the maine accomplishment

one of the corniest things about this most northern state is all of the plays on the word 'maine.' so, i figured i would play to the choir while in rome, or whatever. i left montpelier a couple of days ago, which was sad because i liked that place. if it were so far north and destined for so much snow i would live there. anyway. my intention was to go to new hampshire and stay the night somewhere there.

that failed. the route i took was through the great north woods and i didnt come upon anyplace that looked as if i could stay there for the night and not get hassled. so i pushed on into maine.

maine was supposed to be a crowning jewel of this trip, a final destination, an accomplishment that would make traveling resume complete. although i cant get into canada and i am not bold enough to try to drive into mexico, there isnt a state in the lower 48 that hasnt smelled my sweat. or tasted my tears or whatever.

rumford falls!

the place i found in maine was called rumford. really it was just the first place that i came upon that would have me. there wasnt much special to it. it had a nice waterfall and visitors center but there was nothing in the town. i think that was sunday, and everything was closed or otherwise not accessible to me. so i just walked around this dead town for a few hours, reading.

the scenery around the place was something out of my ideals, however. i would love nothing more than to be back in time around the turn of the century when this was a logging area and there were factories just being built along the river, and they would spew a dense white cloud of pollution. the hills would still be first growth forests and a fog would have settled among the trees.

people would mill about on dirt roads, there would be stick built taverns and in my mind everything would be great. of course, i wouldnt want to do anything to this time, i would just want to go back and watch it. and rumford maine would be the place where it all happened. but thats all fantasy.

i parked next to the river and hung out at the visitors center, which was closed, but they had internet there. and they had the waterfall and stuff. it was nice, but i didnt stay long. i moved on the next day to augusta.

augusta, i had imagined, would be awesome. a far north capitol city with a bunch of history that i could absorb. i was looking forward to a historic downtown that was situated around the capitol building. boy, was i wrong. the historic downtown was far from the capitol and, again, dead. even though this was monday. most of the shops were closed and the capitol was up a hill near the highway and malls.

the state capitol

i walked up to it and hoped for a tour, but no luck. they dont have guided tours. the reason, i discovered, was because there was nothing to tour. many capitol buildings have slowly been restored to their original states over the years, but not this one. it looked like a brand new building on the inside and simply had pictures of various statesmen on the walls, no history. lame. i wasnt there long.

i slept in augusta that night, but was happy to get out the next day. i almost drove away from augusta that night towards portland, but i caught myself before i got on the expressway because i didnt want to go to portland next. i had looked on the map and saw this place called lewiston that i wanted to go to. so, the next day i made my way there.

in lewiston it was a beautiful day, weather wise. i parked somewhere downtown and lugged my bag setting off on foot around the city. eventually i found the library and i sat there for awhile. when i left the library i wanted to go back to my truck. but i got lost. severely lost. it is easier to get lost in a moderate sized city than a large city because there arent many markers to point your way.

i ended up walking a couple miles - in circles - trying to find my truck or the downtown area that i had parked in. eventually i gave up on that and tried to find the library again, perhaps i could find my way from there. i found the library and realized that when i left it i had gone in the complete opposite direction than i should of. which is why i couldnt find anything i was looking for with my memory of blocks walked in either direction.

becasue that is how i keep rack of myself. when walking, i note how many blocks up and over from my truck. usually that works and i can walk back and forth through all the blocks and always know where my truck is. not so that day. i was scared for a little bit. but i got over it. i am good at getting over things.

once i found my truck again i wanted to eat. i hadnt yet that day and it was getting dark. i didnt want to pay for food so i drove off looking for a grocery store. my food stamps were supposed to be refilled that day and i was looking forward it. i drove for awhile and eventually found a grocery store behind the college.

i bought a few items but was dismayed to see that my food stamps had been canceled. i half expected that. the state of oregon had called me last month inquiring why all of my purchases were out of state. they said they would cancel them, but i didnt really beleive that the state of oregon would have things together enough to actually cancel them. i was wrong.

so, another thing i need to keep an eye on. and another money drain. oh well. i went back to the college and parked, then walked around the campus for awhile. it was raining and i just found some refuge and read for awhile, then went back to my truck and called it a night. i had thought about staying in lewiston another day, but decided against it this morning.

hey, the ocean!

this morning, i drove to portland maine. which marked another milestone. from border to border and coast to coast, no longer am i headed east and north. south and west from here on out (for the most part). which is the path that will lead me home.

portland seems nice so far, certainly better than augusta. it is moderately sized and has a number of attractions. i went to the ocean (really a bay or something) and the visitors center for some info. i got a walking map and set off following my nose. i could smell a brewery in the air and it had been awhile since i had a beer, let alone a cold beer. so i found the brewery, took the tour, and tasted their brews. they werent very good, but thats okay.

now i have a city to explore.