A blog within a blog on our weekend trip to Maine.

2003-08-07
� 18:15: On our way to Maine. Listening to Bhikkhu Bohdi give a talk on Buddhist study vs. Buddhist practice and how to properly combine the two.
� 19:00: That was kinda hard to listen to; it was a sentence of English followed by the translation in Chinese. It made both me and Janet sleepy. Now we are listening to Michael Roehm, who is a very dynamic speaker, and the talk is all in English. I feel somewhat bad for the Chinese members of the audience.
� 24:00: Checked in into a motel just over the border into Maine. Continental breakfast included! Dinner was quite excellent Chinese buffet in... somewhere. Drive was pretty easy - more cars than I expected, but I was able to maintain at least 75 to 80 the whole way. BTW, this keyboard rocks!

2003-08-08
� 12:30: Slept not so well; pillow case was kinda rough. Breakfast was OK; no toast or bagels, just donuts of which I had a half. Today's drive was also just OK, mostly small roads. Still raining lots. Janet is in a happy, anticipatory mood. I guess I'm just waiting to get there.
� 13:15: Lunch - awesome. Fish chowder, non-greasy stuffed mushrooms, & kick my ass bluberry pie! Of note from Janet's plate was a pickled cauliflower. The place is called Jed's on Rt. 1 in Belfast, ME.
� 18:45: Just finished Forest Farm, aka the Good Life Center. It was very pretty, the garden abundant. Most important "take away" is that the promise of an easy life is real. Once you get the place build and the garden started, there is not much work to do to keep it going, it seems. The intern was complaining there isn't enough work to do! The down side to our visit is we couldn't get any real info on construction techniques. Another thing we came away with is a determination to find more people and places to visit and maybe intern at, like other farms. Also, I need to look for homesteading communities; I still believe they might exist.
� 19:15: Dinner at the Blue Moose. I had a fried eggplant boat filled with seafood, sausage, and a spicy sauce. I could easily imagine it tasting yucky, but it was very well balanced and obviously prepared with skill. Janet was dissappointed her rissotto was too light on the vegetables.

2003-08-09
� 12:15: Had a good sleep last night. Temperature was very comfortable. I love having a nice big tent to stretch out in. On our way today, we stopped in an Oceanarium. Got to see a lobster hatchery and learn about lobstering from a... lobsterer, I guess. Just got into Bar Harbor. Having lunch at a vegan place. Maybe do some shopping. Or maybe watch a whale.

2003-08-10
� 15:00: Spent yesterday shopping the heck outta Bar Harbor. I informed Janet of a bit of tension she was causing me and afterwards things were better. Last night was another decent night of camping. This whole time the weather was just good enough to not be a real detriment. Today, needed to decide between faster Rt. 95 or scenic Rt. 1. It was foggy when we took off so we were leaning towards the disappointing choice of 95. But as we neared the decision point, it cleared up and became the first beautiful day all weekend. Scenic route it is! We hit a great flea market, an awesome used book shop, and drove through some pretty towns.

2003-08-11
� 11:45: The rest of the drive home was pretty straightforward. Listened to two more Dhamma talks. Was able to go fast and steady right until we hit New York, then the roads got crowded. Got home exactly at 23:30. Slept well. Today I am all psyched to do this thing! (the move to the country and have a farm thing) I feel so positive I will love it.