Adventures In Maine

The Main Street Shops in Belfast

Last week I finally made the choice to go to Maine instead of New Orleans. After applying to a bunch of schools I got an interview for a school in Belfast, right on the Penobscot Bay. Pretty area, low key, sea breezes. Sounded great! They wanted to do the interview at their school in Bangor (multiple branches) so the new problem became how to make the 14 hours round trip to and from Maine. I'm not going to get into the many plans I had (a rental car being just one) but I finally decided to drive to a friend's house on Thursday night (3+ hours), from there to Bangor on Friday (4+ hours), down to Belfast on Friday evening (1 hour) where I would spend the night, and back to New Hampshire on Saturday (4+ hours).

I know, that's a lot of millage to put on the Go Go Gadget Red Car, but I figured that by doing it in stages I would save her some wear and tear.

So, At 10:30am on Friday morning I got all gussied up, put fifteen dollars worth of gas in the car, and headed north. Maine is on odd state, but odd in the good way. There was a Volvo with solar panels on the roof, a mechanic that dealt only in VW buses, and moose crossing signs every 20 miles or so. Portland, the capital, is only an hour into the state and considered southern. After that the Main Pike ends, the trees get thicker, and the highway becomes so cracked that police are unnecessary: hitting a pot hole at 70 MPH is its own punishment and traffic slows to about 50.

I stopped at a Wal-mart in Waterville and as I was waiting for the cashier a wonderful women asked to buy my purse. Remember a few months back I found a teal Dolce & Gabana bag at the thrift store for $3? Well this lady (who was buying a teal bike for her birthday) thought it was "the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen", so we talked for a bit (but I did not sell it to her).

Penobscot Bay

I got to Bangor around 3pm and read a book until my interview at 4pm. I got the job but I don't think I'll be taking it, for a number of reasons including the need to transport children in my car (not a good plan).

After the interview I wanted to see Belfast so I headed south east, or so I thought. Turns out I headed north east and wound up in Acadia National Park. Do judge! I was buzzing along listening to DJ Leif Erikson (no joke) and then had to back track. Two hours later I was in Belfast and too wiped out to go sight seeing. I found a Hanaford parking and feel straight to sleep.

The Warf

Saturday morning I got a cup of coffee and drove back downtown to look around and snap some pictures. The whole town of Belfast is on a hill that goes right down to the sea. It was very nice and the people seemed friendly, but it was time for me to get going. Instead of taking Rt 3 back to the highway I took scenic Rt 1 down the coast. If you ever have a chance to visit the coastal towns, like Bath and Rockland, take it.

After all that driving I have a killer trucker tan/burn and am heading back to Mass today, so it can only get worse. I have two more days of work and then I'm in New Hampshire for a bit and then I need to figure out what I'm doing next. Right now, I need another cup of coffee...