For the people back home who asked where we were going, it was fun to respond "Norway". Then we would add: "That's a town in Maine".

Norway (pop. 2,700) was our base in Maine for our 2008 trip. Sherry spent countless hours over several months searching on the Internet for for the best place to stay in west central Maine. She finally decided on Hillside Cottages in Norway. See the pictures of the place. The cell phone coverage was spotty. However, they did have cable television.

We flew into Boston and drove a rental car (Pontiac G6, white, two-door, unimpressive car except for its peppiness and its air conditioner vents) through Portsmouth, NE (lunch there at Ruby Tuesdays) and Portland, ME. Then we went to Auburn, ME to get groceries at the Hannover Grocery store, a place Sherry had previously found via the Internet. We later found there is that same grocery store in Oxford, ME, which is much closer to Norway than Auburn. Oh well. We wanted groceries since our Hillside Cottage has a kitchenette.

Along the route from Auburn to Norway is where we really learned about the lifestyle of the people of Maine. Most houses are well kept, at least on the outside. Most have New England style clapboard siding (but some, instead, have a shingle-looking material). Residence have clapboards running horizontally. Commercial buildings have them running vertically.

Many homes have multi-storied round turrets. Sherry and Larry like that feature in a house. The houses are closer to the road that they are in Kansas City.

Near Oxford there was a group of model homes. There was a solar powered house. And, there was a large speedway. It features go carts among other types of vehicles.


South Paris is the eastern part of the twin cities with Norway. They are surrounded by the northern end of the Applachian Mountains. These sister cities are at the intersection of four highways, 117, 118, 119 and 26.

North Woodstock is a small town in central west Maine. It is near the intersection of highways 26 and 232.

Howes Corner is a small town about 20 miles straight west of Augusta. It is at the intersection of highways 117 and 219.