Civilization is communication: Maine Diary Excerpt

Bubble Lake, Acadia National Park, ME

Shubert carried me to Bar Harbor but Chopin lead me through the shaded roads of Acadia. Listening to their music in the car reminded me of the phases I went through with each of the classical composers as I was "discovering" them. My Schubert phase, my Chopin phase. My Dvorak phase.

On the road I alsopassed a pumpkin patch with bright orange pumpkins, surely a sign of fall. Up this far the leaves have begun to change and I could see hints of yellow and red in the green trees lining the road.

Yesterday before leaving Acadia I got to visit Bass Harbor and see one last lighthouse. I continue to be intrigued by the rhythmic sound of the ocean here.  The waves don’t come in tempos, but instead are an unending sloshing against the rocky shoreline. There is no break in the melody, no pause, no breath, only a constant pulsing. In the distance I could hear a bell, not sure what it was for, I called it sea chimes.

The strange thing about traveling alone is that after the journey is over, it feels as though it never happened. Maybe when I see my friends again I won’t know what to tell them. Maybe I’ll tell them about all the conversations I overheard, and the ones I was a part of. It seems like no one was particularly interested in hearing my story, but was overflowing with the desire to tell me theirs. I might have learned more about other people on this trip than I learned about myself. On that note, I just read an interesting quote from Murakami’s first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, “Civilization is communication. That which is not expressed doesn’t exist.” So if I don’t write about this trip, if I don’t tell anyone about it, then it might as well have never happened...

-       excerpt from my travel diary, September 10, 2015

A stroll through downtown Bangor

I didn't have a lot of good things to say about Bangor when I visited:

"I went on a walk through downtown after the library, only to be more and more disappointed by the town itself. 'This charmless town looks like it tries hard to be tacky,' I voice-dictated into my phone. Another thing  I noticed in Bangor was this attention to crime I have not seen elsewhere. Take the sign in my hotel room for instance, “room will be inventoried after each guest checks out and guest will be billed for missing items.” Or this one on every public bathroom in the city, “Restrooms are for paying customers only,” or how about “no backpacks” on the doors of stores, or the library having enhanced security, like cameras and metal detectors.

I'm not sure that I regret going there, but I wouldn't go back without a very compelling purpose. When I look at these photos again, I can feel my disappointment. However, some of the images appear charming, which is the magic of photo editing. I wanted to put them on this blog as yet another example of reality and illusion.

Photo Diary: Best of Maine

It's pretty hard to put together a "Best of" photo album for Maine after all the other amazing photo diaries I have of cemeteries, lighthouses, and architecture. What else could I possibly photograph?
In this diary, I will attempt to present a series of photographs that portrays the overall theme and mood of my trip to Maine. I have also decided to start adding captions to my photographs. Though they are powerful without any context, I want to connect them to reality so that I can always remember their meaning.

Church with model church, Lamoine

Street in Camden

The ocean, as seen from Breakwater Light

Visitors book in Portland Jetport

Running path in Brunswick

View from Spring Ledge light

Airport bathroom selfie

Getting set up for a wedding in Raymond

The light of Pemaquid Lighhouse

A building in downtown Portland

The beach as seen on a foggy day in Lamoine

Books for sale in Bath

Pemaquid Lighhouse

Stephen King's house in Bangor

A beautiful girl in a cafe in Portland

A farmhouse in Lamoine

The harbor of Camden

From a desk at the Jesop Memorail Library in Bar Harbor

Hiking Mt. Dorr in Acadia National Park

Street view in Bath

Poster in the bathroom of a house in Lamoine

A building in Bath

Hiking Mt Dorr in Acadia National Park

A seagull in perched along the river in Gardenia

Lobster pound in Belfast

A window in Portland

The  harbor at dusk in Portland

The river as seen while running on a path in Brunswick

The rocks outside Pemaquid Lighthouse

Locks on the harbor in Portland

A pride flag at a cafe in Portland

Matsumoto Joe: My Go-to Cafe in Bar Harbor, Maine

After the disappointing dearth in cafes outside of Portland, Maine, I was ready to declare Dunkin Donuts to be the best coffee east of the Androscoggin river. Then I went to  Bar Harbor, which looks deceptively like any other sea-side tourist town but maybe three times larger.

I found this cafe purely by chance. I was returning to my car after lunch to grab my laptop and head to the Jesup Memorial Library and write. I had been thinking about wanting a latte but was unsure where to go. I was going to check Yelp recommendations from the library, when I spotted two people carrying lattes as they turned the corner from the road where my car was parked. The short walk brought me to a sign in Japanese that I must have missed before. I went in without hesitation and had the best latte in all of Maine. The café is called Matsumoto Joe, named after the town of Matsumoto, Nagano, where the American owner lived for seven years before starting a café in Bar Harbor, Maine. This place is so authentic that I was instantly reminded of one of my Go-to cafes in Japan, such as Insomnia in Matsue, or Blue Bird in Hiroshima. 

Café Catalog: Portland Maine

Tandem Coffee Roasters

Portland, Maine is frequently compared  to Portland, Oregon, and now I know why. Both have a liberal and laid back population. Both are quirky and artsy and have thriving counter-culture movements. Both have world-class restaurants, and top-notch cafes. Although Maine's Portland is about 1/10th the size or Oregon's, thankfully the quantity of good cafes is not proportional to that. While I have a list of my top 20 cafes in Portland, OR, I found 5 great cafes in Portland, ME.
Ranked in order.

1. Tandem Coffee Roasters

Housed in a vintage gas station, Tandem wins on all levels. Exceptional style, delicious coffee and pastries, and great for people watching. There is limited seating so this is not the place to work, but definitely the place to see and be seen.

2. Bard Coffee

Bard is the best cafe to work from in the city. In afternoons the place clears out and you can have your pick of seating. The coffee is also great here and I enjoy the large windows and natural lighting.

3. Speckled Axe

Another great option, this cafe is centrally located and had pretty fine coffee. I think I bumped it to third place because the music they were playing during the time I spent there was pretty annoying, and the bar stools were a bit uncomfortable. I would definitely go back if I lived in Maine. 

4. Omis

Omis is a charming cafe on the outskirts of downtown Portland. It is located in a fun and colorful old house and has unique latte flavors like lavender and honey. 

5. Black Cat

A nice place to work from in northern Portland. The ambiance is mediocre, but ti was quiet and conducive to writing. 

Honorable Mentions:

Yordprom

A beautiful cozy outdoor patio makes this place a great writing spot on a sunny summer afternoon. 

 

Coffee by Design

It feel a little too commercial for me, but Coffee by Design is a perfectly suitable local joint with multiple locations in Portland.