Summer has begun in Boothbay Harbor. And with summer come visitors from other places, either for a day from somewhere else in Maine, or a few days or a week or longer, from another state, or even another country.

For us locals, it’s refreshing to see new faces around the harbor. The people from away are usually feeling congenial and happy to talk to a local reporter wandering the streets looking for a good photo, and a smile, and hopefully a good story.

On June 21 and 22 there were lots of new smiling faces in town, and most were happy to have their picture taken, and give their names and places of origin.

Among them were a couple from Portland and Little Cranberry Island, Donna and Henry Issacs, here to deliver some of Henry’s paintings to Gleason Gallery, where he shows his large abstract paintings regularly. Their Golden Doodle, Ruby, was smiling, and happy to pose for the camera, or iPhone, as was the case.

Then there was the girl sitting on the bench in front of that mysteriously empty building on Townsend Avenue, Lincolnville Telephone Co., eating a slice of pizza. Chelsea Guida, from Parsippany, New Jersey, is here working at the Village Store for the summer. She said the pizza was her “second lunch.”

“I have a salad for my first lunch and a slice of pizza from Pier One for my second, every day.” You wouldn’t know she eats two lunches every day. Lucky girl.

Two women were walking with a tall man holding an adorable baby wearing a wide-brimmed red hat. Grace and Ben Schneider and baby Isaac were in town from Virginia with their friend Hope Wright, from Connecticut. Isaac must have made getting around difficult. Anyone with eyes would want to stop and get a close look at that cuteness.

Brian Dyke was here from Plainville, Massachusetts with his wife Cheryl and daughter McKenzie, for a couple days before heading to Camden and Bar Harbor and Kennebunkport. They stayed at the Beach Cove Hotel. McKenzie had her first lobster at Herringbones. “It was great,” she said. “I had a bib and everything!”

There was a group from Rhode Island at a picnic table on Pier One. Denise and Roger Mencarini and Paige, Brynn and Jamie Grenkiewicz were staying at Spruce Point Inn for a few days.

Bobby Portada from Pennsylvania, and Nancy Daly and Kim Llerena from Washington, D.C. came by boat from McKown Point, where Llerena’s parents have a cottage.

Gabe and Ariel Calandri were up from Kennebunk visiting their father, Sante, the owner of Ports of Italy. Lucky them.

Graham Dawkins was waiting patiently for his wife, who was in town shopping.They were here from a small village in Wiltshire, England, near Stonehenge. It was their first time in Maine. They were staying at Ocean Point for a week. They were getting ready to go out on a whale watch.

Matt and Amy Rector, from Boca Raton, Florida, were cruising around town looking like a couple tourists — which, of course, they were. They were here on their 28th wedding anniversary, staying at Spruce Point Inn.

Nancy Merrick, from Augusta, and her big brother Bob Cottle, from Washington, were here for a few days, staying at Ship Ahoy on Southport. He said they had a great view and their rooms were connected so he could knock on the wall to let his sister know when he had the wine ready. Bob has had lobster every day he’s been here. They were heading out to Cabbage Island for another one on June 22.

Robin Seward, from Saco, and Jim Thompson, from Sweden –  the country — were here “playing tourist.” Thompson said he comes back to Maine each summer and loves the coast of Maine.

Roxy and Bob Moody, originally from St. Louis, but now from Lyman, Maine, were here on a “brief respite” for three days. They were staying at Fisherman’s Wharf. Bob said they love Boothbay Harbor. “We come up three or four times a year and I do drawings of schooners.”

People from away are really just like us locals. They just might be in better moods because they’re here on vacation, eating good food, drinking good drinks, going out on boats, shopping, and just enjoying life. We locals, for the most part, are working. But that’s o.k. We’ll have our time  in the sun.

Click on photos to see captions.