The Rangers lost and we headed home to get some shuteye. The visit was short, but it was great to see Brian. Brian: thanks so much for spending some time to hangout. You can "call on me."
In the morning, Brian headed to work, and I started my 7hr journey to Camden, Maine. There I would stay with my Uncle Paul and Aunt Vicky. The first 30min of the trip offered many scenic overlooks of NYC. The roads were surrounded by trees and beautiful.
Once in Connecticut, I ventured far off of the highway to fill up with gas. I apparently stopped off in an affluent community (as if there is any other kind in CT), and the only gas station was "full service only." Oh well, I needed gas, so this would have to do. It feels weird to have someone fill my gas up. I pulled into the driveway of a few super nice houses to take a pic. They are exactly the type of places you would expect to find in CT.
The drive was very green and beautiful. After spending enough time in Texas, I forgot that grass is supposed to be green.
My route also took me through Worcester, MA. My friend Ashley L. once lived here, and I figured I would exit to see what I could see. I drove through downtown and stopped at the small Commons park in the middle of downtown. I got out to take a picture, but realized that this area may not be safe. Some parts of Worcester appear a bit shady. I quickly took my picture and got back in my car.
At some point I entered the state of New Hampshire. Apparently, you can only buy liquor and lottery tickets from state run emporiums. I wonder if they sell anything else other than liquor and lotto tickets?
In the state of Maine, I exited in the town of Kennebunk to fill up with gas. The city limits sign told me that this city was established in the 1500's! Holy smokes! I don't normally think of Maine as being one of the first areas to be settled in the New World, but I guess it makes sense. A big sign in the town square of Kennebunk informed me that it was the only town in the world to be named such. For the first time on my trip, I started to see fall colors in the leaves. I passed by a particularly beautiful cemetery with trees painted with all the colors of fall. I walked around to read some of the headstones and take note of the years people were buried. I cant imagine a more beautiful place to be buried.
My route took me through Portland, ME and along coastal Highway 1. I started to notice taller trees and numerous lakes. All of the lakes, I think, connected to the ocean. The were serenely still and made excellent reflecting pools for the setting sun. I stopped at many small towns to admire the architecture and natural beauty. Although, when driving through some of them, I can attest that there are many crazy looking people in Maine. I guess this explains why this distant state produces characters like Stephen King (fact: people from Maine are called Mainers).
When I finally arrived at my Unlce's house in Camden, ME, I had a nice chat with my uncle and cousins. They even saved me some leftovers from dinner! We talked about their jobs, schooling, hobbies, and daily routines. After some quality re-acquainting, I cuddled up in my basement sleeping quarters (actually, it was a walk-out, not a basement, but I had no idea what that was....its a bottom floor built on a hill so it is underground on one side, but opens up the outside on the other.)
The next day, everybody headed off to work or school, so I decided to explore the grounds around the house. My relatives live in a nice two story house on a decent plot of land. There are several acres of wooded area in the back, but the grounds immediately surrounding the house were a joy to experience. They had a big garden (gardens are everywhere in Maine...at least not during the winter) and plenty of relaxing outdoor areas. I followed a trail into the wooded backyard until it took me to a giant fallen tree stump that borders a big prairie. Man, if I was a kid, this would be the perfect place to escape and read a book.
After spending an hour or so walking around their house and enjoying the wonderful weather, I decided to head into town. Camden is touristy oceanside town with lots of shops in the downtown area to cater to these tourists. Even though it was a weekday, there were a decent amount of tourists in town on account of the leaves changing colors. These tourists are referred to as "leaf peepers" or "leaf gawkers." Considering I was particularly enthralled by the fall colors, I too was a leaf peeper. Camden reminded me of the Maine version of Fredricksburg, Texas.
I walked down Main St. and cruised along the waterfront. There were lots of fishing boats rigged to catch what else....lobster! I headed into a quality-looking establishment right along the water to enjoy a lobster roll. Now, everyone told me that I needed to have a lobster roll, but honestly, I had no idea what exactly this is. My estimation was that it is a biscuit with pieces of lobster in it, but I was pretty far off. It is essentially lobster meat that has already been removed from the body, mixed with a light mayo dressing, and placed in bread. It was super tasty!
After lunch, I headed back to the house to catch up with my cousins as they returned from school. On the way, I passed by some very green fields. Man, I cant imagine owning this property. I would probably just roll around in the grass every day. What a beautiful area to live.
The view was amazing by the way. I could see far off into the ocean as well as the town harbor.
Along the way, there was an area on the trail where people had piled up rocks as trail markers (also called cairns). It was pretty amusing, and it was apparent that some people had gotten very creative in the construction of their cairns.
The hike to the top offered breathtaking views, and interesting plants. Once I got to the top, there was a castle-turret looking thing. A nearby road allows tourists to park and walk up the turret to take in the view. I think the short cut was much more rewarding. The turret was jam packed with tourists, and I had grown too accustomed to the quiet of nature, so I didnt spend much time here. There was this one guy parked in along the side of the small road near the turret. He was a clean cut white guy in his late 50's. He had all of this windows down in his shiny sedan, the stereo cranked up super loud playing disco hits from the 70's, and he was singing along at the top of his lungs. I am fairly certain that he was drunk, and I had some good laughs with fellow passersby.
As I descended the mountain, I took a couple last doses of the wonderful view.
When I got home, I had dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Aunt Vicky had cooked me one of her specialties, and they surprised me with a cake for dessert to celebrate my graduation. Since both Aunt Vicky and Uncle Paul went through grad school, they were both sympathetic and supportive of me during my schooling. I had great after dinner conversations with everyone. I talked about the counseling industry with Vicky and Paul. I talked about future aspirations as an artist with my cousin Grace. With my cousin Jeremiah, we discussed what it takes to be a biochemist. And with my cousin Eli, I shared my lay persons knowledge of the veterinary science profession. I had a blast sharing family time with each one of them.
Since it was a school night, we hit the sack early. The morning I hit the road, but not before sharing in a family tradition. Aunt Vicky invited me to have breakfast with her and Eli. We went to a small cafe near the main drag of town, and I had some delicious Juevos Rancheros. It was cool to see how my family practically knew everyone in the cafe, both customers and employees. I guess that is small town life.
Big thanks to everyone in Maine for such a great time. I hope to see yall soon.
Next, I was on my way to Dartmouth University and to explore Massachusetts.
Shouldn't that be huevos rancheros
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