Maine - State #31

What should have been a few hours drive turned into 2 hours in a traffic jam for the Fryeburg Fair. Not exactly our slickest move so far. The kids handled it like it was a gift -- impending darkness translated into another


Shadow Puppet Extravaganza for them.

Maine is strange. We drove the craziest back roads (following GPS directions) in absolute darkness, meandering our way to the freeway. I think there must be more lakes in Maine than Minnesota!

When we got to the freeway (finally) we found the only difference was that the road straightened out. No streetlights, no mileage signs, no hotels, nothing. A quick call to Tomcat and we were saved. He found us a hotel about 20 miles up the road. So even if he's not here physically, he's definitely a part of this road trip! Thanks a million, honey.

This morning we woke up in Augusta. Wow. There is just nothing happening. The vibe here is something akin to "what for?" Expressionless eyes. I'm sure not everyone here is like this, but it's our overall first impression.

We walked the brick sidewalks of a tiny historic town called Hallowell. (<--- Click this guy's link. He describes the town really well!) I think the people of Augusta are pretty proud of it because it seems to be the most interesting thing they've got to offer visitors. I called Friend because she used to live in Maine and I wanted to know was going on with these comatose people. She said, "Remember the movie Misery? Well, that's Maine. It's freaking weird."

Quite happily we continued our drive to Bar Harbor. Naturally this is a tourist trap, but it's still a lively place to be. And it's beautiful with all the boats in the harbor. I had to get each of us a hat, scarf and gloves because it's so chilly here. Now we have 20 more items to keep track of on a daily basis. So, who do you think will lose a mitten first?

Dinner at Geddy's was a great recommendation from a shop owner. She said you can play I Spy all night in there! It's full of crazy mementos covering the walls and ceiling. Our adorable server Crystal took a picture of us for their website, and the kids all thought she was talking about our blog! So she got to hear our entire story!