Rockland Maine
Hitchhiking And First Impressions
The next day I started my hitchhiking journey. As a general rule of thumb, I try to do some research on the places I have gone or are planning on going to, and research. Are there places that are better to take a bus, or to hitchhike? Turns out, Maine is one of the better states to hitch in. It took about half a day, but I got my ride out of Ellsworth.
The gentleman that drove me told me he’d only get me halfway to where I wanted to go, which was Portland, Maine. I was planning on heading to Portland to meet up with an author/musician friend. One of the smaller goals of the trip was to meet people that have been on the show. That was the reason I wanted to get there.
The drive was eventful. I got to see a lot of towns on Maine’s coastline. The amount of things I missed taking photographs. Maine is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and it’s beauty will hit you out of nowhere.
About an hour into the trip, we arrived in Rockland.
Rockland is a small town off the coast of maine. Downtown in particular feels like a student’s paradise. One of my favorite places I visited on the entire trip is there. My first place I sat down at was a coffee shop there called Rock City Coffee. It’s a cool building from the outside, as is the rest of the downtown there, and I went in right at the close.
I still have that bookmark by the way. What’s cool is two fold, the interior is big, but there’s a bookstore at the back of it too. I was blown away how awesome this place was, but I arrived in Rockland that day right as it was closing. So I figured I’d get a coffee to go. They saw me in full backpack regalia and let me stay for a few mintues. They let me stay for an extra half hour and gave me a free drink to go.
I explored the downtown, and it’s nice. It’s a vibrant place filled with theatres, and shops and it’s a very quaint downtown. Rockland is a nice and cool feeling place. I went to a local bar to find dinner and settled in to listen to some music from a talented musician locally, and had a decent meal.
At the end of the night, I looked for a place to sleep. Turns out behind the bar and down the street is a tiny park. It’s right behind the police station. I found myself there for the first night in town. It looked like this the nights I spent there.
The next day I woke up, did some coffee shop work in the morning and found myself exploring the city. I walked from downtown all the way up to the edge of the west. It was about four miles and a lot hillier than anywhere I’ve been but Seattle and Quebec. It was a chore getting up there. I had forgotten my phone charger at the bar. I realized when I got to the macdonalds at the edge of town. Using what little money I had at the time, I bought a crappy charger at the Wal mart there, before finishing my day at the Dunkin Donuts.
This was the nicest staff of any store I’ve ever been to. They were sweet, and nice, and gave me free donuts and food that night. I was floored. I had enough donuts for a couple of days. I found myself sleeping at the edge of a forest and a car lot that night.
And it is here that I will leave you. My next day in Rockland was one of the most magical of my life, and it deserves its own entry. That’s next week. Hope you enjoyed this.