Just got back from the Maine trip with Lea, Meredith, Julie, Rachel and Brittany. Thinking over everything there are a few moments that stuck out...

The most memorable experience involved the "restaurant" across the street from our motel. At least restaurant by day. During the daylight hours it is a wonderful family restaurant...if you ignore their obsessive amounts of Marilyn Monroe pictures and statues. We ate there Wed night. It seemed like a perfectly normal place to eat. At least thats what we thought.

On Thursday night around 11:30, after we received a noise complaint, we decided to take a walk. When we exited our room into the night we heard music. Our first reaction was "damnit, this is why we got the noise complaint. People heard this obnoxious music and automatically assumed it was coming from our room because we are teenagers and therefore must be crazy partiers." We followed the direction of the music but couldn't see any source. It wasn't until we were on the front lawn of the motel that we realized the music was not coming from anywhere in the motel, in fact it was coming from across the street. Looking over at the only possible place the music could be coming from we saw... the restaurant. The restaurant we thought had been closed for 3 hours. All the lights were off although there were a few cars in the parking lot.

Standing on the bocci boards on the front lawn (they have those sorts of things at motels in Maine) we realized we looked incredibly sketchy and since we had already gotten into enough trouble that night with security about the noise, we decided to make sure people didn't think we were up to no good. So we started playing hopscotch on the bocci boards. At the moment, it seemed like a foolproof excuse to be out in the middle of the lawn at 11:30 at night. However, we noticed a few minutes later that this just made us look either very drunk or mentally deranged. We stopped jumping around, watched the woman in the front office lock up for the night, acted innocent as she walked out and drove away, and then turned our attention back to the sketchy restaurant-turned-night-club. The music was so loud we could feel the base. We crossed the road dancing in our pajamas. When we reached the building there were two men sitting outside smoking. They stopped talking as we approached. All of the lights were out so it was hard to see inside the glass doors.

"Maybe they are still selling that salad?" Lea said wishfully. Unfortunately, by the looks of it, I don't think they were selling any type of food. They were probably selling drugs. We finally reached the door. The music stopped. It was silent. Standing awkwardly at the doors for a few moments, we took the hint, turned and left. As we crossed back across the road the music started again. I don't think I have ever been more sketched out in my life.

Another experience I remember in particular are the bumper cars. Now usually my experience with bumper cars goes as such: me stuck against the wall getting rear ended constantly as I yell out "just wait till this ride is over! Just wait till I'm out of this car." But yesterday I actually had control over the bumper car. It was one of those moments you treasure forever.

Last but not least, the most frustrating part of the trip. On Tuesday we went to Old Orchard Beach, which was closed of course, because everything in Maine closes when we come. I swear as soon as we cross the border every establishment in Maine closes. The iron bars go down and the signs go up: "CLOSED. DO NOT BOTHER US."

Anyway, after we leave Old Orchard, we travel south, back toward the hotel. Twenty minutes later we find ourselves back at the pier staring at a giant sign that reads "Old Orchard Beach." Confused and puzzled we drive again...in the opposite direction from the beach. Thirty minutes later as we were driving along the road, minding our own business, out of nowhere was another sign for that damn beach. Meredith screamed out "OLD ORCHARD BEACH!" and every single one of us in the car screamed at the same time "NOOO....!!!!!" It was like a twilight zone episode. Everywhere we turned was Old Orchard Beach. If it wasn't the oddest, most frustrating moment of my life it would have been hilarious. Oh who am I kidding? It was hilarious!

That is all. Over and out.