an aggravating subject

When I first moved to Northern Maine, a lot of people assumed that I must have thought the people up here were nicer than people in NY. The truth is that people are pretty much the same every where you go. There are nice people, mean people, rude people, red-necks, and snobs everywhere. There are some small differences in the people, though. Western New York is much more diverse than Northern Maine, and though most people up here claim that they are not prejudice, I see people move away from those who are different. Not everyone up here is like that, though. I know a lot of open minded people up here, but it seems that there are more open minded people in Western New York. I said it in my first blog and I am saying it in my last, New York State is not just made up of New York City. Though I say that many times, people up here still relate me to a NYC person. Not every person in NY has a hardened attitude. Even if every person in NY acted like a person from the city, I would bet my life savings that they would be more open minded a lot of the people from the county.

Running out of things to do

Have you ever been bored and said, “There is nothing to do in this place”? I find myself saying that phrase quite often up here in Northern Maine. I know that every place has its downfalls and every person says that eventually, even in a city. I have traveled from one end to the other of this big county we call Aroostook, looking for things to do. If you love being out in nature, you can find many places to walk, hike, ride, bike, fish, or swim, but other than loving the natural life, there is not much to do up here. Sure there are restaurants, movie theaters, and stores, but who wants to walk around the stores of the county and window shop for hours each day?
If I were interested in starting a business, I know exactly what kind of business I would start. Down in Western NY there is an awesome place that generates large amounts of business each year, and it is located in the middle of a corn field. The reason this place generates so much business is that there is no other place like it in the area. This place is a pizzeria. Yes, I said pizzeria. When I say that to my friends up here, not one person believes me. They often ask me “Why would the busiest place around be a pizzeria? Aren’t there many pizzerias’ in NY?” You might also have those questions in your head and to that I say, yes there are many pizzerias’ in NY but this one is different. The place that I am talking about is the Charcoal Corral. The Corral is not only a pizzeria but many things in one. The Charcoal Corral actually started as a Drive-In theater with a hotdog stand located in the middle of parking. The Corral is not only one of a few Drive-Ins’ left, but the Corral is also the biggest and the best. The Charcoal Corral not only has two Drive-In screens and the original stand, it also has a diner, a pizzeria, an ice cream parlor, an arcade, and a mini-golf course. I love that place and go there every year. My husband, a county boy, loves it as much as I do. My four-year-old son loves the Corral almost as much as his parents do. The Charcoal Corral is a place where young and old can be kids all at the same time. I wish that I had the business skills to start something like the Corral up here, but I am not a business person. If anyone is interested in business, I would be glad to let them know what the atmosphere is like and how to gain it.

Missing the roller coasters.

I used to love to go to theme parks and zoos when I was a little girl. Growing up in Western NY, there were many amusement parks and two zoos within two hours of our town. My parents would take us kids to Darien Lake, an amusement park that later became Six Flags, every summer. Schools would sometimes take students on field trips to Darien Lake, Seabreeze, and the two zoos closest to us. Up in the county, there are no amusement parks or zoos. Long trips down state or out of the state are required for Northern Mainers who wants to take their children some place fun. When making long trips to such places, plenty of money is required. Unless you only want to spend a half-hour at these places, you need to rent a room. This is heartbreaking for me because I look back and remember all of the fun times I had riding the roller coasters and looking at the animals and know that many children up here might not ever experience that joy.

The County can be a frustrating place sometimes.

I love living the rural life. I have lived in rural settings all of my life and I would not have it any other way. One of the reasons that I love living in Northern Maine is because it is a quiet, peaceful place. Many children dream about the house and the land that they will own when they grow up. My dream has always been to own a house that is deep in the country and is not visible from the road. There are many places like that up here in Northern Maine, and many places like that back where I used to live in Western New York. One of the things that I miss about being in NY is that even though I lived in the country, it did not take me long to travel to the city. In Northern Maine, it takes me at least three hours to get to some of my favorite stores. I love living in the country, but I do like shopping in the cities. Cities have many different stores, chain-stores and local shops that rural areas do not have. If I want to do some big shopping in the city, I have to plan a whole day where most of it is driving. I would love to keep my business in the county that I live in, but the pickings are slim up here.

