Ogunquit, Maine: Site of our most recent 24-hour travels!
Want to improve your romantic, friendship, or family relationships?
Here’s an easy method that works, and is even backed up by science: Travel for a day trip or longer.
Why does travel enhance human connections? Expansion.
To elaborate on the research behind this, let’s draw from the excellent New York Times article, “The Happy Marriage is the ‘Me” Marriage.” In this article, Tara Parker-Pope pulls together a number of recent studies to explain that happier relationships are those in which each partner helps expand the other’s horizons.
We decided on Ogunquit by randomly looking at a map!
Parker-Pope explains, “If you’re seeking self-growth and obtain it from your partner, then that puts your partner in a pretty important position, [...] and being able to help your partner’s self-expansion would be pretty pleasing to yourself.”
The author continues, “The concept explains why people are delighted when dates treat them to new experiences, like a weekend away.”
It is certainly true for me that shared new travel experiences build stronger relationships! Here is how this played out with me and my fiance (who I met and got engaged to because of travel in the first place!) earlier this month. You see, we’re both teachers, and we often spend our weekends grading papers in our apartment. Unfortunately, when you repeatedly do the same thing in the same place, it starts to blur together. All I usually remember of a 48-hour Grading Weekend is black and white words flashing in front of my eyes above the same gray couch.
One of the great seaside views along Marginal Way in Ogunquit.
“We gotta travel somewhere else,” I exclaimed. “We can still work, but we need a change of scene.”
“Okay!” replied Colin. “Where?”
“Anywhere,” I sang. “How long are you willing to drive?” (Recall I can’t drive, myself.)
“One hour and thirty minutes,” declared Colin, “maximum.”
I pulled up Google Maps and did several driving directions searches to ascertain the radius we could geographically achieve with ninety minutes in a car. Like Sherlock Holmes, I sleuthed out several towns that fit the bill, plus seemed to be in pretty areas as judged by the “Terrain” view in Google Maps.
We ate a ridiculous amount of lobster at that Ogunquit pier restaurant.
Next, I opened internet tabs for about fifteen different hotel booking sites and quested for an hour until I found a great price on a hotel in a thrilling place: Ogunquit, Maine. We’d never been to Ogunquit before, but had heard others rave about it.
It was 11:55pm on Friday when I made the booking, and by Saturday afternoon, we were packed, in the car, and on our way to the seaside!
We still got an epic amount of grading done, but it was infinitely better by the beach, breathing fresh air, devouring lobster. We even took a short break to walk along famous Marginal Way: the beautiful Maine equivalent of the Newport, RI Cliff Walk.
Ogunquit is not a bad place to grade papers, eh?
When we got back home, our relationship felt different: stronger and expanded.
We’d created fresh new memories together that wouldn’t have happened staying in Boston all weekend, and we felt happy and in love!
So what about YOU?
Have you also experienced how expanding horizons with a partner, friend, or family member boosts your relationship? Do you have plans to, now?
Do share!
I couldn’t agree more! My boyfriend and I went for a weekend away from Boston to New Hampshire and hiked to the top of Mt Washington and our relationship really did feel different after. We are both excruciatingly busy with work (I am an entrepreneur and he’s in his second year of residency) and it turns out that getting away allows us ‘unplug’ from the demands of our jobs more fully than if we were to stay around the city. Great post!
Love that! Thanks for commenting
May our loving trips continue!
I’ve never been to Maine, is it nice up there?
See the photos and judge for yourself!
I totally agree with the fact that travel can make a relationship/friendship stronger. It’s probably one of the biggest reasons why I like to go far away places with my friends and family. When you’re with someone you love for a long period of time in a place that you love then things are usually a lot more fun. And while you’re having fun you’re having fun with someone you care a lot about.
Spending more time with a loved one always make the relationship better.
Is a getaway really all that good? I thought buying some things for your friends and family is the best thing to do.
Unbelievable, instead of checking our work and grading our Symposium, you go on a getaway.
Hope you had fun though, next year is gonna be more chaotic than this one.
Ms. Marshall I would wish you and your soon to be husband the best of luck.
I hope that you and your fiance marry happily and that you enjoy each other. Thanks for the advice, though.
Wow those views look awesome! I wish had a car so I could drive there and just take pictures and sell them. This place sounds and looks awesome.
Sometimes a longer trips can break relationship instead of building it
Aw this is cute Ms. Marshall!
I think that grading papers in Ogunquit is probably more relaxing than at home, because you feel the fresh breeze in your hair, and smell the salty water. It’s more refreshing and it can help you take your mind off things stressing you out in life, like grading papers.
That is really sweet. I think you guys will have a strong marriage traveling together.
I really want to go to Ogunquit! I only went to Portland, Maine before but it was so boring since I had to stay at home all day.
Wow! That’s adorable! Where did you meet your fiance?
Click the link to the engagement article to find out!
I go to Ogunquit every summer (we own a little cottage there) and the views are beautiful. I have to recommend Lazy Daisy, the Barrel Stave and the art stores nearby for cute, creative and pretty pieces of home, jewelry and little souvenirs to bring home!
Main Beach is way too crowded so farther down the stretch towards Wells and York is Footbridge Beach. It is a little quieter than Main Beach but has bigger waves. 
>:o You guys meet when you were traveling?
You’re not one of the over 1,000 people who’ve already read the story?! Read here: http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2011/11/13/we-are-engaged-or-how-travel-can-find-and-build-love/
Given that my husband is my regular travel buddy, I haven’t really experienced the need to ‘escape’ together. But I see how that could add to a relationship – you share new experiences, you have more things to talk about than just the daily routine, and you’re in a “let’s have fun mode” when away. Interesting post…
Thanks for reading and commenting! Well, given that the research in the NYTimes articles suggests that it’s fresh NEW experiences that bond a relationship, you might do the opposite of what my article suggests: Since you travel all the time, you could spice things up by being at home