Some additional working and random task completions later, we are finally ready to go. A lot of time spent in the office area trying to go over things that might have been missed from the checklist but we would still need but can't come up with anything so we depart. As we turn onto Main Street from our road we realize one item that we missed, the crispy crackers that my daughter and wife like to eat with the customary road trip cheeseball that Abigail and I made (Big shout out to Gran-Gran for that ritual). The decision is made to just go on with the Ritz that we have after some grumbling and sorries. Since, at least so far, we cannot say that we have missed anything else, I would say that we are actually winning considering by this time on the last road trip we had realized that we left our passports that were going to be required for our return trip.
A lot of driving, a lot of traffic. Not sure why there are so many people on the road on a Friday afternoon but maybe people had the same thought we did to get started earlier. Finally in Maine and the traffic clears up and things start feeling more relaxed and less cramped. The trees are changing from our customary oaks and maples to pines, birch and poplar and even though the skys are still overcast, there's something that just feels lighter. Moose crossing signs warn us that for the next 6 miles there might be moose on the road. Six miles later another sign warns us that there might be moose crossing for the next 11 miles. It continues like this for what seems like forever. At one point the highway construction on this two lane stretch of Interstate 95 has the fast lanes closed but since there is almost no one else around, no problem. After not seeing a single worked during this lane closure, it opens up again into two lanes to immediately warn us that they are closing down the slow lane. Again, no one around so whatever. About half way through this stretch up in the distance on the road you can see the shapes of three people crossing the road. I figure that they are finally the construction people that these lanes have been closed for but upon getting closer they actually look like they might have been three random Amish dudes crossing the interstate, straw hats, vests and all.
We get to the point where we are getting off the interstate highway to get to the only hotel that we actually have booked for this trip, the Bear Paw Inn in Mars Hill, ME. It's still a 20 minute drive from the highway to this place but it looked cute on the website and had decent reviews so we figured why not start the adventure the first night. As we drive up Rte 1, there's a lot what I would describe as typical rural America. Fields of some crops or another or possibly laying fallow, barns and farm houses some of which might have been fallow as well, small little towns, etc. Part of the way through one of these towns there's a church with a board outside that just says "Jesus Please". You can find pictures in the other blogs of the sign. It tickled Courtney so much she stopped in the middle of the road to grab a picture. This immediately becomes the joke of the day with everyone putting their own spin on the emphasis to change the meanings. Hours later laying in bed and there are still jokes going on. We arrive at the hotel and it looks about as sketchy as it sounds. Court goes in to check us in but apparently there is no one in the office. Just a bag with her name on it and the room key, bill and checkout instructions inside. We unpack a bit and enter the room which has a strange smell. Nothing super strong or anything but smells a bit of old person.
Dinner is the next thing on our mind since it's been a while since we broken into that cheeseball. Gugs had messaged us a while back on the ride that we should go to a place called Timberwolves because it had burgers and barbeque. I pull up a map to see where it's at and is says it's 2 minutes away, walking. Look up the street and there it is so instead of driving we stretched our legs some and walked to the place. I get harassed mercilously for suggesting we walk maybe an additional 50 feet to a crosswalk to cross the road when there are no cars on the road. Yes folks, I am a rule follower and I'm certain that there will be a lot of other instances of this as the trip continues. We head on in and one of the people there bring us over to a seat and the guy behind the bar "reminds" him to get our information for tracking purposes. He picks up this notebook from the bar to put the information down in and procedes to put it down on the bar again. The guy behind the bar says to him, "Put that back where it belongs" and there's a brief conversation about it. At such a small place as this I start to wonder if there's something going on between these two. A bit into our meal we find out that they are co-owners, along with one of their wives as well, and cousins which I guess explains the back and forth. While ordering I attempt to get mac and cheese as my side and am told that they are out tonight so I changed my side order. Abby asks, "If you don't have mac and cheese does that mean that I can't have the mac and cheese burger?" The nice man taking our order, Michael, says that he'll go make some more mac and cheese and that I can have it as my side as well! The food arrives and it's great. If I were around here, I could honestly see myself coming back. We get a chance to talk to owners for a bit as well and they are just generally really nice people and seem to have really big hearts. I feel blessed that we were guided to eat here and got an opportunity to meet these people. They also sell some of their barbeque sauce so we got a bottle of the Korean version and I am looking forward to getting a chance to have some later.
Headed back to the hotel after dinner to get ourselves sorted out for the next day and ready to sleep. Looking around the town, it's a cute little place but definitely looks like it's been down on its luck a bit lately. Most of the storefronts are empty and the few places that do look like they are still open are a bit run down. Since the only people we really encountered on our quick trip here so far are the people from Timberwolves though I would say that they were incredibly nice and friendly here.