what we have here is a failure to communicate

As of 9:30 this morning I am officially on vacation. That’s when I finished my chores in Bar Harbor and Ellsworth and took off down Rt. 1, headed down to Kennebunk where I am spending the night at my parent’s house.

I considered today to be the first leg of my journey, and I made the most of the mini road trip. I stopped frequently to take pictures, exploring new corners of Maine, and getting to work right away on the list of assignments Lea Ellen had given me. This included eating at a diner AND a donut shop. I found the donuts in Rockland, at the Willow Tree Shoppe, and ate at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, sampling their famous pie – coconut cream was my preference.

I also practiced my city driving, finding my way through Portland and South Portland, out to Cape Elizabeth where I stopped at Two Lighthouses State Park. It was half an hour before the park closed, and the orange sun was setting, shooting gold through the waves the piled against the rocky coast. At the horizon pink clouds puffed about. I took pictures until my hands turned red, and then hurried back to the car and chased the sun all the way to Kennebunk.

And so my trip began, on the Atlantic coast, in the eastern-most state (or thereabouts). I will cross-cross the country, visit the Pacific and the Gulf coast before I am through. It was hard to make myself believe that as I drove leisurely down Rt. 1, which is why I made the effort to seek out new sights and sounds even at this early stage.

Now, cozy in my family’s house, with my pictures uploaded to Flickr and this blog entry almost done, I am preparing for bed. My father and I will rise around 3 a.m. and make our way to our 6ish flights out of Portland. By this time tomorrow I will be in New Mexico. I still can’t make my brain fully comprehend, but I am filled with eager anticipation. If the rest of the trip is anything like today, it will be pretty amazing!