Go, Go GO!

The time has come.
The time is now.
Just go.
Go.
GO!
I don't care how.
- Dr. Seuss, Marvin K. Mooney Will you please go Now!

The time has come for the trip to Maine. Tomorrow I fly up to the cooler land with the kids, and PH will be joining us next week. There has been laundry to wash, socks to match, packing to complete, and interviews to arrange for PH (don't hold your breath, but at least there has been a bit of a positive response to his cv in Maine). Also, three friends have had babies recently (better them than me!) so meals have been cooked and cute little clothes gifted. In all the running around, it hasn't hit me that (A) we are leaving tomorrow, and (B) this is the first time I've been home in a year. For many people an annual trip home is the norm, but this is the first time in ten years that I have lasted a year without a visit. We didn't plan it that way, it just sort of happened.

So what have I missed this year . . . here's the list.

1. Lobster - In Maine, there is one way to eat a lobster and that is steamed with a cup of warm butter. Don't bother with the work of stuffing it or broiling it. Put an inch of water in a pot, bring it to a boil, throw in the lobster and steam for eighteen minutes. If you insist on a vegetable, make a salad. I'm drooling just thinking about this meal.

2. Cool Weather - Nothing else to say here.

3. Woods - Real trees, and woods with pine needles and cones, and animals that are not reptilian.

4. Humpty Dumpty Potato Chips - Yes, they are made in Canada, but I can only find them in Maine and a few places in New Hampshire. The best kind are BBQ, served with a tuna italian from Whipper's Pizza. Whipper's has no link - I'm not sure they would even know how to turn on a computer but they make the best sandwiches and pizza. More drool.

5. Real lakes - Any retention pond filled with reptilian critters is considered a lake here. Real lakes are cool (maybe a bit cold) and I only need to worry about fish and the occasional leech. The canoe, a book, and a breeze.

6. Mountains - My favorites for easy hiking - Mt. Kineo and Mt. Battie/Mt. Megunticook. For a bit more of a challenge, there is Baxter State Park and Mount Katahdin, which takes a fair amount of preparation and is not for the faint of heart.

7. The New Balance Outlet - Great sneakers at great prices.

8. Country Stores - The kind that sell bait, hunting permits, penny candy, and formal wear. Hussey's General Store advertises beer, guns, and wedding gown - all you need for a wedding!

9. The Maine Accent - Drop your "R" and "ER" is pronounced a "A". This is not the Massachusetts accent and compare them at your own risk.

10. Home - The place you know, the stories, the memories. If I can get the kids to watch a movie on the plane, then here's what I'll be listening to on my ipod

Goin' Home
Mary Chapin Carpenter

This morning I work up with the feelin’ that I’d been away too long
All this blacktop runnin’ underneath my wheels makes me feel too gone
Well I could use a lot of sleep and a little bit of time on my own
And then the sight of you just waiting for me with open arms

Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome

Now it’s the middle of November and the lilies bloom by the Gage springs
Yeah, I can see us flyin’ down the Craig store road like we’ve got wings
Turn the radio off, baby, all I want to do is hear you sing
Yeah, I can close my eyes and perfectly imagine everything

Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome
Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome

All the time that I been takin’
All the things I’ve never found
Suddenly were waiting for me
The minute that I slowed it down

All the time that I been takin’
All the things I’ve never found
Suddenly were waiting for me
The minute that I turned around

Tonight I’m gonna wish you all the things that love can bring
And then I’ll climb right up and watch the sun go down on top of Reilly’s hill
I feel the beautiful breeze just a-slippin’ in under the windowsill
And smell the perfume of the night from those lilies of those fields

Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome
Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome
Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome
Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome, Goin’ h-o-o-o-o-ome (Mind the gap)