Travel - Maine
Maine Connections
Stephen King: This may explain why Mainers have a reputation as being kind of "different". The King of horror lives just outside of Bangor, Maine.
Liv Tyler: This actress who has been lucky enough to kiss Ben Affleck in Armageddon and Joaquin Phoenix in Inventing the Abbots' was raised near Portland by her Mom. Liv Tyler's dad is Aerosmith frontman Steve Tyler.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Born in Portland, Maine and stayed there most of his life. Some of his most famous works include Song of Hiawatha, The Courtship of Miles Standish and Evangeline.
Brief History of Maine
Five hundred years before Columbus stumbled upon America, Vikings had already spent some time hanging on the Maine coast. It's rumored they even tried to establish a settlement, but it didn't happen. An Italian sailor named John Cabot is also said to have spent a little time on Maine's sandy beaches, about six years after Columbus claimed America, but there is no proof of it. The first settlement that we know stuck was by the Plymouth Company at Popham in 1607. Unfortunately the harsh Maine winters wiped out the colony so Maine lost its claim to fame as America's first permanent settlement.
By the eighteenth century, only a handful of colonies had survived and Massachusetts had bought most of the land claims. In the revolutionary war, lots of Maine men who went to battle under Col. Benedict Arnold lost their lives in a battle to take over Quebec, Canada. By the end of the war, Maine had lost almost 1,000 men and the sea trade industry was kaput. When it came to statehood Maine was the 23rd in line and received official status as a state in 1820 under the Missouri Compromise.
Maine Fun Facts!
Geography: The Maine county of Aroostook is huge. It covers an area bigger than the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.
Is that an ahk-cent? Mainers are known for their accents. A sentance like "Park the car" sounds like "Pahk tha cah". R's don't really exist for most Mainah's.
Let the Light Shine: Maine has a long and sometimes rugged coastline on which there are 60 Lighthouses including the world famous Nuble Headlight commissioned by George Washington.
Maine Critters
Coon cats: Maine's got its own breed of cat. The Maine Coon cat is rumored to be a cross between a raccoon and a cat. They're long-haired with the markings of a raccoon.
Lobster: Maine is famous for these tasty crustaceans. They are originally a brownish/reddish color when they come out of the water and turn that famous bright red after being cooked. However, pollution has caused some lobsters to be the cooked color when born and some are even weirder colors, like blue.
Cool Things to See and Do
Old Port: Visit the Old Port in Portland. It's got tons of cool shops where you can buy hippie beads and devil sticks.
House of Horror: Check out Stephen King's house. It's an old mansion with an old iron gate complete with a spider and web design.
President Bush: If you wanna see someone famous, cruise former president George "The Old One" Bush's neighborhood. His house is in Kennebunk and you can sometimes watch him
Amusement: There's tons of amusement parks in Southern Maine. Funtown, Palace Playland and Aquaboggan to name just a few. For the only roller coaster in the state, head to Funtown.
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