Image: ImageBy_Roman_Teteruk_goldeneye

Photo by Roman Teteruk

Maine has much to offer. Eiders, scoters and long-tailed ducks on saltwater; black ducks, buffleheads and goldeneyes on the edges. Wood ducks on wandering, tree-lined freshwater creeks.

Is it Arkansas? No, but can you get fresh lobster in Arkansas? I don't think so. Have a taste for saltwater? Maine's eider hunting is an experience worth having. Sit on a rock — the New Englanders call them ledges — and shoot your drakes. September means early Canada geese, and October spells trouble for locally grown wood ducks and mallards. Buffleheads and goldeneyes come later.

Maine might not be a waterfowling mecca, but the people are wonderful, the food excellent and the scenery second to none.