To Maine and Back in a Day

Ok, it was more than one day.

But back in the last days of September and the first days in October, my fabulous friend Torrye and I drove to Maine from SC.

Somewhere in Virginia.

 

Torrye was passing through between next things and I asked her when her flight to Maine would be and if she needed a ride to the airport from her stay at my house. Little did I know, she was driving not flying.

So my sucker for a harebrained travel idea self said, 'gee, too bad I don't have many vacation days left and a few hundred bucks laying around. I would ride up with you and fly back!'

So Torrye, also being a sucker for harebrained ideas replies, 'dude, its only like a hundred bucks for a one way back from Maine.'

Thus the wheels of the trip got rolling.

A few Google searches and purchases and day off requests later, we had a trip planned.

And, bonus, this trip would help to accomplish a few of my 30 by 30 goals!

 

We got in the car on Monday afternoon and drove straight through SC, NC, VA, WV, MD, and PA. None of these states were new to me, thus the driving straight through.

We pit stopped for the night with my soon to be international travel buddy, Jessi. She lives and works at a camp in PA and had plenty of space to host a few weary travelers and to give us some local treats!

(local treats. I LOVE the sweet potato chips!)

We got up in the wee hours of the morning and hit the road for lands unknown to me.

The first new state to be crossed off the list was NJ. It was pretty much what I expected.

Then came NY. I think NY will deserve another visit someday, but for now I can say that I have been to the state of NY and driven through the city. (which took forever, traffic was more than terrible to me)

Next came CT. I really liked CT. All the roads and towns and things were clean and cute and seemed like a nice and welcoming place to call home to those that live there.
*Connecticut will get it's own post as we made a few stops that will make this post much too long to report on right now.

We then hit RI, which in my opinion I am glad to have been in once, but don't know that I need to return ever. But again, glad I put my feet down in the state.

 

Next was back through CT and on to Massachusetts. We passed through the middle of the state not going anywhere near Boston. Hopefully I will go to Boston in the spring.

We hit Vermont and New Hampshire in the dark, which was a little disappointing, but still a good addition to the trip.

 

From Vermont to Maine, I took the wheel so that Torrye could rest. And I must say that I am very proud of myself for my driving. Winding unfamiliar roads, navigating by the stars (right, Torrye?), and driving a stick and not stalling once!

We got to Maine close to 11pm I think and were welcomed into the Hart home.

Maine morning fog.

 

The next day was spent exploring the local area. More details on that in a forthcoming post.

New Hampshire

 

And then 3 days after we left SC we headed toward Portland to take me back  to the airport.

And with a few delays and the magic of travel I was back to SC and in my usual life.

Traveling is so strange to think about. That we were in one place yesterday and another today.

All in all, Maine was fan-freakin-tastic! And I am so so glad to have exhausted myself on a last minute harebrained road trip.

Torrye and I in Portland, ME

I plan to write 2 more post on this trip. One about Connecticut and the other about our time in Maine. So Mom and Sara, be looking for those :) 

Blurred Life

'Write a new blog post' has been on my to do list for a few weeks and I'm not actually sure how long it has been since I have written. I didn't really want to  check. From about mid September until now (and still going), life has been a series of blurred weeks. 

Here are the excuses/reasons why I have not written:

- Life has been crazy. 

- Work was ultra crazy for the month of October. 

- The Internet only works at my house if I am sitting by my front window with my computer on the end table. (But I don't pay for it, so that's not a complaint, just a statement.) 

- Inspiration for interesting posts was lacking for a little while. 

And now here we are on November 20th already. 

It seems that the older I get the more I find myself saying, 'wait, it's already (fill in the blank date)?!'

I guess that shouldn't be a surprise, I was warned of this. 

So to my faithful readers, I must apologize for my lack of blogging for the past month. 

In the next few days/weeks I plan to catch up on:

- a last minute, hair brained, 4 day trip to Maine

- what makes work so crazy in October

- surprise birthday visits to Ohio

- some delicious recipes I have been trying

- murder mystery dinner parties and Halloween costume making

- a book review

- volunteering in children's ministry at church

- running and shoes and half marathons 

- an upcoming trip to the UK

- and maybe something more

The posts may come quickly as I try and catch up, but they may not because a week from right now as I write this, I will be galavanting around Liverpool, England and onto a few other stops in the UK!

For now I will leave you with a photo in case you have forgotten what I look like:

And to show a little of how life has felt in the expression on my face.