Usually when she drives, Toni Crouch has a lead foot.

So when she realized she was driving the speed limit from her vacation in Maine back to her home in Washington, D.C., she knew something was up.

“I didn't want to go back to that city life, the congestion and the traffic jams,” she said. “So I got home, I quit my job, sold my condo and moved up here.”

That was over four years ago, and Crouch now lives in Damariscotta and is the executive director of the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce.

“I moved up here to retire, but as you can tell, I haven't done that yet,” she said, laughing.

So what would this fairly new local do on a day off?

“I love to go hiking around here,” she said. “I'm amazed at the number of hidden preserves and paths.”

Crouch’s favorite place to hike is the Pemaquid Watershed Association’s La Verna Preserve in Bristol.

“It always reminds me of what you feel like when you go up to Acadia,” she said. “It's beautiful. Very few people go out there, but the people who go out there usually have a dog to walk!”

It’s not all quiet paths for Crouch though. Her favorite big event is Damariscotta's big event: “Pumpkinfest! It's so much fun.

“What you can do with a pumpkin is amazing,” she said. “Who'd have thunk it? You can take a pumpkin out as a boat on a river? Really?”

But the fall event features more than just the signature Pumpkin Boat Regatta: It has morphed into a week-long event that involves painting, displaying, destroying and carving giant pumpkins.

Crouch also enjoys the local music scene. Damariscotta River Association’s musical events, like the open mics, and the yearly Salt Bay Chamberfest and Dam Blues Festival draw people from all over.

“I love the Dam Blues Fest, because it's the Dam Blues Fest,” she said. “They bring in blues bands from all over the place.”

History also plays a part in this historic Maine village where Crouch has made her home.

“The historical thing that really blows me away is how long they've been getting oysters out of (the Damariscotta River),” she said. “To go over and see the Middens and realize how many Indians had to have passed through here and eaten a couple of oysters.

“I think that's something that most people who visit miss completely. I'm awestruck by it. It makes you realize what a history this area has.”

What’s Crouch’s all-time favorite spot in her new home? Although the booming pumpkin cannons and music top her favorite events, her favorite place is usually quiet.

“Pemaquid Lighthouse, the Point,” she said, without a pause. “I just love the way the rocks and water meet. And the water keeps pounding at the rocks and the rocks keep sitting there, taking it.

“It’s fresh, it's clean, it’s nature. It is beautiful and relaxing to me, any time of year.”

What makes the Pemaquid Peninsula so special?

1. Pemaquid Beach in Bristol is the area’s only white sand beach, and is conveniently located down the road from Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and Colonial Pemaquid.

2. Damariscotta and Newcastle are known as the Twin Villages. The quaint downtown Main Street is 100 percent “Maine” with a movie theater, library, restaurants, shops and more, perfect for a day strolling around by the waterfront.

3. The Whaleback Shell Midden is a millennium-old dumping ground for Abenaki oyster shells from the region's first inhabitants. The Midden is a part of an 11-acre Maine state historic site run in partnership with the Damariscotta River Association.