Discovering a small town in Maine is like finding at cozy spot in Grandma’s house to curl up with a warm blanket.
Peaceful, quiet, full of natural beauty.
Most temporary visitors will only see the town in the best light, during the long, warm summer days and not during the short bitter cold months. Summer rentals filled with “people from away” beaming will joy from being away from the hustle and bustle of where ever they reside when not on vacation.
Tourist season is not the reality of living in Maine year round of course. When the weather turns and the tourists leave, many of the restaurants and shops close up. Often the owners themselves are seasonal visitors and head down south for the winter. Those left behind face a long hard period with little work or those who do the real Maine jobs, the lobster fishers working year round in the icy waters of the Gulf of Maine, teachers, construction workers, lawyers, firemen, policemen. The tourist would suddenly stand out among those with ties to the State that go back generations.
The summer tourist finding a cute little town for a few weeks or months finds it quaint that the only grocery store is attached to the only gas station for miles.
If you need something done, you ask and are told to call Steve over at the harbor, he is usually there around 7 am. Lobsters are sold at boat prices if your trusted, cash only. Trucks slow down at the end of the driveway to look down, curious if anything is going on, as not much goes on that doesn’t get noticed.
People know your name as if by osmosis, passed along the grapevine as a new source of income. The rich folks from away surely need their driveway plowed or their house painted.
