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Wilton Manors, Florida
Just a middle-aged Peter Pan, who refuses to give up softball, DisneyWorld, and loving life with his partner.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Beguiling ME


Recently, Thom and I vacationed in Maine. To just relate the places we visited and beauty we encountered would do this corner of our country a supreme injustice. Maine is to be experienced…savored. Sometimes you just have to put the camera down and take it all in.


We only had a week, but were able to pack in so much; from Thunder Hole and Schoodic Point, from Bass Harbor and Jordan Pond. You find yourself seeking photographic excellence while immersed in lupine fields that arise with untold regularity or surrounded by beach roses that chose this year to blossom in abundance. Beauty is everywhere…in lighthouses, black dikes, tidal pools, pink granite formations, and windswept pines. At every turn you can see the fingerprints of God.


Rising before dawn, we trekked to the top of Cadillac Mountain, where we witnessed the beginning of the day in America. Our vantage point provided the first glimpse of the sun, as it graces the continent. Wind and cold were ignored while pink, mauve, and gold striations rose from the sea.


Fifteen hours a day, the sun graced our presence. Sunglasses at 5am proved a challenge to my nocturnal predilection.


Granted this trip including the familiar, lots of shopping and eating and touristy bits, but more often included encounters with nature, even bouts with the ethereal. In the distance a loon call is heard then you spot it on the water. Elusive as Nessie. Sidle to close and it dives to a farther shore. Get lucky with the telephoto lens and you capture the blood red eyes, revealing a bird from another more primal world.

You may not know this, but Maine eats the most ice cream per capita in the United States. Having sampled a coupled of the home-crafted flavors I can attest to why. Savoring ice cream made with Bailey's was a treat. One flavor I did pass on was Lobster. Sorry folks, but I like my lobster steaming hot from a pot and ready to be cracked open and dipped in buttah.

Most fortunate of all was having Thom as a tour guide. Not only did he own a B & B in Bar Harbor, but also vacationed there for many years. Nearly a quarter century of experience gave me insight to favored places. Of course, knowing the area also came in handy for our selection of when to go for the best in weather and relative lack of tourists.

Will I return?

Most definitely. If times we different, I would move there or to its sister area of the country, the Pacific Northwest. Give me the slower pace of life. Forgo the city. I would gladly trade concrete and glass for trees and topography.







2 comments:

Claire Uncorked said...

Beautiful! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Now, I'd love to go there, but we don't have Thom at our disposal like you do. Doug & I would just end up wandering in the woods, lost, only to be trampled by a moose...

debbiew said...

I just had to tell you that I was thrilled to read about Maine, since Sherry, Brian & I are heading to Bar Harbor for a week at the end of July.