Down East in Bangor, Maine

We have landed “down east” in Bangor, Maine. To get here we went the very long, out-of-the-way - route. We decided that in order to get two more states that we traveled through on our motorcycle, we would have to drop down a little and get in to Connecticut and Rhode Island. So now I can add two more pins on my little leather vest. Some day soon I will take that vest with all my state pins and have it framed. That is my trophy with a whole ton of memories.

On our adventures, we sometimes see some pretty strange things. I didn't see it, because I was looking at the people, but was told a dead bear was on the side of the road. Also, while we were driving along in Connecticut, I looked up and noticed something was wrong with the tree line. I mean, why is this ONE tree sooo much taller than the rest? Someone thought they could blend the cell tower in with the trees (well, I wouldn't say it blended), check out the picture.
Apparently many other places try to pass off cell towers as trees, some places do much better than others... here are some pictures http://flickr.com/groups/345995@N24/

Ok, I heard you ask “Why do you call Maine “Down East?” My mom and dad always called the New England states “Down East" when we went there every year as a kid to camp with our aunt and uncle and family. We never really questioned it because we heard it all the time. I heard this little tidbit on one of the morning shows a couple weeks ago. Here is a little bit of how they explained it.
When ships sailed from Boston to ports in Maine (which were to the east of Boston), the wind was at their (ships) backs, so they were sailing downwind, hence the term 'Down East.' And it follows that when they returned to Boston they were sailing upwind; many Main-ers still speak of going “up to Boston,” despite the fact that the city lies approximately 50 miles to the south of Maine's southern border. When they returned to Boston they were sailing upwind; many Main-ers still speak of going “up to Boston,” despite the fact that the city lies approximately 50 miles to the south of Maine’s southern border.
Canadians refer to their Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as "Down East". "Down" being down river from the more western provinces up the St Lawrence River. (Are you confused yet???)

Bangor comes from the Gaelic word Beannchor - meaning a staked enclosure. It may also be linked to Beanna, the Irish word for cliffs.

Well so long to the states for a while. We should be in Canada soon. We will have to think in metric once again. That gets a little confusing for me but I can handle it – ha!