Maine Trip

Zimmerman House, Manchester, New Hampshire  

I am noticing a big tension between wanting to see and wanting to sit. My sisters and I are spending five days in coastal Maine, up and out every morning to walk in the woods and see what birds we can find. The first day, since we flew into Manchester, NH, we toured the Zimmerman House, a perfectly preserved Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home that reinforced my preference of light over dark interiors. Obviously, Mr. Wright and the Zimmermans did not share that preference. Cherokee red counter tops and concrete floors with cypress walls and ceiling absorbed the light from the overhead lamps and south facing windows. A cool retreat in the summer. I can't imagine how dreary it would be in midwinter. From there, we drove to Harrison, Maine and saw our maternal grandparents’ home and graves, sadly, fairly rundown, before reaching our hotel in Freeport.

Betsy, Peg and Me with Lenny, the Chocolate Moose  

Sweetser's 207-year-old Apple Stand  

 In three days, we walked at four state parks and four Audubon centers*. The temperatures were mid-60's and the parking lots were empty. Unfortunately most of the birds had migrated south with the tourists, but the walks were still lovely. I really enjoyed seeing the sights, watching for wildlife, and eating lobster at least once a day. However, I needed a break to just sit. Without that,  I loose crispness in my memory, and the several days jumble all together.

Mast Landing Sanctuary, Freeport, Maine

But when we have a limited amount of time, we tend to pack so much into our days. The day after my sister was married in New Zealand, my girlfriend, son, and I took what we named the Bus Trip From Hell to see the north island. Driven by a young manic, our tour was a series of get off the bus, rush through an area, get back on the bus, and repeat. Just about the time I’d start looking around, the driver would insist time was up, and we had to move on. An exhausting day.

Cape Reinga, North Island, New Zealand in 2008  

However, we got to see the huge kauri trees, 40 Mile Beach, and the very top of the north island, where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasmanian Sea meet. Without the crazy pressure to go, go, go,  I would never have seen that beautiful line where the two different colored waters press against each other.

Audubon Marsh, Scarborough, Maine  

How do I balance wanting to see it all and wanting to think about what I’ve seen and its meaning for me? Perhaps renting a place for a few weeks or months would be an option. With a deck or porch with a view and comfortable chairs. We could use it as a base of operations, with day or longer trips radiating out. The downside would be finding furnished places that rent by the month rather than the day or week. Plus we would still need a permanent location so that would be mean double housing expenses, which full-time campers avoid. However, the thought of continually finding campsites seems overwhelming. Maybe once I got into the habit, it would get easier.

* State Parks:

• Wolfe's Neck Woods and the Center/Campground next door
• Mackworth Island
• Two Lights
• Ferry Beach

Audubon Centers;

• Mast Landing Sanctuary
• Gisland Farm
• Marsh in Scarsborough
• East Road Marsh