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Near misses/automobile: 3
Near misses/pedestrian or cyclist: 3
Stupid questions: 2
Rude comments/PFA (People From Away) Syndrome:1
I drove through Stonington village this morning (all 1/2 mile of it) and am still surprised that I did actually make it back home. Cars doubleparked, people who cannot navigate narrow streets, people who walk at will down the middle of the street, cars parked in the opposite lane to take pictures (dead stop, out of the car, blocking half the road- for a photo...), parents that let their small children run into the road, cars that drive 15mph in a 45 zone... AAAAARRRG! Must be Tourist Season!
So, as a gift to those people who might be coming for a visit to Maine, I thought we might compile a list of thing NOT to do when they visit!
-Do not stop in traffic to view something pretty. Find the next parking place and then pull over.
-If you are trying to navigate the sometimes narrow roads in Maine, you need to err on the side of getting too close to the woods- not travelling halfway into the oncoming lane of traffic to avoid said woods.
-Even in scenic areas, do your best to not impede traffic. I know looking at the water is pretty, but I have to get to the store before it closes.. and I don't want to drive at 15 mph to get there.
-Do not pull the nose of your car out into the road (from a driveway, for example) as you may be used to doing at home- the buffer strip in Maine can be very, very narrow (none at all, sometimes) compared to that in more urban areas, and you may be causing passing traffic to veer into the oncoming lane.
- Do not reserve a room on the harbor of a fishing village and then complain that it smells too... fishy. (Or alternately, that the sound of the fishing boats leaving in the morning is too loud..)
-Do not continually tell us Mainers what you have back home, and how much better it is than what we have up here. It's likely we don't agree on how good it is, or how nice it would be to have. This applies to cell phones, good coffee, big box stores, expensive housing, and other assorted goodies.
-Don't make fun of our accent, and especially not to our faces. We can make fun of yours, but you can't make fun of ours.
-Don't ask where we go in the winter.. Maine doesn't close come Labor Day. Well, at least not mid-coast/Downeast Maine..
We have what we call "snow birds" here in Phoenix, Arizona, from October to March because the weather is so balmy during winter. Many elderly folks from mostly midwestern states swope down on our area. Traffic flow increases terribly and sometimes all that can be seen of a driver is their white (or pink or blue) hair. LOL Its just part of life here, just like the gauky tourists checking out your beautiful trees.
Do not say "oh, that's a restaurant?".....and then make that face. yes, we know it has cedar shingles, but the chowdah's outta this world.....
oh, and in Washington County, (or New Brunswick for that matter)if you're way out from shore, on the "beach" (flats)....as soon as the water starts coming in, turn around and walk toward shore. Seriously....one foot in a honey pot will slow you down and you'll be in ice cold water before you know it.
oh, in Washington County, unless it's a lake, don't park on the beach. That beach isn't that big at high tide. That beach might not even be there at high tide.
OH....leave lots of slack in the line tying up at high tide.....
(DeerIsle this is fun! LOL)
The stuff hanging out over the islands is fog....it's on it's way in eventually.
Fog is wet....wear a coat. No, your fleece isn't waterproof.
Low beams in fog. ALWAYS--honest.
Expect to see wildlife along the side of the road. If you stop dead in the road to look at the wildlife, expect to get hit, sometimes pretty darn fast, other times you may have to wait a while.
Expect to see wildlife IN the road. Expect that if it is a moose, he will get out of the road in keeping with his own schedule. Unless you've hit him.
Yes, we're looking at you. It's not to intimidate you. We're curious about anyone with an accent.
..Do not walk out to that island at low tide, unless you are prepared to either swim back, or wait for the next low tide..
The question that got me laughing the hardest was from a woman from Mass. She wanted to know where the closest gas station was because it was 4 p.m. and she heard all Maine gas stations closed at 5 p.m. I about wet my pants laughing as we were in Portland when she asked.
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