The trails in the area surrounding where I live are abundant in Maine. I’ve hiked a few different trails with a couple of different people I’ve met. My most recent hike was up Ragged Mountain. The view was amazing.
How is it that woodpeckers don't get major concusions from banging their heads against a tree all the time?
Part of the way up the trail, overlooking Mirror Lake.
Sprucing up my apartment for the Christmas holiday.
My Christmas tree
The top of my tree. This was the result of my lack of ornaments.
Tis the season!
Christmas music is playing on the radio, houses are putting up their lights, and towns are lighting their trees and having their Christmas Parades. As a new person in town, I have tried to find out what’s going on in Maine and in the community. This included discovering The Festival of Lights in Rockland. This weekend event includes the lighting of their Christmas Tree on Friday night, a parade on Saturday night, and Breakfast with Santa for the kiddos on Sunday. I only went to the tree lighting ceremony, but don’t worry, I took pictures of the event to share with all of you.
That beautiful tree behind me is indeed made out of Lobster Traps and has a lobster atop for all too see. Only in Maine…
When I accepted the job out here in Maine, I knew there would be a lot that I needed to do. Packing my life into my car, driving across the country, and unpacking in a new apartment was just the tip of the iceberg. Now that I’m here, I’ve got a long list of things to get done while trying to learn my way around a new area and understand what I’m to be doing in my new job. It’s a little overwhelming and the government doesn’t make it easy.
The first big check on my list needs to go to transferring my nursing license from WI to ME. This doesn’t seem like it should be hard (and in reality it isn’t), but the lack of complete directions online complicated the process a little. Fortunately, it was easily solved by making a trip to the Board of Nursing (BON) office (which happens to be located in Augusta, luckily I was there anyway). Now it’s just a matter of being able to get all of the paperwork together (correctly, as emphasized by the BON) and sending it in.
The more challenging task will be getting everything for my car in order. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles is only open M-F (crazy if you ask me) and holds very uniform hours throughout the week 8-4:30. This means taking time off from work to go and get my license and registration switched over, oye. And of course I can’t switch my car insurance over until I’ve got everything else taken care of. Sometimes I really wonder who thought things like that through.
They have finally arrived (off of my camera). The pictures you have all been waiting for (anxiously, I know) of my new apartment. It’s small but cozy.
Bedroom - there isn't a whole lot of space for anything else but my bed
Bedroom (part 2)
Livingroom (view from the kitchen door)
Livingroom (view from the door into the apartment)
Kitchen - to the left you see cupboards, counterspace and the sink and to the right you see the fridge and stove
Bathroom - very small, but at least it's cheerful
Yep, that’s right. Maine got their first snowfall and it wasn’t even Halloween yet. On the coast we didn’t get much, but further inland they had so much the roads were covered and you couldn’t see the lines. (Not that I know this from experience, since I didn’t go anywhere exciting.) There was enough that I needed to brush off my car in order to go anywhere, but not enough that it covered the roads (or even really stuck to the ground) where I was.
Sunday morning snowfall. The view from my living room window.
While planning my trip from Wisconsin to Maine, a friend of mine mentioned a website (Roadside America) that showed obscure and interesting landmarks and tourist attractions throughout the country. Since I was planning a four day long road trip, I took the bait and looked to see what came up along my route. There certainly were some interesting things to see, but the one that caught my attention the most was “Lenny the Moose”. So I stopped by the small chocolate shop in Scarborough Maine to see him.
Lenny is the worlds only life size moose made out of chocolate. He was unveiled in 1998 after having taken four weeks to construct. He now has 2 bear cubs to keep him company, they were unveiled four years ago.
Lenny the Moose and his bear cub friends.
Pictures from my drive out to Maine. (Don’t worry, I wasn’t driving when I took them.)
Bicentennial Tower in Erie, PA.
Pretty rest stop in New York
Scenic Overlook that I stopped at to strech my legs.
Still fall color on the trees! I was surprised. There has been some fall color throughout the trip, most of it sporadic and slightly muted, but still pretty!
I finally got a new car, well about a week ago. It’s a 2005 Maroon Chevi Malibu, basically a newer version of the one I had in a fun color. And yes, I do plan on moving half way across the country in it.
My next big adventure is getting underway. I am heading back to the East Coast, but this time a little further north. I’m headed to the great state of Maine (ok I don’t know if it’s great or not, I haven’t been there yet, but I’ll let you know). I’ll be living right on the coast of Maine.
I accepted a job with the Department of Health and Human Services as a Maternal/Child Public Health Nurse. I’ll be going on home visits and doing a lot of education to new and expectant mothers from all walks of life. In the mean time, I’m busy planning and preparing to be able to make the move. It seems like my to do list grows as rapidly as I am able to check things off, but it seems like that is usually the way things work!
I will once again (do my best to) blog regularly to keep you all updated on where I am on my journey and how things are going.
