ME Day 7 - Getting Out of Maine the Scenic Way
Today started out auspiciously enough with a police officer knocking on my car window and asking what I was doing in the parking lot I had fallen asleep in. I explained that I had been too exhausted to feel safe driving any further, and his relieved "Tired, huh?" let me know he must have assumed I'd probably be strung out on something. I'm sure he's got some stories. Once he knew I was harmless, it was pretty funny having him try to make awkward small talk while he waited for my license to check out. "We, uh, don't normally get people sleeping in parking lots." was a highlight. He then recommended a different parking lot that he said would make for a better rest area, so I took his advice.
I got an early start not too longer after that, because I wanted to ride down Rt. 1 from the first mile and see what I could see.
My first stop was a little breakfast joint called Dolly's. It was a cozy diner, with a good crowd of older folks getting breakfast bright and early. I heard a couple of people speaking French which was good indication of how close I was to Canada. I got a breakfast sandwich and coffee. In the tradition of great breakfast places everywhere, it was a ton of food for almost no money. I never understand how they keep it going, but I sure am grateful. Perhaps it could be because according to their wall clock, I had traveled back in time 11 years.
Something cool about Rt. 1 that I was unfortunately unable to photograph is that there is a scale model of the solar system paced out along the highway at the correct scaled distance. It's fun to just look outside your window, and be like "Oh there's Jupiter." Kinda makes you feel small though.
The first stop that wasn't to take in a scenic view or close my eyes for five minutes (turns out sleeping for three hours in your car isn't super restful) was Wild Blueberry Land in Columbia Falls. The main building is shaped like a Giant Blueberry which is hard to miss, and all their blueberries are farmed themselves and shockingly tasty. If blueberries aren't your thing, it's still worth a stop as they have a bunch of local crafts, maple syrup, and pastries with and without blueberries. I think when the weather is better they also have mini-golf.
After that, I had to visit Rockland, ME to see how it compared to my hometown. It kinda freaked me out that both Rockland's have a Home Depot right over the town line. I will have to see if this holds true for Rockland, NY as well.
I stopped at a coffee shop called Zoot Coffee in Camden, which was really good. I saw some people playing cards at one table, which made me weirdly happy. My friends in college always played cards, so it's good to know that there are places out there for adults to just gather and play a game. The whole place was super friendly, and it was a very good (and much needed) cup of coffee.
From there, I basically drove straight through to my Air BnB in Vermont, but not without getting one last Lobster Roll as a fitting goodbye to Maine.
Favorite random sightings: Mooseshack II; a restaurant advertising "A touch of Class"; Mic Mac Market; "The home of the original chain sawer art"; Maine Mountain Men"; A guy describing the rain as "Snuggy Puppy weather"
Albums Listened To: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Soundtrack; Bed is a Boat EP by the Slackers; Behold the Hurricane (single) by the Horrible Crowes; Bela Fleck & the Flecktones by Bela Fleck & the Flecktones; Benefit by Jethro Tull; Benjamin Booker by Benjamin Booker; Bern the System by various artists (a compilation of New England and New York punk to raise money for Bernie Sanders. No matter where you fall politically that's a great pun); Best of the Specials; Best of Blondie (just the Tide is High); Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions; Best of Freddie Hubbard; Best of Randy Newman; Best of Richie Havens; Best of Simon & Garfunkel; Best of Taj Mahal; Best of the 80's (Just Footloose); Best of the Band (just the Weight); Best of the Chieftains; Best of the Monkees (just I'm a Believer) Best of the Velvet Underground (just Sweet Jane); Best of Tom Jones (just What's New Pusscat, the rare example when the innuendo is LESS creepy than the surface text); Best of Tony Joe White; Better Late than Never by the Slackers (what an incredible debut album); Big Bad Voodoo Daddy by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (just Minnie the Moocher and You and Me and The Bottle Makes Three); Big City by Antsy Pants (just Amazing Kids Doing Amazing Shit); Big Fish Theory by Vince Staples
People's Favorite Jokes:
A polar bear walks into a bar and says to the bartender, "Can I have a gin....... and tonic?" The bartender says, "Sure, but why the long pause?" The bear says, "I've had them my whole life!" (the joy with which this was told to me was really infectious. I love when people go into a kind of zen-like story telling mode"
As the man once said, this weather is dryer than a popcorn fart
Maine Superlatives:
Favorite Restaurant: Maine Beer Cafe in Kitterey
Favorite Coffee: Elements Books, Beer, and Coffee in Biddeford
Favorite Ice Cream: Fielder's Choice Peanut Butter Cup
Favorite Bar: Bull Feeney's in Portland
Favorite Beer: Allagash Jim Bean
Favorite Local Comedians: I can't decide between Ali Simpson and Colby Bradshaw, very different styles but both super funny. In general, I only really saw good comedy in Maine, but I also didn't go to any pure comedy open mics so that might account for some of it.
Thing that Most Lived Up to the Hype: the Holy Donut in Portland
Favorite Attraction: Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies in Deer Isle
Favorite Lobsrer: Young's Lobster Pound
Stray Observation about How Comedy changes from State to State: I found Maine to be more political than New Hampshire, and more story driven than Massachusetts, with less rant based or one-liner based sets.
