Peter's Principles: Maine adventure

It's been several years since we've been on a real vacation (excepting a quick weekend getaway to NYC last October), so today Kathy and I head out to the little seaside village of Tenant's Harbor, Maine to spend some days in a rental house and enjoy life in New England. We've anticipated this trip all summer, and at last the day is here! It began early, with final packing and a drive to the Birmingham airport. As is so common with Delta Airlines, the major carrier in Birmingham, we fly to their Atlanta hub for the connecting flight that will take us to Portland Maine. My anxiety always climbs at bit at this stage of the trip, since our luck with air travel generally is not good. Delays, and other mishaps seem to be the rule rather than the exception for us. But by the end of today, I am happy to report that both flights were smooth and nearly ontime. The flight from ATL to PWM was even long enough for us to be served a meal, which I can't remember happening since our trip to London over five years ago. I sampled the marinara-braised meatballs, while Kathy had a sort of green curry chicken. Hers was definitely the more tasty meal. We landed in Portland and met the local moose at the airport before picking up our rental car and driving the last leg of our journey to Tenant's Harbor. The drive was scenic and beautiful, with frequent glimpses of nautical scenery: harbors and boats could be seen from the road in multiple locations. Just before sunset and after 12 hours of travel, we arrived at our destination. Made a quick stop in the quaint nearby Tenants Harbor General Store to pick up a light snack, and then we settled into our home for the next few days. We explored the beautiful and cute house and started to unwind from the trip. With high hopes for many happy memories in the coming days, we nestled in for a good night's sleep.