Country stores have been around Maine and the rest of New England for centuries. They were actually first seen during the colonial period, way back in the 1600s. Oftentimes created by traveling peddlers, country stores can still be found at the busier parts of rural areas. That’s because the peddlers of yesteryear were smart – they knew where people could effortlessly find them to purchase what they needed at the time. New England country stores are incredible places. They sell all sorts of things, from traveling necessities still in use through the ages to much more modern items like ice fishing sleds, produce, beans, nuts, and nails. The store we visited on this particular day even sold high quality wine. I suppose it’s adapted to the wants and needs of today’s patron. In this post, I discuss the country store Laura and I visited in December of 2023. I also discuss what we did after leaving the store – we made our way around North Pond and then to Mercer. We spent an exciting day exploring our little corner of Maine and it was a lot of fun. If you’re interested in reading about it and looking at lots of photos, I encourage you to click through to visit this post. Thanks! Continue reading…
Bangor City Forest, Maine
The Bangor City Forest is huge. It covers more than 680 acres and offers over nine miles of trails for walking, biking, and horseback riding. While you can’t ride horseback on all nine miles, there’s plenty of room to do so. When Laura and I visited this trail system, we were primarily interested in the bog section. Within the system is a boardwalk that’s just about three-quarters of a mile long. It traverses the bog. The bog itself covers just about 616 acres (not all of the bog is in the forest) and is over 10,000 years old. If you’ve never seen a bog close up, I recommend doing so. It’s quite the experience. Click through to view some photos I’ve taken of our visits to this area. Continue reading…
Carrabassett Valley, Maine
Carrabassett Valley is a wonderful town located in Franklin County, Maine. It’s about 77 square miles in size and is home to approximately 710 people. Of course, the number of residents shrinks and grows substantially through the seasons as folks from all over either leave for the winter to escape the cold or arrive for the summer to escape the heat. Sugarloaf Mountain is located within the Carrabassett Valley area, so there is some transient residency during the colder months for winter activities. In the following post, you’ll find all sorts of topics, from winter hiking to summer walking. From photographing nature to riding ATVs. Please click through to view the many (many) photos I’ve taken and to read my entertaining and informative commentary. Enjoy. Continue reading…
Sandy River Apple Orchard, Mercer, Maine
I’ve visited all types of apple orchards in my days and I have to say that the Sandy River Apple Orchard in Mercer, Maine is the most beautiful. It’s not the largest in the world, but it’s quaint and classic and everything in between. When Laura and I visited, we were the only people there, besides the owners. We were actually the only ones during both of our visits. The orchard is run by the daughter of the late founder, so she’s got her work cut out for her. There are trees though and those trees produce some wonderful apples. If you’re ever in the area of Mercer, definitely stop by. In the meantime, click through to read my post that describes the area and to check out my far too many photos. Continue reading…
The Funniest Thing That Ever Happened in my Life
Sometimes there’s funny and other times there’s FUNNY. We’ve all experienced something that we found to be funny in our lives. Perhaps it was watching someone scare someone else, listening to someone tell a joke, or watching as a pet makes a fool of himself. Whatever the case, what we’ve likely experienced are mildly funny occurrences. In the post that follows, I’d like to take things up a notch. Instead of keeping things mild, I’d like to share a few of the absolute funniest things that I’ve ever been involved with in my life. Luckily, I have yet to be on the receiving end of such humor. I’d like to keep it that way too. Click through to get a good laugh. Continue reading…
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (Summary)
Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the most popular self help books on the market. It was extraordinarily popular when it was first published and it remains that way today. I’m not sure I’d even call it a “self help” book though – it’s more of an educational treasure. How many people use its lessons to better their lives? I have no idea. Probably not many. How many people read it and realize that they’re currently doing it wrong? Probably everyone. The book is an eye opener, that’s for sure. It discusses how the average person lives compared to how the wealthy person lives. I read the book and wrote a summary of it in this post. Please click through to learn a little something you may not already know about money, taxes, and business. Continue reading…
My Christmas Story
I’m not sure how I began writing this story. I believe I sat at my desk one day with other intentions, but once I started typing, I couldn’t stop. My Christmas Story is a culmination of fact and fiction – probably more fact than fiction. I have had many interesting friendships throughout my life and have become rather attached to almost all of them. I’ve learned a lot and have taught a lot. It’s only when I look back upon these friendships years later that I realize just how important they were to me. I hope you get something out of this story. It was fun to write and I think of it often, especially around the holidays. Enjoy. Continue reading…
The Greatest Human Tragedy
If you’re not in the mood to read somewhat of a deep post, you may want to pass this one by. I was in one of my “thinking” moods when I wrote it and more than I expected came out. It is one of my favorite posts ever written by me though, so if you’re up for it, please give it a read. I love the questions I ask in it and I love how I recalled certain events in my life. This type of writing really is special to me – I get to think back and share those thoughts with others. Continue reading…
Raccoons in the Attic
In this post, you’ll find an entertaining, suspenseful, and adventurous story about raccoons. Baby raccoons, that is. Baby raccoons that were born inside an attic I happened to be living under. You see, many years ago, I rented a small house on a lake. Somehow (I’ll tell you all about it inside) a mother raccoon snuck inside the attic of this house and gave birth to the cutest and furriest little animals a guy has ever seen. Unfortunately, the babies needed to go. I had already blocked the mother from coming back inside, which led to a whirlwind of a tale. Click through to read about what transpired as well as what I did about our little issue. And just so you don’t worry, I’ll tell you now that it all turned out just fine – for us and the raccoons. Continue reading…
How to Deal With a Bad Neighbor
If you’re about to read this post, you’ve probably dealt with the worst of the worst: bad neighbors. There are very few things in life as bad as having someone living right next to you who you despise. There are terrible people out there and when they’re close by, life can be downright miserable. In this post, I offer some advice for how to deal with a bad neighbor. But that’s not the fun part. The fun begins with the comments. There are hundreds of them in this post and trust me when I say they are entertaining. I wrote this post a very long time ago and it continues to thrive today. Click through to take a look. Continue reading…