It was glorious -
and just the vacation I had hoped for.
I wasn't removed from the political reality in which we've all been immersed;
but awareness of it was blunted by
distance from any major metropolitan area,
spotty internet,
hours of driving every day
and new sights around every bend in the road.
It was just what I needed.
MAINE.
I'd never spent any time in the state before -
with a weekend exception to meet one of my sisters fiance's family in Bangor,
almost 50 years ago.
The marriage never materialized -
and neither did any other excuse to go back to the state.
Before a more detailed travelogue of where we went,
some general observations:
if you "google' the state flower of Maine,
you will be told that its the white pine cone;
which is nonsense -
a) can a pine cone even be considered a flower?
and
b) if you've ever been to Maine, you will know its really a hydrangea.
than any other state I've ever been in.
And that's not a complaint.
And they're huge!
Not the lowly 'shrub' I'm familiar with.
No, think trees.
Again, not complaining.
In fact the beauty of so many gardens was a delight.
By the end of summer in St Louis,
the majority of our gardens have been reduced to brown, dried out twigs,
and leggy annuals, from weeks of struggling with temps over 95.
How glorious to see blooming, thriving gardens
and containers everywhere.
Such abundance meant there were plenty of roadside stands to pick up garden offerings
as well as many small displays by cash registers on stores.
One other general observation is that
Maine also has more independent book stores than any other state I've been in.
In my determination to stop giving my money
to complicit, suck up, authoritarian billionaires,
I've utilized either my library or independent booksellers;
luckily for me, there's an excellent one in my hometown,
so I really appreciate smaller retailers.
(They even have 'Book Boats' rather than 'Little Libraries'.
How cute it that?!) 
Maine ranks second in the Top 15 Indie-Bookseller States per capita -
and, I loved it!
My favorite one was in a small town - Castine, Maine -
a historic coastal town in northern Maine that's been around since the early 1600's.
Population less than 1,000.
But a fabulous bookstore, Compass Rose , which also has a cafe and bakery -
doesn't get much sweeter than that.
SO charming - be sure to visit on your next trip.
Just two more observations/realizations to share tonight:
There are lots of hiking trailheads in Maine -
with lots of people at each one.
Those are not my people.
There are also cove/harbor people and sea people.
I am definitely sea people.
Coves and harbors - which abound in Maine - are picturesque, quiet and safe;
very pretty -
but they all look alike.
To quote Leo McGarry from the West Wing -"Ships in the harbor are safe but that's not what they were built for."
Give me roaring surf, crashing waves and the rhythmic heartbeat of the tides .
Nothing right or wrong about either option;
just personal preference.
OK; that's it for now.
Itinerary to come.
