Melissa's Maine

[MelissaBaby]

I recently returned to my home state of Maine for a vacation, and I thought it might be fun to take some pictures and share some of the sights and locations that have inspired me in my writing. I hope you enjoy them.

We met again the next night, and he took me by the hand and led me to a secluded knoll that overlooked the bay. The night was filled with stars and a few sailboats rocked at their moorings, their anchor chains chiming like bells. -My Fall and Rise Chapter One

 

[MelissaBaby]

On one side of the cabin, meadows of wildflowers stretched to the forest, and on the other, a heavily wooded slope dropped to a rocky creek. As we were walking back to the cabin, he stopped me and took me in his arms. -My Fall and Rise Chapter Six

 

[MelissaBaby]

Not far from my mother's house there is a road that dead ends at a washed out bridge. From the bridge a well worn path winds a short way through the trees to the edge of the river and a beautiful waterfall. The locals like to keep it a secret from the tourists and the summer folks. But everyone who grew up in the area knew it as a place for romantic adventures. -My Fall and Rise Chapter Seven

 

[MelissaBaby]

We finished raking the barren the next day. Roberto and I worked side by side all day. We did not speak about what had happened between us, but every time our eyes met, we both smiled.

At the end of the day, we sat together on an outcropping of rock as the last berries were loading into the trucks. We could see all the way across the bay to the blue hills in the distance. -My Fall and Rise Chapter Seven

 

[MelissaBaby]

“Alvin Faulkner,” he responded. “As in Faulkner’s Wharf. Been the family business now for three generations.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Yep, my grandfather won it in a poker game.”

“Really?”

He scowled. “No, not really, but that’s what we tell the tourists." -Mary and Alvin Chapter One

 

[MelissaBaby]

A cormorant was fishing in the harbor. They sat and shared the beer, and played a game of where the bird would pop out of the water next. Mary was delighted to be closer more often than he was.-Mary and Alvin Chapter Two

 

[MelissaBaby]

She walked to him and took his head in her hands. She pressed her lips hard against his, then skipped away down the beach.-Mary and Alvin Chapter Three

 

[MelissaBaby]

Mary drove up the long muddy driveway and stopped in the dooryard.

“Oh, you’ve got one of those connected houses!” She exclaimed.- Mary and Alvin Chapter Six

 

[MelissaBaby]

“What do you call this?” she asked.

“Goldenrod,” Jennifer answered.

“It’s beautiful.”

“My dad always says he loves goldenrod because it’s the only flower that doesn’t know how beautiful it is.”- Mary and Alvin Chapter Ten

 

[MelissaBaby]

On the opposite side of the narrow lane stood two marble angels. Mary walked over to the closest one and looked up. It towered over her on it’s granite pedestal. The angel stood erect, but it’s head hung low, it’s shoulders slumped. In it’s outstretched hand it held a cluster of grapes. She walked over to the second angel. This angel did not look so profoundly sad. Its expression was serene. It was bent at the knees, stooping, holding out a single rose, as if it was gently handing it to her.-Mary and Alvin Chapter Ten

 

[MelissaBaby]

“What’s the name of this river?” Mary asked.

“I already told you.”

“I know, but I want to hear you say it again.”

“The Passagaugus” -Mary and Alvin Chapter Eleven

 

[MelissaBaby]

We will come back, she thought. We will stand here and watch the sunrise with our children. We will stand and watch it with our grandchildren. -Mary and Alvin Chapter Ten

 

[MelissaBaby]

Alvin knew each and every tree, he had played beneath them as a boy, had walked beneath them his whole life. Each one felt like an old friend. -Mary and Alvin Chapter Fourteen

 

[MelissaBaby]

A trio of woodcocks bobbed out of their way and disappeared into the brush as they rounded the turn that sloped down to the stream. They walked along the gently flowing water until the little clearing where it opened into the broad beaver pond.-Mary and Alvin Chapter Twenty One

 

[MelissaBaby]

She climbed the ramp, and a minute later, a chocolate brown alpaca trotted down the ramp and into the pasture. Another, perhaps the timid one who had stuck out its head, emerged more cautiously and joined the first. The rest soon followed, a dozen in all, snowy white, cream, brown and tan. They began milling about the pasture, sampling the grass and ducking their heads into the water trough.-Mary and Alvin Chapter Twenty One

 

[Rustyoznail]

Looks like a wonderful part of the world Melissa. I doubt I'll ever get there, so thanks for sharing the pics and how they have influenced your stories.

 

[NotWise]

I take it that you wouldn't mind going back to Maine.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Looks like a wonderful part of the world Melissa. I doubt I'll ever get there, so thanks for sharing the pics and how they have influenced your stories.

Thank you. I have tried to create a sense of place in everything I've written.

 

[Voboy]

Nice. Thanks for sharing.

It’s a beautiful state, especially once you get past Kittery.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I take it that you wouldn't mind going back to Maine.

It's a great place to be, but a hard place to be from. Jobs are scarce, and like many young Mainers, I had to leave to find opportunity elsewhere. But my heart will always be there and i would love to be able to return to live there again.

 

[Hypoxia]

Maine. Nice place. I was there once. No, twice, once each way to-from Boston and the Maritimes. And I've a distant relative in Vermont. That's nearby.

What I remember of Maine: eating lobsters. Lobsters everywhere, from ritzy roosts to tourist canteens, snack bars. We got tired of eating lobster after a couple weeks. Abstention lasted about a day -- then we went back to lobsters.

Those sea scorpions used to be trash food, y'know, fit only for laborers and other immigrants. Times change. Markets evolve. With global warming, Maine will transition to moray eels. Say g'bye to maple leaves.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Nice. Thanks for sharing.

It’s a beautiful state, especially once you get past Kittery.

That's North Massachusetts down there anyway.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Maine. Nice place. I was there once. No, twice, once each way to-from Boston and the Maritimes. And I've a distant relative in Vermont. That's nearby.

What I remember of Maine: eating lobsters. Lobsters everywhere, from ritzy roosts to tourist canteens, snack bars. We got tired of eating lobster after a couple weeks. Abstention lasted about a day -- then we went back to lobsters.

Those sea scorpions used to be trash food, y'know, fit only for laborers and other immigrants. Times change. Markets evolve. With global warming, Maine will transition to moray eels. Say g'bye to maple leaves.

I couldn't care less for lobster. Now a big mess of fried clams, that's finest kind, bub.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

Beautiful pictures! I love how you've worked the location into your stories. I haven't read My Fall And Rise but have read most of Mary and Alvin and I love now to see some of the visuals.

 

[Handley_Page]

A good piccy of the waterfall in particular.