Many things we saw along the way are typical sites around Maine, at least the western half of Maine. Here is a sampling:

• Scenery: Even though we were in Maine rather than Vermont, I found that the theme song from the "Newhart" show kept playing in my head.
• Weather: Most fortunate. Forecast was cloudy and rainy, mid 50's. Got sunny and 60's and 70's. Got spoiled!
• Sunrise: Because Maine is furthest east (longitude-wise) than the rest of the eastern time zone, the sun rises early. It was sunny at 5:30 am. Sherry and Larry are both morning people so the early sunrise is a good thing.
• People: The people do seem to be friendly and easy going
• Town and Country: Maine has several towns named for countries. For example: Norway, Mexico, Peru, China and East Poland. Maine also has many towns in which the east, south, west and north version of the same name is just a few miles down the road.
• Closed and Open: Because of the harshness of winters, Maine seems to be "open" only in the summer months. Sometime in May businesses re-open. They will close when the rainy season and cold weather returns in early fall. So, from Thanksgiving to Mother's Day, they go into their own verison of hybernation.
• Relaxed: We could easily get used to the much more relaxed pace of life here
• Wind: The wind blows less in Maine than in Kansas City. Playing badmitton outdoors is possible here.
• Houses: An overwhelming majority of houses in Maine seem to have the following two qualities:
  • Clapboard siding on the outside -- but some with a large shingle siding
  • Rednecks on the inside -- based on the types of activities people do
• Houses: With few exceptions, the houses are well maintained on the outside. Basically only two sizes of houses: small and BIG. The big ones are the original house then a breezeway connecting the house to a huge barn.
• Metal Roofs: Many houses and commercial buildings have metal roofs. Reason: snow slides off them easier.
• Greenhouses: Greenhouses seem somewhat popular in Maine. Three styles:
  • Glass stand-alone: walls of glass and 45 degree angled roof also of glass. Unit is on the property but totally detached from all other buildings. Large exhaust fan at one end to remove heat and humidity.
  • Plastic stand-alone: wooden frame of roof-like beams covered with heavy duty plastic. Unit is on the property but totally detached from all other buildings. Large exhaust fan at one end to remove heat and humidity.
  • Glass attached: three-sided and roof made of glass, possibly with operable windows and screens. One wall is part of the main house. A means to remove heat and humidity is needed.
• Blooming: Things had just started blooming. Forsythia. Bartless Pear trees. Tulips. Trees of purple, pink and red. Beautiful time to be in Maine.
• Snow: In mid May there were still some patches of snow in the lower north-facing shady areas. We saw this on the way north to Jackman.
• Roads: Streets, roads and highways wind in every direction and often split into three directions. Five or six streets meet at the same intersection. Two lanes often merge into one. The road surface are in poor shape in most places.
• Chains: Outside of the biggest cities (e.g. Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn), there are very few national chains. The ones seen are:
  • Pizza Hut
  • McDonalds
  • Subway (this was a surprise)
  • Dunkin Donuts (much more numerous than Starbucks around Kansas City. MUCH more numerous!)
  • Walmart (in a couple of towns and usually the only traffic light in town)
  • Hallmark (in a couple of towns)
  The main grocery chain is Hannaford. The main drug store is Rite-Aid. The main gas station is Irving.
• Stone: It is EVERYWHERE. The glaciers left them by the millions. Land owners pile them up like a fence, as they do in Ireland.
• Rock: Different type of bedrock just under the soil. The ski area has many more of them on the surface than the logging area.
• Vehicles: Much fewer pickup trucks in Maine than in Kansas City (surprise!). For fun, they have snow mobiles in the winter and motorcycles in the summer. We saw very few semi-trucks in the ski country but dozens and dozens in logging country.
• Along the Road: While driving, here is what we saw often:
  • Cemeteries: Hundreds of them. Large. More people in Maine are dead than alive
  • Businesses: Countless mom-and-pop type businesses, very few chains
  • Blue Signs: Businesses are advertized on the highway by a small blue sign about 18 inches wide and 4 inches tall
  • Tree Cutting: Piles of cut down trees and trees being made into firewood or building wood
  • Construction: Lots of big construction projects for individual property owners
  • Standing Water: Many swamp-like areas of standing water everywhere. Small wonder mosquitos are a problem here.
  • Farming: Practically none, at least in the western part of the state. A dozen or so cleared 1 - 5 acre plots but nothing growning
  • Grass: Very little around. Small patches scattered around.
  • Minerals: There are a surprising number of places that claim to be either a "mineral museum" or a place that sells minerals. Tourists can "mine" for minerals (for a price!).
  Airplanes: We rarely saw or heard an airplane fly overhead the whole week in Maine. There are very few airports, especially international airports. Certainly Maine is not on many routes of commercial airlines.
• Railroads: We rarely came encountered a railroad crossing a road. There are very few railroad tracks in Maine. The logging areas use the semi-trucks rather than rail for hauling. The sparse population in the northern part of Maine is not economically feasible for much rail traffic.
• Clean: Sherry noticed how clean Maine seems. Even the restrooms along our routes were much cleaner than what is seen in other parts of the country.