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Portland, ME – A cool and misty overcast afternoon in Maine, my arms are achy after an overdue gym workout

After a few days in Maine, I can honestly say that I’ve lost my road weariness. Last night I had a series of long and intricate dreams, the kind of dreams that only come with deep sleep. It’s a strange feeling to drive nearly 7,000 miles from home and end up in your other home. I’ve spent so long driving through unknown states and getting lost in foreign cities, so it’s a great feeling to be somewhere again where I don’t have to think about how to get somewhere.

So, ok, back to Connecticut. I checked out of the sketch-o-lodge around 9am after staying up until 3am finishing the previous blog. The drive to Maine was easy and uneventful. I drove through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and then drove across the Piscataqua River into Maine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscataqua_River) I had a humongous smile on my face when I drove past the Maine greeting sign, which reads: “Welcome to Maine – The Way Life Should Be.” I gave the Integra some loving words of encouragement and gratitude, being impressed that she had taken me so far. I gave the dusty dash a pat.

Good job Integra, good job. You’re a rock.

My first stop was my sister’s house in Portland. After big hugs and welcome tidings from sister and Maggie Mae, we caught up a little bit before my nephews Jake and Sam got back from school. Over the last five years or so, my sister has run a daycare at her home. It started as an all-day thing, but now its simply an after-school stop for some five to eight kids. I was so pleased to find out later that the group of little ones had made me a welcome home sign.

The next stop was Standish. It had to be two or three years ago that I first got the idea of driving across the country to Maine. Since then, I’ve had this persistent image in my head of driving the white wonder all the way to my parents driveway in my hometown. So, it was with a great sense of accomplishment that I pulled up to the house where I spent the much of my childhood. I stepped out of the car and had a moment with the Acura. I gave her a pat on the roof and then stepped into my childhood home to give my mom a hug. I said “I’m home mom, and I brought the car this time!” My dad got home from work a little later. There was a big hug waiting for him as well.

Being a dedicated reader of my blog, my mom had prepared a dinner of rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes, and broccoli. My dad fired up the Weber and let me grill the biggest steak for myself. Nirvana. My parent’s 40th wedding anniversary had been the day before and so their wedding album was pulled out. Its strange to see pictures of your folks from forty years ago. They were just out of school. Such a fetching young couple they were. A more familiar picture of my great uncle at sixteen was retrieved as well. The picture is eerie, since he looked very much like I did at the same age. Genetics are a funny thing.

After a couple glasses of wine, they were open to some pictures. Still quite the fetching couple, don’t you think?

The next morning, around 7:30am, I was awoken at my sister’s place by my nephew Jake and a lick in the face from Maggie Mae. The Lufkin family wakes up around 6am or so, and so, to them, I’m quite the late riser. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of waking up and having a pot of coffee ready for you. It feels like home. I had a couple cups of joe and watched cartoons with Jake and Sam a bit before going to the gym for a spin class.

My sister, Sarah, works at a gym and teaches a spin class a few days a week. Eager to get back into a regular workout routine, I gladly accepted her invitation to join. Although, I was sure I’d get my butt kicked. In each of her spin classes, my sister will "guide" her group to some American city full of hills and straitaways. My sister announced to the class that we’d be tackling San Francisco, and I groaned. Throughout the forty-five minute ride, my calves twitched, seemingly always on the verge of cramping up. I finished though, barely. My legs and hips were sore the rest of the day, but I was so glad to have started a regular workout routine once again.

After a quick shower, Sarah and I met up with my mother and grandmother for lunch. I was ravenous. It felt good to have that post-workout hunger. We all caught up a bit and enjoyed our pasta bowl lunches.

My sister and I returned to hers to hold a small birthday party for my nephew Sam. Sam had turned seven years old that day, and the daycare crowd celebrated with cake and ice cream. Sam had made himself a birthday crown for the occasion. All hail the birthday boy-king. We next walked over to a nearby little-league baseball diamond for Sam’s t-ball game. My brother-in-law Jack coaches Sam’s team. Watching the game, I could see the most basic of baseball fundamentals at play: 1) Hit the ball, and run! 2) If the ball is hit towards you, go get it, and get it to first base. The game was madcap, each hit would result in a group of kids pig-piling on it. The mother who was keeping score would wear a puzzled expression, wondering how to score each of the at-bats. Most often, the plays would be scored as “comedy-of-errors.” All the kids were having a ball though, which is the most important thing.

The next stop was Sam’s elementary school, where a number of children’s book authors were reading stories and signing books. Sam picked up the very entertaining “Tuff Fluff – The Case of Duckie’s Missing Brain.” I had the honor of reading it to Sam and Jake later that night. The book was a joy to read, as it was in the classic style of film noir.

After the book event, we all went out for a post-game/birthday boy pizza dinner at the Portland Pie Co. I was amazing to find that the place served Leinenkugel’s beer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leinenkugel's), which my friends Zack and Steve spoke of often as a popular beer back in Minnesota. The pizza was delicious, and Sam had a birthday cookie, complete with a lit birthday candle. We all slept quite well that night.