Needhams, Red Hot Dogs, & Buffalo Wings

I am a woman that loves her food. When I find something that I like, I eat it until I’m sick of it, and then I eat some more. Before I moved to Northern Maine I knew that different parts of the country had different kinds of foods. I knew that I would be trying some different foods and some different variations of the foods that I loved. I have found some delicious foods up in Maine that I would have never found any other place, one of those are Needhams. Needhams are mouth-watering candy bars made with dark chocolate, coconut, butter, whole milk, sea salt, vanilla, and Maine Potatoes (yes I said potatoes). To most people hearing that there are potatoes in the candy could be off-putting, but not to Mainers. Needhams are almost like a mounds bar but they taste much better. The little candies are made in a candy shop in Maine, so they are more expensive than the factory made candies, but everyone knows that homemade candies are more expensive and better tasting.

Another thing that I found in Maine was red hot dogs. Though I am not a fan of hot dogs, I have to say that the red hot dogs are my favorite off all of the dogs. Maine is the primary location for these dogs with natural casings. Before I came to Maine, I always called the normal brown hot dogs red hot dogs. It was after I came to Maine that I learned what real red hot dogs really looked like. Real Maine red hot dogs are a bright red because they have a healthy dose of #40 red die. If I have to eat hot dogs red hot dogs are always my first choice and I will miss them if I ever move out of the state.

The one food that I miss living in Maine is a good Buffalo Wing. Some restaurants in Maine serve Buffalo wings, but no one does it quite as well as the original area in which they were created. The origin of the spicy chicken wing is not clear. Many people in buffalo want to take credit for the tasty snack, but it is certain that they came from Buffalo NY. Buffalo wings are well known in any state, and it seems like there are thousands of recipes for the wing. Buffalo wings are well liked and even celebrated in Western NY. Buffalo hosts an annual national Buffalo Wing Festival. The festival was started by Buffalo’s own Drew Cerza, also known as the Wing King. The Wing King has been on many food network shows and even won a chicken wing cook-off with Bobby Flay.

Some of this information was taken from buffalowing.com

These pictures were taken from bing images

Fields of corn and cow manure

Growing up in a rural area of Western NY, farming was an every day thing. Many Kids lived on farms and most students worked on them year round. The county that I grew up in was a big dairy county. Cows were every where in my town and every child knew a lot about cows. The crops in Western NY were the same variation that Northern Maine has but there was one huge difference. Northern Maine is a potato place. Most of the crops in Northern Maine are potatoes but they have some different vegetables growing here and there. Most of the fields that you see in Western NY are corn fields, but many of the fields are not for eating. Most of the fields in Western NY are utilized to grow corn for the cows that also reside on that farmers land. I love looking at the corn fields, but smelling them is a different story. While it is a fact that cows mean manure and manure means fertilizer, down in NY they liquefy the manure and dump it on the fields. That means that the whole county smells really bad. I do love to take long walks around the tall corn fields. Almost every corn field in NY has a treasure hidden around the borders. That delicious treasure is black berries. I love the wildly grown black berry; they are so much sweeter and juicier than raspberries. Every time I visit NY I go berry picking with my little sister. My whole family loves to go berry picking. It is great exercise walking along the vast corn fields, it is very fun especially when you are picking with a friend, and at the end of the day you have a delicious treat.

Maine, a beautiful place

Maine is a great place to live. Maine has the brightest grass, the bluest rivers, and the biggest trees. A great day for me is being outside in this beautiful state that I now call home. I love to take walks down country road, treks trough the woods, hikes up mountains, and ATV rides alongside a river.

These pictures were taken after a nice ride up Mars Hill Mountain on an ATV.

Taken after a hike up Haystack.

Though I have not seen any waterfalls in Maine, I have seen some gorgeous sites. The Aroostook River is over 100 miles long and flows into the Saint John River. The Aroostook River flows from Penobscot County, through Aroostook County, all the way to Canada. The river is a big and beautiful, not to mention powerful, river that many Mainers enjoy. Whether you are fishing in it, following the current in a canoe, swimming in it, or just watching the power of the river, much fun is had on the river every year.

If you love the wilderness, you will love Baxter State Park. Though Baxter is not in Aroostook County, it is not far from it. Baxter State Park located in Piscataquis County and is most known for Mount Katahdin. Mount Katahdin is a large mountain consisting of clusters of mountains. Mount Katahdin is at the northern end of the Appalachian Trail.

this picture was taken from Bing Images
Another one of my favorite places in Maine is Acadia National Park. Acadia National Park is along the east coast of Maine. The park consists of mountains, Islands, and the Atlantic Ocean. I love Acadia and visit it every year. Whenever my family comes to Maine, I plan one day to take the four hour drive and spend the day at Acadia.