Maine
Friday June 6, 2025
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Last weekend of travel for a little while. Now… off to Boothbay.
It’s been a busy month of travel, and Lindsay and I are both feeling it a bit after a less-than-48-hour trip to California last weekend. Of course, Lindsay’s pregnant, so she has a lot more cause to be exhausted than I do. Nonetheless, I’m happy that this is the last travel weekend for a while, and, to be honest, it’s the one I’ve been most excited about.
We’re heading up to the Albonegon, the Sneaths’ house in Boothbay Harbor, which is such a landmark, it has its own name. (Remind me to get the story behind that.) It will be the first time this 10-person crew has been together since… damn, I think since our wedding last year? We’ve seen everybody individually, but with two new kids (to bring the total to four) and a pregnancy occurring in that time, it hasn’t been easy to plan big get-togethers.
One of the more exciting aspects of this next chapter of life is domestic vacations. I have a lot of friends who do big family vacations where everybody stays together in a big house for like a week, and it sounds like a blast. (The Vittorio trips are especially envy-inducing.) We’ve done big family get-togethers for a weekend here or there, but I don’t know how we’d do for much longer than that.
While I’m already incredibly stressed about being parents navigating conflicts between our children, I’m nonetheless intrigued by the idea of renting a lake house for like a week every year with friends and not having it turn into a Lifetime slasher movie.
Well, I have to drive Goose down to Hingham to stay at Granny Nanny’s for the third weekend in four weeks, which means I had to front-load a lot of work this week, which means I didn’t get to think about this nearly at all. I also just mowed the lawn and pulled up all the damn daffodils growing in the front yard. I hate daffodils. They’re pretty for like four days, and then they’re the ugliest inedible reeds you’ve ever seen that just never die.
Anyway, that’s why I’m not finishing my thoughts about Maine.
One Song: Alvvays - “Party Police”
Nothing to do with Maine, but I’ve been vibing with Alvvays recently.
One Quote: “You can’t get there from here.” - New England, but mostly Maine
I couldn’t figure out the origin of this common Maine saying in my ten minutes or so of research, but it really is a beautiful cultural idiom. You might hear it in Boston, too, where the roads don’t really make any sense, but it’s been a saying in Maine for decades. Basically, don’t ask for directions in Maine. It’s hard to get anywhere from anywhere, the local you ask couldn’t possibly explain it in any way you’d understand, and they’d rather get a laugh at your expense anyway. Picture that South Park character saying it, and you’ve got it. (I’m pretty convinced this guy is based on weathered Stephen King side characters who provide some eerie exposition and veiled warning that the protagonist doesn’t properly heed. Basically, a Mainer.)
One Book: “Under the Dome” by Stephen King
A lot of Stephen King novels are set in Maine. “Under the Dome” is a fun one about what happens when a massive, invisible, indestructible dome suddenly cuts off a town from the rest of the world. Basically, Mainers go all Maine and shit gets dark. There are a lot of prolific authors out there basically running the literary equivalent of sweatshops, but I believe King really does write everything he publishes. He’s maybe the most famous writer alive, yet I feel he still isn’t properly appreciated. The sheer volume of pages he’s pumped out over his life (65 novels/novellas) while maintaining an incredibly high quality floor is bonkers. The man’s brain needs to be studied.
One Food: Lobster Roll
A cold lobster roll is made with mayonnaise. This is the Maine style. A warm lobster roll is made with butter. This is the Connecticut style. Both are good; Maine is better.
One Place: Clam Shack, Salem, MA
I’ve had a lot of lobster rolls and it’s hard to rank them. Really, the most recent one is usually the best. But I frequently think about the one at the Clam Shack, which is a literal hut on Salem Neck that looks like it could blow away in a strong breeze. We went with Haley Ferrario years ago and I’ve been once since then, but it’s a bit of a trip. Incredibly worth it, though.