"you have stars up here.... (Portland, Bangor: motel, camp, live)

[RHB]

we are missing all of ours"

This is what a friend from CT said last night when he stepped outside. I had forgotten that you couldn't see the stars down there.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by RHB

This is what a friend from CT said last night when he stepped outside. I had forgotten that you couldn't see the stars down there.

We here in southern New England see plenty of stars - esp when we don't look where we are going! Seriously, the nearby city lights tend to interfere, even if that city is 30 miles away.

I would think that folks near Portland would experience the same thing?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Nope. There are no lights out on the ocean. Any coastal town in Maine has dark skies and bright stars.

[mollysmiles]

I remember when we first moved down here from Bangor we were driving across the causeway into Eastport and one of the kids said, "Mom, it's SO dark here!" They weren't used to not having many streetlights. When a friend visited from Virginia a few years ago and we were driving across Rt 9 he also remarked on how dark it is.... lol, it's funny how we can take things like real darkness, real moonlight, and real starlight for granted.

[jazzman0202]

Years ago my son went to Boy Scout camp on Cooper Pond. It's off Rt.11 south of Millinocket, several miles down a dirt road past Jo-Mary Lake, then another mile hike in. The stars at night, and the daily view of Katahdin were unbelievable !! We showed the boys some constellations that they (and I) had never seen before. What stars !!!
You are right, Molly, we sometimes do take them for granted !!

[AliceT]

I had skylights built into my shed/house to facilitate falling asleep, quite literally, under the stars every night. It's also an awesome way to watch nature's fireworks during an electrical storm. It is life as it should be.

[moughie]

Originally Posted by RHB

we are missing all of ours"

This is what a friend from CT said last night when he stepped outside. I had forgotten that you couldn't see the stars down there.

What a wonderful quote!
Great idea for a thread- thanks

[arthwys]

I live 4 miles northeast of the Washington DC line in Maryland, and the light pollution here is atrocious. Looking towards DC even at 3am you just see this glow in the sky. There is no proper dark anywhere even where I am, as there are 24 hour streetlights all over the place. I grew up in a fairly rural area in northern Maryland and miss things like stars and dirt roads.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I remember when we first moved down here from Bangor we were driving across the causeway into Eastport and one of the kids said, "Mom, it's SO dark here!" They weren't used to not having many streetlights. When a friend visited from Virginia a few years ago and we were driving across Rt 9 he also remarked on how dark it is.... lol, it's funny how we can take things like real darkness, real moonlight, and real starlight for granted.

I've lived in cities too long.

I remember Way Back When, when I lived out in the boonies miles from anywhere, when it got dark It Got Dark.
If you were walking in the woods or fields as darkness descended, and you had no flashlight, you were operating on a wing and a prayer.
Dark, dark, dark, and no cat around to lead the way.

[dramamama6685]

When we were in Eastport, we started a fire out at the Harris point Motel cabins, sat around the pit, said very little and jsut tried to absorb the awesome beauty of the night sky. Honestly, I never knew they were so many starts. it took my breath away. It felt like I was so close to them that if I stretched I could grab them.