What’s my Objective

What’s my Objective


I was stationed in Northern Maine for approximately12 years while serving in the military so I suppose I have a fairly good handle on some the key points interest (objective view).
Maine is primarily a rural state, the northern most part county is Aroostook County a Native American name. The northern region is heavily bilingual because it was originally settled by the French and was acquired from Canada. Potato farming is the primary source of income for this low income area. Winters are with temperatures dropping to -25 degrees or more and wind chill exceeding -50 degrees and an average summer temperature of 70 degrees. Because of its extreme northeastern location, Limestone, Maine was chosen by the Strategic Air Command to base B- 52’s for defense of the eastern seaboard. Loring Air Force Base was integral part of the nuclear defense triad. The Maine state bird is the Chickadee and the Maine state animal is the moose. Maine is a conservative state and does not allow the use of billboards on its highways. The capitol city of Maine is Augusta and the largest city is Portland named appropriately because it served as the main port for import and export of goods. Eastport, located in Washington County is the eastern most point in the continental United States and is home to last stone ground mustard mill in the US. The American Bald Eagle has made Washington County its home. St. Croix Island; located in the St. Croix River was the first settlement in the United States founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1604, forms an international border between the US and Canada.
Now for the easy part a subjective view, my wife and I own a house and thirty-three forested acres overlooking the St. Croix River. To describe Maine subjectively let’s take a visit (through your imagination). As you enter Maine on the turn pike you will immediately notice the accent of the toll taker as they say, “Ah, yah” or things like, “you can’t get there from here.” They like to wear warm clothes (sweaters are the norm) and beards to protect themselves from Maine biting cold. But it’s summer on this trip so it’s warm – it’s never truly hot in Maine, cool summers are nice but the black flies are out. The first time I heard talk of black flies I shrugged are they different for the flies in New York, the house flies in NY are pets, Maine black flies are piranhas the size of a match head and they burn just as much when they bite. I’ll bet you’d love to see the coastline while you’re here so let’s take a cruise up route 1 coastal, it’s free and it bypasses the tolls and it’s soothing and scenic. There are usually small fishing boats and dinghys anchored off shore in the shallow water. Maine has a rocky coast – so the waves crash tumultuously, yet are nevertheless soothing, like babbling brook. Maine people are very conservative and will throw nothing away – I mean nothing, so you’ll find antiques everywhere. I could go on for hours and days – see Maine and see what you’re missing.