7 min read

The Morning Mug Meetup — Blueberry Pancakes & Full Campground Memories

Some campground mornings are just different. There’s something special about waking up to the smell of bacon cooking, coffee brewing and blueberry pancakes being made for a campground full of hungry campers.

Add in good conversation, a few stories from the road and people from all across the country gathered around the same tables, and you have the makings of a pretty unforgettable Maine morning.

That’s exactly what our annual Morning Mug Meetup Blueberry Pancake Breakfast was all about.

This year, Holden Family Campground was at 100% occupancy, which meant our campground was full…not just with RVs, but with people, families, stories and adventures from all over the country.

And we love nothing more than finding ways to bring everyone together.

A Little Taste of Maine

One of our favorite parts of welcoming campers to Maine is sharing the things that make this place special.

Maine blueberries are certainly one of them.

So what better way to start a campground morning than with warm blueberry pancakes and bacon?

There’s something about Maine blueberries that makes them feel like summer. Maybe it’s because they remind us of roadside stands, blueberry fields, homemade pies and picking berries on a warm Maine day. They’re one of those simple tastes that instantly connect you to this place.

We enjoy sharing those little pieces of Maine with our guests, not just the big attractions and destinations, but the flavors, traditions and experiences that make Maine feel like Maine. And breakfast is a pretty good way to do it.

The Dale & Dale Team

We are especially grateful for campers like Dale & Dale, who were happy to step in and cook breakfast for their fellow campers.

They volunteered their time, fired up the griddles and helped make sure everyone had a hot breakfast to enjoy. That spirit of pitching in and doing something for the people around you is one of the things we love about camping.

Campers helping campers. Neighbors becoming friends. People sharing what they have to make someone else’s morning a little better.

That’s the kind of campground atmosphere we hope to create here at Holden Family Campground. When Strangers Become Neighbors.

With a full campground, mornings like this give us a chance to slow down and actually get to know the people staying with us.

Our campers came from across North America with different backgrounds and on their own individual journeys. They were traveling for different reasons and heading toward different destinations.

But for a little while, none of that really mattered. Everyone had a plate of pancakes. Everyone had a cup of coffee or tea. And everyone had a chance to sit down and talk.

That’s one of the things we love most about camping. You can pull into a campground not knowing a single person and, a few days later, find yourself
saying goodbye to people you’ve shared meals, campfires, conversations and laughs with.

You hear about where someone is from. You learn where they’ve been. Someone recommends a place you absolutely have to visit. Someone else tells you about the best little restaurant they discovered. You find out who has been RV’ing for years and who is just getting started. And sometimes, you discover that you have a lot more in common with the stranger sitting across from you than you ever expected.

It all starts with a conversation. Sometimes that conversation starts over blueberry pancakes.

The Memories Happen in the In-Between

When people think about visiting Maine, they often think about the places they want to see.

Acadia National Park.
Bar Harbor.
The coast.
Mountains and lakes.
Lighthouses.
Lobster.

All of those things are part of the Maine experience, and we love helping our campers discover them. But some of the best vacation memories aren’t necessarily made at the destination. They’re made in between.

They’re made sitting around a picnic table. They’re made over a cup of coffee in the morning. They’re made when someone invites you to sit down. They’re made when a camper shares a story from their travels. They’re made when you laugh with someone you’ve only known for a few days. They’re made when you wake up expecting an ordinary morning and end up having one you’ll remember. That’s what we hope happens at Holden Family Campground.

More Than a Place to Park

We often say:

Park. Explore. Experience More.

And this breakfast is a perfect example of what we mean.

Of course, we want our campers to explore Maine. We want them to discover new places, take scenic drives, find their favorite Maine restaurant and experience everything this beautiful state has to offer. But we also want them to experience the campground.

The morning coffee.
The conversations.
The campfires.
The laughter.
The people.

Those simple moments that aren’t necessarily on the itinerary but somehow become the stories you tell when you get home. Because when you look back on a trip years later, you may not remember exactly what day you drove to a particular place.

But you might remember sitting at a picnic table eating blueberry pancakes with people you met at a campground in Maine. You might remember how good the coffee tasted that morning. You might remember the smell of bacon cooking.

You might remember the person who told you about a place you ended up loving. You might remember the laughter around the table. Those are the pieces that turn a vacation into a memory.

A Full Campground, Full Tables & Full Hearts

Having 100% occupancy made this year’s breakfast especially meaningful. Our campground was full of people from across the country, and for one morning, all those different journeys came together in one place.

Our tables were full. The clubhouse was busy. The griddles were working. And there was plenty of coffee. But most importantly, there were people taking the time to get to know one another. That is something we never want to take for granted.

Every season, campers arrive at Holden Family Campground looking for different things. Some are looking for adventure. Some are looking for relaxation. Some are traveling through Maine on a bigger journey. Some return year after year because Maine has become a special place for them. And we hope that somewhere along the way, they find something they weren’t necessarily looking for: a memory they didn’t expect to make.

This Is Why We Camp

At the end of the day, camping isn’t really about the RV. It’s not about how far you traveled or how many miles you put on the road. It’s about what happens when you get there.

It’s about stepping outside your everyday routine.
It’s about slowing down.
It’s about meeting people.
It’s about sharing a meal.
It’s about discovering something new.

And sometimes, it’s about a couple of fellow campers volunteering to cook blueberry pancakes and bacon for a campground full of people they’ve come to know as friends.

That’s the beauty of camping.

That’s the beauty of Maine.

And that’s why mornings like this mean so much to us.

We are grateful to every camper who joined us for our annual Blueberry Pancake Breakfast, grateful to Dale & Dale for happily cooking for their fellow campers, and grateful for every conversation, laugh and new friendship that happened around those tables.

At Holden Family Campground, we don’t just want you to come stay with us. We want you to experience Maine, meet the people, savor the moments and make memories worth taking home.

And if those memories happen to include blueberry pancakes, bacon and a cup of coffee shared with new friends… Well, we think that’s a pretty wonderful way to experience Maine.