Coastal Maine :: Part One

Monday morning (October 5th) I departed my cousin's place in Belfast, Maine with the intent of spending the morning at Acadia National Park and then leaving for Boston. As you may know, I have a penchant for changing “plans” on the fly. The weather forecast had indicated rain moving in during the afternoon but it turned out to be really, really nice and I just couldn't leave, it was so beautiful. I took several hikes along the trails and rode the bicycle on one of the carriage paths. At about 3 pm the skies darkened. There was a brief shower and then the sun came out again! So I stuck around until 5 pm. My cousin had said that if I decided to stay the entire day at Acadia, I was welcome to spend another night at their place. So I took her up on her gracious offer. The time I spent with my cousin and her husband, and their huge, loveable dog Oakley, was great. We got caught up on all the family news and really just got reacquainted with each other.

Tuesday morning rolled around, with wonderful blue skies and a bright sun. But I really did have to leave. Back on the 23rd I had told my aunt that I'd be at her place in Maryland in two weeks, and that two weeks was nearly over! Reluctantly I departed Belfast, heading south on U. S. Route 1. Of course there were a few stops along the way ;-)

Above: Lookout Point, Northport, Maine

A “slight” detour mid-morning took me a bit north to Litchfield, Maine where I took some photographs in the Smith-Baker cemetery for a friend (who is also a former co-worker and a potential 5th cousin once removed in the Goodrich line). Luckily Smith-Baker was not a large cemetery and the specific gravestones were easy to find. Several hours later I was back on US Route 1 on my way to Freeport, Maine.

Just in case you don't know, Freeport is the headquarters for L. L. Bean. Being so close, I just couldn't pass it by ;-) It's an amazing complex of buildings with a tremendous array of “stuff” for the outdoor enthusiast. And yes, I did purchase several items. The day had been quite lovely, but it began raining in the late afternoon and continued on through the night.

Wednesday morning I awoke to gloomy, cloudy skies and rain. Lots of rain. Having successfully avoided the Interstates as much as possible thus far, I somehow found myself on I295 nearing Portland. The wind and rain were terrible, and the misty spray that the trucks threw back at me made it nearly impossible to see. Have I mentioned that I don't like driving on the Interstates? Especially in the rain? By the time I got south of Portland, my nerves were frayed and I took the exit to Old Orchard Beach. There was hardly any traffic. Most of the shops were closed. It seemed to be deserted. The rain had pretty much stopped. Then the sun came out.

Above and below: Old Orchard Beach.

It was about this time that I realized that I wouldn't be able to do justice to Boston this time around. I wanted to do some research at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library and take a walking tour of the historic sections of Boston. In addition to not having the time, I was simply unprepared for the research aspect and certainly not in the “right” frame of mind for it! I'll likely return to Massachusetts and go to Boston after the visit with my Aunt.