Luckily, most of the gazillion leaf peepers drive straight past our southern Maine town heading to central and northern Maine. This is a good thing unless we need to hop on I-95 for something. We actually get to leisurely ride around town during the peak foliage season without some goat roper humping the back bumper. Let's take a ride.

 

Dum dada, dum da...What the? Look there's old Mrs. Keebles trying to lug that wood. She should know better than that. Be right back.

 

Well, Mrs. K's son hurt his back, so he can't lug the wood. He's resting on the couch. Funny, I saw him yesterday at Cumberland Farms hitting on the cashier. He wanted to take her dancing. Guess he hadn't hurt his back yet, or maybe he hurt it dancing.

 

Let's ride down to the docks. The Harbor is always pretty. Not many working boats here now. The local fishermen are taking advantage of the good weather. It sure won't last long. Oh, would you look at that. Just beautiful. The ocean's a little rough today. Ever been to Nubble Light?

 

I'll take Long Sands so you can see Boone Island. If you ever get the chance, take a boat ride out to Boone and the Isles of Shoals. Very nice. Just don't say "Bite me" loud enough for the ghosts to hearyou, though. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read the book, "Boone Island", by Kenneth Roberts.

 

Nice ride, huh? Yeah, the sidewalk got a little bit beat up during Hurricane Bill. It's kind of nice to travel this road over the speed of ten. Here we are. Cape Neddick Lighthouse, aka Nubble Light. There is wonderful history behind this light, other than the escapades of young lovers watching the submarine races. Look it up if you enjoy learning about the history of lighthouses.

 

The ex and I knew a coast guard caretaker, Mike something, stationed here. We did some partying over there, but don't spread it around. We'd go over in the basket, and walk home if the tide was low enough. Fun. What a view. The leaf peepers would love this.

 

Maybe we'll head up to the mountain now. You can see for miles from the top of Mount Agamenticus, and thankfully the vast majority of leaf peepers don't have a clue what they're missing. On a good day you can see Casco Bay to the north, Boston to the south, Mount Washington to the west, and Isles of Shoals and Boone Island out to sea. Wow! I haven't seen this much color in years. Once again, there is a great history of the mountain, but I'm busy driving. Look it up. You might try Candlemas Massacre, or Abenaki Indians. Pretty interesting stuff. Well, back to town it is.

 

Flo's is pretty busy today. If you like steamed hot dogs, you haven't lived until you've wolfed a few Flo dogs into you. You don't need directions. Just get on Route 1 in York, drive north until you come upon a traffic jam. That would be Flo's Hot Dogs. Make sure you get the hot sauce.

 

I like to go by the club to see who was too drunk to drive home last night. Do you mind? Hmmm. Figures. There but for the gra...nevernind. I don't care about going through the Beach. I'll just turn here and pick up Route1 again.

 

Coming in through the town square is actually stunning, isn't it? The road is lined with fall flowers and shrubs, and the churches are surrounded by the most vibrant color we've had for years. I think the sky is a much deeper blue in the fall, don't you? Hope you don't mind if I just swing in through the cemetery for a sec. The mums might need a blast of water.

 

That didn't take too long, did it? In about 45 minutes we covered just about all of the most magnificent leaf peeper spots in the country. Like I said, living in Maine is a gift.

 

Well, hope you enjoyed the ride. Oh, look. There's Mrs. Keebles again, dragging out the trash.