The First Big Storm

As you can imagine, the recent nor’easter that clobbered the northeast and mid-atlantic states hit Maine particularly hard.  Here in Freeport we got at least 2 feet of snow, but many towns further north got more.  Fortunately, only a few areas in Maine reported power outages, and none for us here in town.

The howling blizzard made for an interesting show from inside our cozy home; it was kind of like being on the inside a snow globe!!

Just sitting inside like a spectator got the better of me, so I pulled on a parka, clicked into the bindings of my snowshoes and trekked into town.  The fierce winds of the storm kept most people indoors, so it was kind of eerie to see our normally busy little village of Freeport with empty streets, save for a few other hearty souls on snowshoes or cross country skis.

Nearly every business was closed, including the McDonalds.  Yep, that historic, stately looking building is our McDonalds. 

Still, there is that one merchant whose doors are never locked and whose lights never go out – L.L. Bean.  All 4 of Bean’s stores were open – I don’t think they had any customers, but they were open for business! 

Finally I reached the north end of town where a friendly place hove into view – the Broad Arrow Tavern.  The Broad Arrow Tavern is part of the very nice Harraseeket Inn, and the tavern was warm and inviting – 

and obviously I wasn’t the only one who thought so!!  Their fully stock bar featured only Maine’s finest beers on tap, and they had a very satisfying Gritty’s IPA with my name on it!

It was an all day effort to dig out on Wednesday.  Our oversized driveway is almost the size of a small parking lot and it collects a lot of snow, which certainly gives our front yard a different look, but we were none the worse for the wear.  At the rate we are going our yard will still be covered when Alex and Joel arrive for 4^th of July week! :-)  Thank God we live in South-coast where the snowfall is moderate; northern Maine gets much more snow than we do!  
See Yah!!

Pictures from Doug's Birthday!!

Your indulgences please for the late postings of these few pictures from my 60^th birthday party. This was a very special time for me – having been away for so much of the last two years, spending my 60^th with family and friends was certainly the best gift of all!!  Thank you everyone for coming, and making it so special!!