June/July

In June, I had the privilege of visiting my friend Maureen in Canada. Maureen is a friend I met while living in Japan. She was in the St. John area playing the violin for a play. We had not seen each other since Yu’s wedding in Texas over 5 years ago. An added bonus was to see the sights of St. John, St. Andrew, and the drive from Central Maine to Canada.

July brought more visitors, this time from Tennessee, Andrea and Kelsey. I met these lovely ladies in Cleveland while working with the BCM at Lee University. They were making a graduation trip through the northeast and I was lucky to be a stop on their journey. We were able to make the usual rounds of the Portland Headlight, old port, the lobster shack, and the metropolis of Jay. They were also just in time to accompany me to the opening of New Moon.

I traveled to Alabama in July to visit family. The trip was a short one; my time was limited mostly to immediate family. Mom, Clarence, and I took a road trip to New Orleans to visit with Dennis and his family as well. Emma is growing up so quickly and doesn’t slow down all day. Dale and Amy are doing well; I hope to upload some pictures of their family soon. They have a couple of kids with them now but I can’t post their pictures at this point because they are still in the foster care system.

My return to Maine was met with more visitors from Tennessee. Stacy and a group from the BCM were here for a couple of weeks. Gilmore and I camped in Portland for a portion of their stay. We were able to hang out at some of the usual sights, eat some great food, and have some fun at the beach.

March/April/May:

I started my new job in March and with the newly acquired income finally took a ski trip to Saddleback Mountain, in Rangeley, a beautiful mountain with some incredible views.
March also brought my birthday, which I celebrated by taking a trip to the Carrie Underwood concert in Portland.

As spring approached and the snow began to melt I was introduced to the fifth season in Maine, mud season. Mud was everywhere. This makes it difficult to keep things clean including Gilmore, who with each walk came home covered in mud. Next year I will be invested in some mud boots.

January/February 2010:

My first visitor to the new house was Steve. We were both unemployed and frustrated with the whole process of applications. As a result, we did spend time in the library applying for jobs.
My house is located about 45 minutes from the two big ski slopes of Maine, Sugarloaf and Saddleback Mountain. Several smaller slopes are located in the state. Steve and I took a trip to Sugarloaf and enjoyed the sights. We mostly spent the time catching up on life, since I had just returned from my trip around Europe/Asia and he had just moved back to the South from Colorado.

My second visitor was Amanda. We took in a few movies, shopped at Freeport, walked around old port, and visited the Portland Headlight. In Freeport, I introduced Amanda to the lobster roll and New England clam chowder. This was the trip where I discovered chocolate covered blueberries in a candy shop in Freeport.

Two visits from wonderful friends, a great way to start off 2010.

Life in Maine

My first week in Maine was spent at a bed and breakfast in Saco, Maine, on the coast. Life at a B&B was not all it was cracked up to be. I remember a fascination with the “Potter B&B” (from Dawson’s Creek), that’s all gone now. I think I enjoy my privacy too much. It seemed that every time I left the house or came back the people there popped up as if from nowhere to see what I was doing. They were very kind; I prefer hotels. I did enjoy the long walks on the beach and watching Gilmore bury herself in the sand.

I hurried my search for a new home and met with a real estate agent, checking up on the house I had found online. By the middle of December, Gilmore and I were in our new home in central Maine.

The first snow came just days before our move and my first challenge was driving the mustang up the driveway, this was also the concern of everyone I met in town. Although the car has yet to be a problem, the next snow came days later, after an hour of shoveling the driveway; I realized I was in need of a snow blower. I knew nothing about what to buy but made my way to the hardware store to find out. The concept is not much different from a lawnmower. The more horse power and width of the blades the better.

There are so many unique things about winter in Maine. Suddenly everyone’s truck is equipped with a plow in front and items like sand, snow shovels, plastic on windows, and roof rakes are things you don’t want to live without.

Christmas:

The holidays in the new home were mostly spent painting, unpacking, and getting settled. My neighbors are very kind and had me over for a home cooked meal. Norm and Kathy have been very sweet to us since moving in. Gilmore has also made friends with Bailey, their beagle.

New Year:

I quickly found the library and became a frequent customer. I spent many days with applications and sending resumes. My friend, Steve, and I are perplexed about this process. Everyone asks for a resume and references, and additionally require an application with identical information. It’s so frustrating. This can lead to hours hanging out in the library. Finally, after a few interviews, one of which felt like a Friends episode (email if you want details), I got a job and just started work this week.

coming home

New Orleans:
I flew to New Orleans to visit with my brother, sister-in-law, and met Emma, my niece. It was an incredible week of getting to know this precious little girl. She has such a sweet spirit and contagious energy about her. I am so thankful to have her in my life. I intend on spoiling her every time I get the chance.

Thanksgiving:
I made it back to Alabama the week before Thanksgiving, spending most of the time catching up with family. I also began my search for houses in preparation for my move to Maine.

The whole family was together for Thanksgiving, which included a Saturday of watching football. It was nice to be with everyone but the time quickly came to an end and it was time to pack for Maine.

Virginia:

As Gilmore and I left for the over 20 hour drive to Maine with the car loaded down, it was with mixed emotions. I was still processing the trip through Europe and Asia, coming home, and now saying goodbye again.

Our first stop was to visit Mom’s family in Virginia. I spent the night with my Aunt June and Uncle Billy and had opportunities to see a few family members. As per usual, breakfast was at Truxillo store. Truxillo is less than a mile long, within it a ball field and the store. Several of my family members and their friends stop here each morning. This is one place I am sure to run into several kin folk without having to try. Prior to heading out again, June and Rhonda loaded me down with food and clothes for the trip.

The remainder of my drive to Maine was hectic with holiday traffic and lots of toll booths.

video

Videos:

Two months after returning from our trip I couldn’t help but think of all the places we have gone and the people we have met. I sat down and did some quick calculations and here is what I came up with (roughly):

20 countries
12 airplanes
5 ferry boats
19 trains
buses, taxis, and subways (too many to count)

As a result, many lessons were learned about life and people. In discussions with friends and family I have found it hard to summarize all that was experienced. I set out to put together a set of videos to give a glimpse of what we saw. One video is faces of people we met or observed. The second video is of my favorite spots and people. I hope you enjoy them both.