Hello, Maine!

Maine – Monday Oct. 1

It was about 5:20 when I crossed a bridge into Maine after taking a few hours to drive through Massachusetts and the corner of New Hampshire. It was still pretty light out, and my senses were immediately hit by a bustling waterfront, a big navy yard, and many many signs advertising “Fresh Lobster!” The signs were painted on buildings, shining in neon, and lit up every way imaginable. No question I’m in Maine! I followed the directional signs to the navy yard, thinking there might be a place to park and look at some of the ships or activity. Nope. And I’m not sure why I thought that anyway! The signs led right to the entrance to the naval base, and I had to do a quick u-turn to get out of line to go through the checkpoint.

I had come into Maine by the town of Kittery, and I found a place in town to park, and Tula and I were able to get almost 2 miles if walking in before it got a little too dark. I headed north on Highway 1 and it was a little slow. There’s construction here too. I continued north, worried that I was missing pretty scenery because it was now dark. I drove through the town of Ogunquick, which was full of people and bustling in the evening hours even on a Monday night. I stopped at numerous places to see about a room, but this was a crowded resort town, and prices were out of my range. A little farther north, in Wells, I came to a sprawling older motel complex run by an Irish couple. Their rates were good and they didn’t charge extra for Tula. I wish I had gone straight there instead if wasting time stopping at all those other places, but that happens! I was happy to find a place without driving much farther north. And so I settled in to get ready to begin the Maine chapter of the adventure.