The Maine State of Mind

The Maine State of Mind
July 18th-25th, 2006
Arriving in Old Portland, attracted by the deep, sheltered harbor, English settlers first established themselves on the Portland peninsula in 1632. One of the nation’s oldest Atlantic seaports, Portland has a long maritime history. The struggling town was first called Falmouth and was destroyed twice by the Native Americans, how dare they!
On the dock we go, the Harbor Fish Market as fresh & local, the boats come, delivery right to the back door, Lots & Lots of seafood joints to choose from, as well as some fine Italian places, their menus looking enticing, Gritty McDuffs, Sebago Brewing, a couple of feel good pubs, I wondered around looking at menus and the boats in the harbor, a hot day, so what do I do, go eat Pizza, not just any pizza, the place, it’s Flatbread with a couple of hand-made stone ovens, the fire is in the center-back, with a shelves on each side for pies, and fire-roasting vegetables, they use local food, all organic, too! Even Maine Root beer, made with cane juice & spices, yummy.
Some of Maine’s beers: Geary Seasonal Ale, Atlantic Brewing, Shipyard Export Ale, Casco Bay Riptide, Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale, Magic Hat Seasonal, Allagash White Ale, PeaksOG Pale Ale, Shipyard Thunder, Sebago Brewing Boathouse Brown Ale, Atlantic Brewing Blueberry Ale. The Other Portland has some beer, homeys.
In the evening I go to check out the city after the rush is over, a nice fun downtown, down Commercial Street and the side alleys, and watching women walk on cobblestones in heels is a hoot. The firemen are sitting out, the dog too, I’m checking out a 1804 lighthouse, the first ones were wood, they normally did not last long, the fireman and me we talk, they notice I from Oregon, they hear the other Portland hopping, it is, it is, they say their economy is down, the fish have been taken by larger commercial interest, and large foreign fleets, the small guy has a harder time here, the States strategy is tourists, even says so on the license plate, the Vacation State, so summer folks down up or down, I’m confused. The fellows in the bar I talked to go to work in other states to make ends meet.
East Coast folks look at you, but don’t say anything, until you get them in a bar with a pint in their hand.
When ships sailed from Boston to ports in Maine (which are to the east of Boston), the wind was at their backs, so they were sailing downwind, hence the term 'Down East.' And it follows that when they returned to Boston they were sailing upwind; many Mainers still speak of going 'up to Boston,' despite the fact that the city lies approximately 50 miles to the south of Maine’s southern border. Contrary to what some non-Mainers may believe, "Down East" can be best described as any point on the coast between Ellsworth and the Canadian border. At times, it is sometimes jokingly referred to as any point east on the coast from the speaker.
Down East I go, north on Highway 1N, slowly though Freeport, it’s against the law here to not let a pedestrians pass, have you ever seen the movie “Deathrace 2000”, how much is a shopper worth? Lots of potters here, and they eat, Lobster Rolls, every inlet and harbor has little stands, packed with all wonderful food things, Lobster, Fish & Chips, Clams, Shrimp, it’s all good.
Through Bath, Montsweag, I stop in Ducktrap for a Lobster Roll and Fries, and Coleslaw, damn good, less coast than I imagined, there are lots of Hwy 1 that’s inlands, farms and wild blueberry, this state’s famous for it’s blueberries, into Ellsworth, where I need to get on Hwy 3 to Acadia National Park, I spy a billboard, it say David Bromberg, I park quickly, he’s been on my mind for a while, he has resurfaced after a break, I buy a ticket, it’s the next night, I am camping just 20 miles away, thank you sweet Jesus!
On to camp, I have always wanted to see this place, set up, and then off to explore the coast before sunset, beautiful, good to hear the waves and smells of the ocean, then back to read around a fire, the next day all over the island, down on the dock, mail boats are going out, there is a boat to Little Cranberry Island in a half hour, the best money I could spend, the highlight of this area was this little island, with a Fisherman’s CO-OP and a small year- round community, 12 kids in a K-8 school, two teachers, vehicles even come over on boats, quite industrious, nowhere on the east coast is there a more tranquil or beautiful setting, diverse shoreline, cranberry bogs, the Native peoples used still exist, you can not leave the island without being deeply moved by it’s beauty, serenity and peaceful coexistence with nature. The chef was on the dock’s getting specials, The Islesford Dock is the name, save some time for chow. You can’t get closer to the source!