I woke up the next morning to a bright a beautiful sunny day. No longer able to stand the sight of the Integra interior, I took everything out and gave her the vacuum and Armor All treatment. Maggie, the ham, posed in the emptied trunk for a picture. I was tempted to clean the outside of the care as well, but knew I could easily spend the rest of the day washing and waxing. I decided to leave that for another day.

From there, I took the glossy-interiored white wonder for a drive to the Old Port district of Portland for photos and lunch. The Old Port now reminds me of a scaled-down Seattle, with its beautiful brick buildings and its close proximity to the sea. I wandered about Monument Square and Exchange Steet and was bombarded with memories of all the times I had spent there. I remembered my teenage years. After getting my driver’s license, I spent a lot of time in the area, just enjoying my new small degree of freedom. Friends and I would visit the Exchange St. coffee houses and loiter about for no particular reason at all. I sat in the small park at the head of Exchange St., eating a gryo and watching the breakdancers put on a show. Oh sunny sunny bliss.

From there I drove over to Cape Elizabeth for a visit to Fort Williams and Portland Headlight. Portland Headlight is probably the most recognized icon of Maine in the world. My father grew up in Cape Elizabeth, and when I was a child my family would go there often to visit my grandparents, who lived right on the coast. Back then, the rugged Maine coast was a playground to me. Portland Headlight was a pleasure, as always, to visit. I can’t tell you how many I’ve been there. However, for the first time, I actually went into the little museum which is inside the lighthouse. The museum at Portland Headlight explains the history of lighthouses in America, and chronicles the many changes the lighthouse and military had gone through since the early 1800’s. It also explained in detail the role of lighthouse keeper, and all the individuals who had served in that role over the years. I was impressed, and a little moved. By the time I had worked my way to the lighthouse’s automation in 1991, I got a little choked-up. It was an end of an era.

I returned home and took Sam and Jake to Jake’s little league game. Jake is on a double-A coach pitch team. At this level, the kids hit clean line drives, field ground balls, catch pop-flies, and can even turn double-plays at times. Jake had a good day, hitting a single and a double, as well as catching a couple pop-flies. Jake’s team was short a man, and so Sam got the call up to the big-boy league. Jake and Sam are my favorite kids in the world, and being able to spend time with them has been one of the biggest highlights of my time so in Maine. (Just a historical footnote, it was on this day that Curt Schilling came within one out of pitching a complete-game no-hitter against Oakland. The Sox won 1-0 to avoid being swept in the Coliseum.)

The next morning, I woke up earlier than ever to drive out to Standish for a lil’ boating adventure. Standish rests at the base of Sebago Lake, which is the second largest and deepest lake in Maine. Being a Friday, the lake was all but deserted. On the weekends though, the place is a circus of boating enthuasists. Not a single other boater in sight, we launched at the southern tip of Sebago and cruised the entire lake perimeter. I couldn’t remember the lake ever being so calm. At places it was a mirror, which allowed my dad to push the boat to its top speed of 45 mph or so. We cruised by countless lakeshore houses. While the clear lake water looked inviting, its 60-degree temperature quelled any notions of taking a dip.

Oh the memories. My dad has been taking me out on lake and Casco Bay since I was a little one. This little trip shines as one of my favorites though. The weather was perfect. We stopped at a popular sandbar for a lunch of sandwiches and Pringles. Normally, this sandbar is lined with all sorts of boaters. Today, however, we had it all to ourselves. I was so happy to have some quality father-son time with my dad. I was also pleased to discover that the area had its own horseshoe pit, complete with horseshoes. With North Carolina beach-house memories still fresh, I pitched some shoes for a while, and even managed to get a ringer.

We finished our tour of Sebago Lake and headed back to Standish. I had that sleepiness that comes with riding around in boats all day. I could have curled-up into a ball and slept for hours at my folks’ place, but pushed on back to Portland for Sam’s real birthday party. The birthday party proper was held at Jokers, which is a Chucky-Cheese type of place. It reminded me of my high-school job working at the Discovery Zone (I’m not even sure if this company still exists now.) At the heart of Jokers is a labyrinth indoor playground, made up of tubes, slides, ball-pits, etc. There was pizza, cake, ice cream, and presents. I had a blast playing skee-ball.

After the party, I went to my favorite little movie house in the Old Port called “The Movies in the Exchange.” The Movies is a single-screen theater which plays independent and foreign films. I saw the film “After the Wedding” and was impressed. The cinematography captured me from the beginning. The characters were well drawn and three-dimensional. The screenplay was dazzling. I was moved. Go see this film. (A) (http://www.aftertheweddingmovie.com/)

That brings me to today. This morning Jake and Sam helped me upload my pictures to Shutterfly and we later played a little ball in the backyard. I went back to my sister’s gym for another workout. It feels so good to be getting back in shape, words can’t describe. Later tonight, Sarah, Jack, and I (and some other friends of theirs) are going to my favorite restaurant in the world, The Great Lost Bear. I’m salivating just thinking of it.

I am loving being home in Maine. My road-warrior weariness has evaporated. It’s been seven weeks since I left San Francisco. I miss it more than ever. But for now, I’m soaking it up in Maine. These are good days.

More soon.

Andy

To see all the pictures from Connecticut to now:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcMnLVq3aN2Id