Maine or Bust

So I just finished writing a really long and witty first edition to my blog attempt and managed to lose it. Go figure. So this version promises to be shorter and much less amusing.

Greta, my talented travel buddy, and I left Minneapolis at 6:00 AM on Tuesday morning on our journey to Maine. First I will answer your question concerning what Greta's talent is. Well, not only is she the most proficient text messeger I've ever met, but she is apparently really fast at counting change and picking it out of a bag. Just so you know- tolls don't take pennies. Despite Greta's ability to manage change well, I think she still grew a slight hatred for them as she tried to take one out, which she claims was an accident. Anyway, we made it to Cleveland without any problems where we stayed for the night. The next day we made a pit stop at Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame (which I recommend for any baseball fan). We essentially had the place to ourselves. We made it to Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA that night to stay with my friend Eric. Now you may be asking why "by-the-sea", at least I know I asked. Apparently, the original immigrants had very little creativity in coming up names so most of the town names are repeated between states. Henceforth, Manchester, NH is so close to Manchester, MA that the former had to add a qualifier.

Moving on, Greta and I headed up the coast through New Hampshire to Maine. Where we stopped in Portland (Maine's largest city claiming ~60,000 residents). Here we grabbed a bite to eat and searched for a large park, which we never found until the next day. We then made our way up to Freeport which is home to the L.L. Bean Company, which is cool, but still no match for REI in my opinion. However, it is open 24hrs/day and John Travolta is occasionally seen ther late at night (Tour guide books can be so informitive). We didn't see any celebrities unfortunately. Side note: if ever traveling with Greta, do NOT forget to point out every establishment that serves ice cream. It may be important. (LOL- sorry I'm laughing at my own inside joke right now at Greta's expense).

Finally, we made it to my house, which is a large 5 bedroom/5 bathroom home on the water, in the middle of no where that I have all to myself. This place may be farther in the boonies than my parent's house. So it is a little spooky at night. After choosing a room, moving my stuff in, and reviewing every detail with my landlord, Greta and I enjoyed some lobster and then explored the local towns a little. We ended at the Road House bar and grill where they were having open mic night. Greta performed a few numbers and we headed home.

The next morning we went for a 5.5 mile run, met my landlord's whole extended family, and then headed up the coast to Booth Bay and Camden. These towns apparently close down about half the business during the non-tourist season, but still have some cool sites. We hiked up Camden Hill to get a great view of the coastline and met a nice retired couple along the way. Maine may be the except to the East Coasters are jerks stereotype. They seem quite nice to me, minus their short entrance ramps and refusal to move to the open left lane. But I digress, we headed back to Manchester BTS, and Greta flew out at 6:15 AM Saturday from Boston. I spent the rest of the weekend with my friend Eric and his "family" there. Norweigen (I'm not Scandinavian so I don't know how to spell such words) pancakes are very tasty and you can eat about 7-8 before getting full. I was surprised to find Scandinavians this far east, I thought they all lived in MN, WI and the Dakotas. Who knew!?! They are different out here though, they don't have the cool "Fargo" accent at all.

I started my last clinical rotation today. Yes! That's right my LAST clinical rotation. That does indeed mean (barring any major catastrophes) that Craig Dorn will finally be graduating and done with school. Woohoo! After only 7 years and we won't even discuss how much money. My new site seems nice. My clinicial instructor seems a little on the crazy side, but very smart. So I hope to learn a lot.

Anyway, I don't have tv at my house and only dial-up internet. So I'm hoping to have some adventures outside my house. I've already joined a gym and found a great coffee shop with free wireless. Well, sorry this has been long. I decided to try this route to keep everyone posted (and to continue my resistance to joining Facebook - Stay strong Alicia!)

I miss you all. Come visit.