"the call of Maine" (Kennebunk, Kennebunkport: credit, houses, camp)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"the call of Maine" must have a pretty good call because msina recently had her posts read for the quarter millionth time.

[msina]

WOW

[RMoore007]

My sister, brother and cousin have all moved back to Dover Foxcroft in the last 3 years. All lived out here in CA for many years. My parents died and that was the catalyst for the movement. The 1850's farmhouse and property was left to the 5 of us, 3 brothers and 2 sisters. The oldest sister now caretaker of the old homestead. My other brother who has always lived in Maine owns a log house across the street with 15 acres. We also have a 20 acre pit and over 40 acres of wetlands. There is one other 7 acre lot which is good for some house lots. I visit there every Nov. or Dec. for the holidays.

I have a business in the Sacramento area that can really do without me for long periods. I will make less but enjoy life more. So I plan on heading back there with stuff in the near future. I'll probably rent for awhile. Not sure if I want to buy or build a small cabin on our property.

A few years ago I got into motorcycling again at age 50, now 56, and ended up at a BMW dealership. My son and I had a couple of Honda off road bikes at home. The salesman at the door asked me what he could do for me and I said I wanted something "opposite" a Honda XR250 so he showed me the K1200LT touring bike weighing over 850 lbs. That's what I wanted and just bought it. Since then have put over 100k miles on 6 different BMW's. The opperative word here is opposite.

I want the opposite of what I have now. There are 2 million people in my county. I drive over 1000 miles a week in and around San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento. I live in a town near Sacramento but you can't tell when you leave one town from the next. I have 5 movie theaters within 10 miles and they're always crowded. There are 4 huge malls close by and you'll fight for a parking spot. My question is this: Is Dover the opposite? I sure hope so.

[msina]

Oh RMoore!! You KNOW Dover (Dover-Foxcroft) is unlike California! If you want THE mall you'll drive a ways to get there. It won't be long after you're home that the whole town will know that a "townie" is back. Just stop in the feed store or the hardware store and smile. Start a conversation. Everyone will know you in no time. Your Neighbor, msina

[AliceT]

There I was... knee high to a grasshopper and loving everything about my life in Maine - Kennebunkport, to be exact. Even if the dead fish were particularly hostile. But that's another thread...

It wasn't my idea to move and my opinion didn't seem to matter. At the age of 8, that was the story of my life. I'm not even sure why we moved, other than it had something to do with my maternal grandmother in Ohio. My dad and everyone on his side of the family was from Maine. It was where he wanted to be.

Well, you know how women are about their mothers...

So I made the best of being in Ohio. But I always knew one day I would return to Maine, to be home again.

Then life threw a curve ball in my direction. Just when I thought I would leave Ohio and go back to Maine to make a life for myself there, a health issue got worse. It wasn't fun. Several doctors recommended a different climate. VERY different climate - hot and dry or hot and humid. Pick one. The one I didn't want picked me. I stayed in FL (for my health) 29 years and hated it for 30. I subscribed to the York County Coast Star serving Kennebunkport. If I couldn't live there, at least I could read about it. The prices scared me. I could never afford to live there. What had happened to my little town?

Then cousins bought property in Maine and suggested I stop looking at Kennebunkport - start looking at other areas, further north, for example. It was several years before I followed that advice. Found a real estate company that gave you all the information you would ask of a realtor without actually having an agent expecting you to make an offer. Gosh, the prices were much more appealing! I took a vacation from work and went property hunting. I bought my place in Penobscot County in 2003.

I've been trying to get it up and running and year-round ever since. Maybe this year...

[RMoore007]

Originally Posted by msina

Oh RMoore!! You KNOW Dover (Dover-Foxcroft) is unlike California! If you want THE mall you'll drive a ways to get there. It won't be long after you're home that the whole town will know that a "townie" is back. Just stop in the feed store or the hardware store and smile. Start a conversation. Everyone will know you in no time. Your Neighbor, msina

My neice worked at Agway and now works at the Charlotte White Center. Her husband, my nephew, worked at Shaws, Country Side Meat Market and Abel Blood’s Pub Restaurant before he bought Scotty's Hot Dog Stand on Rt. 7 (closed now but opens in March I think). My brother works for Interface in Guilford. Not to mention a cousin who is a paramedic. Plus the twenty or more other relatives who live in and around our area. You probably know some of them or maybe we're even related.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by AliceT

I've been trying to get it up and running and year-round ever since. Maybe this year...

When I get there, give me a holler... I'll be glad to come help with whatever project you have at hand. You get to know folks best by working with 'em.

[Eastport4me]

I have only been posting on the Maine forum since Nov. 2007 and during all this time I have read many threads. One statement in particular about Maine that I have come to feel best describes Maine is that it is "God's Country". If I may digress a moment, I learned in Education for Ministry that we were created to be caretakers of the earth and of one another and the # 1 commandment is love the Lord they God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength and like unto it love your neighbor as yourself. So with that being said, the people of Maine strike me as being Angels in Gods waiting room. If the people on this forum exemplify the majority of people in Maine, they are Angels in waiting to offer God moments, always ready and open to lend a helping hand, to offer encouragement and exude love of the fellow man. A God moment is when all of a sudden, at any time, any day, without any warning you are overwhelmed by someone offering you help in some way. I think this one of the reasons I feel drawn to move to Maine.

[MaineMathTCHER]

My call to Maine was Eastport as well.
I am most at home traveling the streets of Eastport, having a meal at the Waco, spending an hour or more on the pier looking out and seeing and hearing all the beauty the ocean has to offer. Then there is the view while driving onto Moose Island after turning off Route One and going through the reservation. The views of the ocean are breathtaking. I even like shopping at the local IGA where everyone knows everyone. Eastport is the way life should be. Washington County is my home and the only call I hear is one to stay put and enjoy this snow and absolute beauty!

[Unhappycamper]

My call is the fact I was born here.
Also Shipyard Ale is enough to keep me around.