Two Faces of Maine

The wrap up post from our recent excursion to the state where life is “the way it should be” —

One face features the downtown streets of Portland, Maine’s principal city. Here the weathered, charming old blends into the sleek, contemporary new:

And this:

Even the grunge spills over into picturesque in Portland (same street, just a few feet away):

Then there’s the contrast when you go a little south to Cape Elizabeth, more representative of most of the state, where bare rock ribs are solid and sharp and at least seemingly eternal:

They may look like an uncomfortable place to bed down, but at least one person has managed to make herself comfortable:

Cape Elizabeth is where two of our oldest and dearest friends live, in a chalet of wood nestled high up in the trees:

He is American, she is Danish (now a US citizen but her Danish blood still runs brightly), which may explain why everything in their home, even the simplest food, is arranged with beauty:

Yes, Maine has two faces — the city, the rocky coast — and both are The Way Life Should Be.