for young kids, teens, and family groups. Call the society and ask for the full schedule.
10. Maze Craze
City: Falmouth, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: Route 9 and Lunt Rd.
Description: The playground to beat all playgrounds, this gigantic wooden maze of a place is great fun for kids to get lost in. (They’re fine; don’t worry.) Schools from all over bus their children here to explore the castlelike structure, swing on the swings, slide on the slides, and make like monkeys on the monkey bars. A play area for kids with disabilities is right here, too. Open dawn to dusk. Free.