Even if today hadn’t been the summer solstice, it was still going to be a long one. We got up, packed our last-minute gear, said goodbye to the cats, heat, and humidity of Greenville, and headed for the cooler climes of Belfast, Maine.
The first leg of our flight was from Greenville to Philadelphia, and apart from being a bit bumpy, was uneventful and relatively quick. The second leg was a bit more exciting. While landing, our flight attendant stated that this was the third time she had landed with one blown out tire, and the smoothness of the landing (or lack thereof) reflected that.
Then there was the matter of our luggage. TSA had apparently seen fit to disassemble my brand-new tripod, which was in my checked baggage, but hadn’t bother to put it back together. For awhile I was worried that they had broken it. Eventually, though, we made it to Portland, got our rental car, and headed up the coast of Maine.
The weather was much cooler, and rainy. Since conditions weren’t great for coastal sightseeing, we decided to drop by Freeport and the home of L. L. Bean. The place was a zoo, with people from all over dropping to pay homage to the quintessential purveyors of monogrammed yuppiedom. We were not immune. We purchased two very nice windbreaker/rain slickers, and I got a great straw hat. We were now set for Maine weather.
