Home Sweet Texas....

We got back from our trip late last night........ Maine was very pretty, but as always, there's no place like home.

In all, we saw twenty lighthouses... two of which were in Canada. We crossed over into Canadian at two separate places, to see lighthouses on the Canadian side. We could've kept going and going, but the trip was long enough. So many lighthouses, so many lobsters, so much blueberry pie. And forgive me, but I still think the lobsters we get here are just as good as the ones we got up in Maine....... and the ones here aren't so expensive.

Bar Harbor was my favorite town in Maine, and BoothBay Harbor was nice as well. All the little towns we stopped in were very quaint, very pretty...... and the views across the Atlantic were all beautiful. The biggest difference up there were the road signs.... or the lack of road signs. Their signs are very small, and if you miss the one you're looking for, you won't have a second chance because there won't be a duplicate sign. And the signs are small, so you have to pay attention.

One thing was strange--- we're used to waving to strangers and saying hello to everyone we pass along the way. Well, they just don't do that in Maine. Very few people waved back, and even fewer returned our "Hello" or "Good morning." And in one town, we asked three different local people for directions.... and got three totally different instructions on how to find a lighthouse.

I told my husband that the people in Maine must be a little bit cranky because all they have to look forward to is the winter. And I truly don't think they appreciate all the tourists during the pretty summer months because all the extra traffic clogs up their tiny two-lane roads. The people of Maine live with those lighthouses every day of the year, so maybe the thought of "outsiders" driving in for a look-see just doesn't set right with them.

I'd go back to Maine, but only if we went to one place and stayed there for a few days. All of that driving was just too much...... 1500 miles in ten days. A different motel or bed & breakfast every night. I told my husband that I felt as if I were living out of my purse and my suitcase for the whole trip, which I truly was.

And the whale-watching boat....... never, never, never again. Looking back now, I don't know how I stayed on that boat. Come to think of it, I have no blessed idea why I agreed to get on that boat in the first place. But on the bright side of that..... while we were in Canada and looking at a lighthouse, I saw a whale out in the ocean as it surfaced for a breath of air. (And it didn't cost fifty dollars for a boat-ride.)

We flew SouthWest Airlines....... and had delays both going and coming home. We fly SouthWest a lot, and this is the first time we've had such problems, but the delays made for long trips. On the way north, we had to fly from here to Chicago, then to Baltimore, then to Hartford... then we rented a car and drove up to Maine. On the way home, we went from Hartford to Baltimore, then got delayed for two hours there before being able to fly home. But at least we didn't have to criss-cross half the eastern shore before flying west. I swear, air travel is just getting too, too stressful and complicated these days.

Nice to be home, as always. Our pet/house-sitter took such great care of Gracie and the cats while we were away. The house was neat and tidy, and our young friend C and her mom came over and left us fresh-baked muffins for our breakfast this morning.

As Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz........" --- There's no place like home.... there's no place like home........... there's no place like home.