** I wrote this back in August of last year, and never got around to finishing my journal of my trip. I will endevour to complete the articles again… **

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 – It is so NICE to get out of the city and the traffic I have been bothered by for almost the whole east coast!! I feel free and easy. The weight lifts off your soul and you relax into your life again. I wonder at the people living permanently in those areas… how do they do it? I suppose it’s mostly my personality that just doesn’t deal well with the lack of freedom and nature to connect with. To my mind it seemed that the feeling of my surroundings changed instantly when I entered Maine.

Throughout the east coast the franchises ruled the road. You see Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Subway, McDonalds and all the other crappy, overpriced, unhealthy establishments spread like a plague all over the landscape. But that all changed in Maine. As I ride along the highway I start to notice the independent eateries and stores. At first I just think it’s quaint and part of the draw to attract tourists, but then I start to notice that the franchises have been muted down too. There aren’t as many of them around. Imagine that!! People would rather eat at a quality run Mom and Pop place than heading to McDonalds, but that’s only possible if they’re given the choice.

If you have a chance, please support the independent establishments. Go the extra mile, take the time to do a quick search for something else, drive around and look. You might just find your new favorite place to eat in the world or you just might help to keep a proprietors dream alive.

The one exception I see everywhere, even in Maine, is Dunkin’ Donuts… this franchise is EVERYWHERE on the east coast. There were some places where there would be two of them on the same block!! I really didn’t know that east coasters loved their donuts that much.

I had made arrangements for a couchsurf in Portland this evening, and it was only about noon as I hit the area. So I started to head up the coast of Maine to the northeast. I got as far as Rockland before I thought it would be best to start heading back to Portland again. In Rockland I stopped into a restaurant on Rockland bay and had an awesome bowl of New England clam chowder.

Heading back the way I came, I made my way back to Portland. One thing I’ve found is that when I’m exploring I don’t like to take the same road twice. There are so many roads out there and so many new things to see it seems like a waste of my time if I’ve already been down that road. But in this case there weren’t many other options to get where I needed to go.

Back in Portland, I met up with my CS host Steph and after dropping my bags on her floor, we went out walking to find a bite to eat. It was a Tuesday night and we soon found that most of the places were closed. Portland is a sleepy little provincial town when you compare it to the big cities.

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