Maine, oh we do love you!
One of the fringe benefits of having family is Maine is the proximity to so many good things. My wife will tell you that the most important would be lobster, the one crustacean that Maine is so well known for throughout the USA. I would say that it is the pure escape into the wilderness that is the allure to the great North Eastern State. You can be in a major city and then within 30 minutes, out in the middle of nowhere in the woods happy. The hunting is great, the fishing is out of this world, and the people are down right awesome. So why not live there full time you ask since we seem to like is so much? You guess it….WINTER. If we were to compare Maine to the rest of the country in a Game of Thrones setting, my money would be Kittery would be Winterfell and then the Wall is just north of Greenville (Moose Head Lake). It gets frigid up there.
I have had the pleasure of a couple Maine winters I can happily say. I was able to visit my family up there when I was younger quite a few times and we lived there as well for about a year and a half. I definitely love it up there for everything that it has but winter is the bane of my existence. I accept any and all criticism on this topic as I embrace my snow birdish ways. In all seriousness though, if you love the outdoors, you should at least go there once!
We had spent a little over a month at my Aunt’s house parked in her driveway. It had been a great summer so far just being there just to visit with her and my cousin but we also attended a family reunion. I haven’t been to one since I was 5 years old and I don’t remember all that much. I did learn my family lineage from the Demo side and was surprised to find out that we came to the USA from the Canada side back before the constitution was even written. Our family started and settled in Maine with a few branches over the years moving away but the majority stayed. It was a very cool lesson in our history.
While we could, we went out and about visiting towns near and far (Jackman, the Forks, and Moosehead Lake) to see the sites. There is a lot out there I never knew of up North but I’m glad we did. The funny part was the further North we went, Jennie seemed to fall in love with Maine just a little bit more. Something about cool summers and good people. Who knew? Went moose searching more times than I can remember and came up blank each time (a first for me in all my trips to Maine). There are actually a few places that are common for Moose to be hanging around but nothing at all. Jennie still believes that they are unicorns.
We definitely enjoyed some fishing time with my cousin in search of the elusive brook trout that seemed to not like our bait but the sunfish sure did. Taking Abby to Bull Dog pond to see the gravestone of her Grandpa Steve and Uncle Hoover while exploring the back wood with her Uncle Luke leading the way (and trusty Sadie Mae lab in tow). Introducing Jennie to my family that she had yet to meet after all of these years. It was just a damn good summer!
There will be individual posts coming with the blogs. I apologize for not staying up to date with you. One of the many fun parts of this life is getting lost in time with the adventure. Stay tuned!
