Fairfield Inn
Brunswick, Maine
April 13, 2022
Today was one of those days where I wasn't committed to my "plan" and I had to call a number of audibles. For one thing, the road to Mt. Washington is a private road and is closed until the end of April. And it was another gray/rainy day which made taking good photos difficult. I was reminded of the beginning of John Adams by David McCullough. He describes the winter light in Massachusetts as "colorless." That's a wonder way to describe the light I had today -- colorless. No pop to it.
Fortunately, after rain tonight and tomorrow, the sun is supposed to come out on Friday. So, while I don't like to double back, I am going to head back to the Paris' and take some more photos on Friday. And visit the "World Travel Signpost" that the postmaster in Paris Hill told me about this afternoon.
While I was in said post office, an older woman came in and asked me about my license plate (the Virginia part, not the T ER UP). She and her husband had just moved to Paris from Fairfax County. She had that icy personality like I didn't belong in the same room with her. Yuck.
Some of my other observations from today:
snow on mountains snow 4,000 feet
lots of mom and pop inns, B&Bs and lodges. Not many in great shape. I suspect folks head to the shore now instead of heading to the mountains -- thanks to air conditioning
mud everywhere in New Hampshire and Maine. It probably takes a few weeks for the ground to dry.
churches with tall steeples in almost every town. The churches are lovely -- but were they trying to reach Heaven with the steeples?
more moose signs. Be careful!
no, those are not aspens. They are birch trees
more logging trucks and a lot of trucks carrying chips to the biomass plant. My guess is that the chips come from as far away as 40 miles. I wonder if the residents of the area mind all the trucks? Back in the day, I managed four wood burning plants. They were a pain to fuel. Until the plants were built, folks needed to pay to dispose of woody by products. The biomass plants turned an expense of theirs into a revenue stream. And in my case, the fuel suppliers knew just how much to charge so that we remained profitable -- but just.
lots of white people. Few minorities.
if you told me I could live in cold, gray weather for 8 months to have 4 months of a beautiful summer I would not take the deal.
at the inns, clay tennis courts with the lines that are nailed into the ground — not in good shape
I had to drive an hour to the coast to find a hotel that was open and did not scare me. I am clearly here before the summer season when things are open.