Cadillac Mountain has magnificent views all around, each coast, the fog was moving in on Bar Harbor, from other area completely covered and other areas clear, here you can be the first person in America to see the sun come up, enough exploring off to town, time to do the wash and catch Mr. Bromberg, his wife and band, the Angels open, with David too, then he comes back, he is rich in music history and skilled as any player, he wailed, sang great some blues, country, his voice was strong, he can play damn near anything, he did speak about his isolation and disappointment with the country, and what we do in it’s name, a Democracy should stand up to the challenge of being Democratic.I paided for fun that night, it rained big time, and you have to pick your spots to break down camp the next morning and quickly, too.
Off to Cobscock and Lubec, the most eastern point of the U.S., 3,478 miles of coastline and 63 lighthouses.“The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lament”
O What is the bane of the lightkeepers‘s life
That causes him wry, struggle and strive,
That makes him use cusswords, and beat his wife?
It’s Brasswork.
What makes him look ghastly, consumptive and thin,
What sobs him of health, of vigor and vim,
And causes despair and drives him to sin?
It’s Brasswork.


Cobscook State Park, you camp above the bay, the muddy flood is all you see then, slowly, the narrow channel begins to fill, then in a couple of hours the tides filling the bay some 20 feet twice a day, great clamming, don’t get caught.
Rained both nights, first night a drizzle, not bad, still outside with a small fire, the second, the wind blew and rain came in buckets, read my book in the car, and then listened to Diana Jones sweet songs, before retiring to my tiny tent.
Take Rt. 189 four miles to The Lighthouse at Quoddy Head has been operating here since 1808, a sweet elderly woman Leona McBride, volunteers here, used to live in Cape Cod, lots of folks have moved down here, too crowded there. The lighthouse is the easternmost lighthouse in the US, early on its light and fog cannon warned mariners of Quoddy’s dangerous cliffs, ledges and rocks.
The only place for breakfast here is Murphy’s village, all locals and some of us, good breakfast, with Fried Dough, like fry bread, but they put sugar and cinnamon of these.
I take a look at the harbor at Lubec, great little harbor, a few shops, B & B’s, the tide rushes out like a river, the fog shrouds small islands and fish vessels, Canada is 100 yards away, Roosevelt Campobello is here, the summer home(s) of F.D.R., he also had land on Mt. Desert Island that his family gave for Acadia National Park.
Back on the road I pass Bold Coast Smokehouse, specializing in cold and hot smoked salmon, and wicked good smoked salmon pate and smoked trout pate, also.Saint Croix Island
Take Route 1 north, heading to Baxter State Park, looking to kiss a moose, up the Passamaquoddy Bay to Calais, in 1604, was the beginning of French America, they lasted the winter on this small island, then moves to Port Royal, there are nice statues commemorating their arrival and struggle. What would we be like today if the French controlled the early settlements?
Inland on Rt. 1 to Topsfield, take a left to Rt.6, into timber country, like rural Oregon, at Lee, take Rt. 168 to Famous Rt. 2 for 3 miles then Rt. 157 to Minninocket then, up Rt. 11 to Pattern, home of the Lumberman’s Museum into Baxter State Park, it’s a wilderness park on Rt. 159 for two days of camping here, still some rain, feeling mightily alone, as far from home as I can go, saw one moose, deer, birds, time to read, stay up late looking at stars, finished the Kite Runner, cried, then for a hike up >Mt. Katahdin, path to stream to rocks to boulders, half up, pass the tree line for quiet time, do I need more quiet time, it’s just what I needed to recharge, thinking about the solitude, quiet moments to view the wonders of the wilderness.
Mission Accomplished, as far east as one can go, and to see Maine again, lands cheap, four full seasons, independent folks, only flooded with visitors in the summer months, local rags in the café in Patten, All Maine Matters, a conservative Fishing, Farming, and Forestry paper, as well as a Christian Conservative paper the Record, the culture wars as they are called need to be fought here, to change America, we must engage issues at a local level, the rural folks are so isolated, unless we truly identify the real issues, like the economy of each area, the past and present influences, these folks will continue to believe that someone is out to change their world, same old scare tactics, these people are deeply patriotic, and influenced by a few, people in the larger city need to get out, not just drive by and say “how beautiful”, buy a coke and leave, like Oregon, the rural struggle hits hard, both Portlands need to realize, the rest of the state is different, there value’s were built and stayed in these communities, change will come, but we need to engage and be clear with our message.What does our America want to be?
Leaving, heading south on Rt. 11, Maine ranks behind New Jersey and ahead of Louisiana for the worst roads, don’t drink too much coffee, down past Brownville and Milo, 15 miles of American Flags on each telephone pole, start here, talking you city slickers. Then Rt. 221 to Banger, for a night at the Holiday Inn, nice big bed, check e-mails, call friends, oh boy!
Heading West today on Rt. 2!!!
Portland to Aradia
57.8 mpg/ 159.3 miles traveled
Acadia to Cobscook
60.8 mpg/ 132.2 miles traveled
Cobscook to Baxter
58.2 mpg/ 123.8 miles traveled
Baxter to Banger
61.5 mpg/ 142.3 miles traveled