Maineland

September 11, 2015

Belfast, Maine

We made our way down the coast of Maine on US Highway 1. The road meanders its way down the Atlantic Coast going through one seaport town to the next. We drove into Belfast, which like its namesake in Northern Ireland, was an industrial town. It was settled in 1770 and through the centuries and decades, it was a dominant poultry producing area in the Northeast. After the recession in the 80s, the chicken silos were torn down and the town became a banking and education center. It's a town full of history, and various architecture styles, most notably Greek Revival and Italian style mansions. Cheri's cousin Mike lives in Belfast, and she got a chance to spend some time with him and catch up.

One thing about the East Coast is how close everything is. The towns we drove through have population bases of 5,000 or less. They're close to one another, so when you're driving down US 1, you leave one town, the speed limit goes up to 55, and before you know it, you're slowing down to go through the next town. What's between towns is a lot of forest land.

Hope, Maine

On our way to Camden, we went through a cute little town called Hope. The town center was basically a four-way stop, where there was a General Store and a Community Church. It's a town of less than 1500 people, and it seemed as sweet as can be.

Camden church

One very distinctive characteristic of all the towns in the Northeast are the beautiful churches. The white churches with the tall steeples are usually a defining characteristic of each town. Cheri was taken by the beauty of many of these churches, and had to pull over and take photographs.

Another very strong characteristic of the East is the distinctive nature of the air. The best way to describe it is "silky." In the West, we're used to dry air, but here, the air has a thickness to it. It feels good on the skin as it moisturizes and heals. It also offers more protection from the sun's rays; and we saw plenty of sun on our trip through Maine.

One night while we were sound asleep in our rig, clouds moved over and gave a good drenching. Listening to the pounding rain was comforting. I've forgotten how wonderful it is to be in a drenching rainfall. I've become accustomed to the light drizzle and light rain of the Northwest. And in San Francisco, we've only seen a couple of downpours. The rest was light rain and fog. Being in this climate where rain can really pour out of the sky keeps everything green. Here, the green remains all summer until it's autumn "when the sun turns traitor cold and shivering trees are standing in a naked row."

We've had many discussions about the winter. Have we gotten soft living in California, where the winters can bring 70 degree days? My friend Marc Ratner, at whose place we are camped in Camden, says that he prefers shoveling snow than cutting grass. I've noticed here, as I did in the Midwest, that the community is tight. People stick together, as they come to depend on one another to get through the tough times. And the community has all the equipment and staff in place to clear the roads and keep people moving.

Camden harbor

Downtown Camden Maine

Camden is a lovely town. Where Bar Harbor was a tourist area full of tourist shops, Camden is much more of a community. Sure, there are some shops where you can buy t-shirts, but most of the stores sell real commodities for the residents and visitors. It's a place where many well-to-do people store their sailboats. The harbor is a lovely place with schooners, sailboats and fishing vessels. And we were amazed at the world class restaurants. We went out for some fabulous meals in Camden and the neighboring Rockland.

Breakwater Lighthouse

Rockland is the next major town just south of Camden, about 15 minutes or so. It's an up-and-coming town, once a town built around shipbuilding and lime production, it is now finding new life as a service center city. We found a lot of amazing restaurants in Rockland - the kind you'd expect to find in a foodie place like San Francisco. While in Rockland, we hiked out to Breakwater Lighthouse. It's a one-mile hike out on a breakwater made of granite. Tons and tons of granite! It was exhilarating to walk a mile out into the sea and then look back at the town from the middle of the water.

Again, we feel like we didn't have enough time to really get to know the area. It seems like just when we're getting into the rhythm of a place, we have to pack up Dolly and hit the road again. We had a great time, and our hosts Marc, Kim and Ethan Ratner showed us all the great things to see on the Central Maine Coast.

Dolly parked at the Ratner estate, while Bebop explores the grounds