Portland, Maine

Finally, got here around 11:30pm, it took quite awhile to get the bags. Portland is a small airport. It's like one concourse at KCI or very similar to the airport at Charleston and Greenville. I had forgotten how hot they keep it in the airport, even for me. I went outside to cool off (that didn't take long). Even with the airport lights you can see the stars in the sky. The air here smells different than anywhere I have ever been. It is so clean and crisp.

The girl at the Avis counter had just about given up on me. I was the last one to arrive for the night and I could tell she was in a hurry, but pleasant. She looked down at her list of cars and said, "Oh I don't want to give you a Taurus. Those are ugly." I didn't have the heart to tell her, we used to have a Taurus. The cars are in the basement of a garage and you have to drive up a curving hill to get out. The road was icy tonight and I could feel the tires grabbing as I had to give it enough gas to get up the hill and around the corners without sliding all over the place. If "getting out of the parking lot" is any indication of the driving conditions tonight I'm in trouble.

I made a wrong turn and as soon as I did it I remembered doing it once before and ending up on an interstate going out of Portland. I decided making a "U" in the middle of the road was a better option than the interstate.

Things are coming back to mind as I drive to the Hampton Inn. I remember eating at this restaurant or that one.....A chill passes over me as I drive by the motel where two of the 9/11 terrorists stayed. It still blows my mind to remember Jeff and I were here when that happened and were staying at the Hampton just down the road....The road crews here are still the best in the world, for just having a snowstorm the roads are completely clear. The familiar 15 foot+ snow piles are at the intersection corners.......The Portland mall and the number of times I've done my Christmas shopping there and either stuffed the things in my bag or shipped them off to wherever they needed to go. For some reason I always ended up in Maine during December until the last few years. Donna, one of the girls I work with used to say, "If Stacey is coming, it'll be freezing and snowing."..... and it is beautiful here in December, it is beautiful here in September, it is beautiful here in every season......oh Maine, Maine, Maine, if only your winter's were a little shorter....