I went to visit with my mom for a weekend, and deliver a new computer to her.  Her Windows 95 box, upgraded long ago to Windows ME, held up well, but it was time to get her an upgraded model, so I picked one up on sale at Fry's, and delivered it in person, so I could make sure everything she needed on it was on it, and show her how to use the new version of Windows, and the various updated applications that were on it.

I took pictures on the trip, of course... but I didn't get any of the computer, oddly enough - I must be slipping or something!  :-)

 
While waiting to board the plane, the sun came up... and I was treated to an AWESOME Northwest view... almost as a send off, it seemed. 

 
 
Heading out from Seattle, we flew over the Cascades.

I noticed another plane shortly after take-off... that doesn't happen very often.

The mountains were all out... I even managed to catch a good shot of Mt St Helens. 

 
 
It was overcast and cloudy pretty much the whole way across, except for Milwaukie, which was in a large sunbreak.  

As we neared Detroit, you could see the storm bands in the clouds... a lot of snow was falling under the clouds - and it just LOOKED Cold!

I felt sorry for the baggage guys.  They told us it was a whopping 6 degrees out there, and the wind was howling, shaking the plane as we waited to get off. 

 
 
Why is it that when you land in Detroit, you always get off the plane on the other end of the airport from where you're due to head out again? 

At least they have the tram. 

 
 
The view out of Detroit heading to Manchester was pretty nice. 

With the 4 hour time difference, it was a pretty short day! 

 
Manchester seems to have finished the construction that was going on near the Baggage turnstyles... it looked pretty nice. 

 
 
Hertz Neverlost... they included it in the car I got... so of course I tried it out!  :-) 

It worked well, but in the mornings it was too cold for the display, and it would work funky until the car warmed up. 

 
It was snowing pretty good on the drive up to Maine.  It snowed fairly heavily the whole way.

If it had of been in Seattle, total gridlock would have been the news of the day... but I managed to drive the 85 miles in about 2 hours or so... not too bad, considering I'm a bit out of practice.

There were a few accidents along the way... mostly from folks going to fast trying to change lanes too quickly. 

 
 
Exit 32: Biddeford.  For years, it was Exit 4.  The last time I was there, there was a sign that said "Formerly Exit 4", but that has since been removed.

 
 
I really liked the SUV I had... it was a Volvo XC90. 

It handled quite well, and it was very comfortable.

 
Just before cashing in, I snapped this picture.  In all, they ended up with about 8 inches of snow.

The parking lot had been plowed about two hours before, according to the guy at the desk... it was snowing pretty good, but you could tell that it was slowing down a bit.

It was nice listening to the snow falling in the quiet of the night. 

 
In the morning, it was over, and the sun was coming out.

It was a whopping 8 degrees.  I'd forgotten how cold that could be! 

 
The Atlantic was pretty impressive in the snow! 

Even on a cloudy day, Portland Head Light is VERY impressive! 

  Snow Blowers running on the morning after!

Driving around my old home town in the winter brought back a lot of memories!

The city of Biddeford was settled in 1630, and some of the buildings in town are quite old - especially to folks on the West Coast.  The city hall, for instance, was built two years before Seattle was settled.  

 
 
This tower is all that remains of Fort Mary, which was built in the 1660's as a defense against the American Indians in the region who were tad put out because a platoon of Brittish Soldiers caused the death of the Chief's son.

The original Fort Mary was located in Saco, near Factory Island, but it wasn't very defensible against Native American attacks, so it was moved to an island in the mouth of the Saco. 

 
 
I drove around town, taking pictures as I went... I don't have many pictures of where I grew up, so I was 'playing catch up'

It was sad to see that the corner store I used to stop at as a kid while on my paper route had closed. 

Pizza by Alex, though was still open... and they STILL only have one size pizza, and they STILL don't deliver.  He still has the best pizza in the area, too.  Some things never change! 

 
The Saco was frozen over below the falls.  That happened nearly every year when I was young, but its a bit less common now. 

There was an ice shack out there on the ice... so I guess it was pretty thick. 

 
 
It was fun seeing the old stomping grounds... Rapid Rays is still going strong.  Once a burger joint out of a towed trailer in a gas station parking lot, Old Ray bought the gas station, and then put in a curb-side eatery... good burgers, still, too. 

The new church isn't really new anymore - 20 years or so - and they're on a project to build an addition to allow for growth. 

 
 
A trip to visit my mom is never complete without a visit to a Nursing Home.

I got to see her new accordion, which has a great sound to it. 

 
Poland Spring water.

It literally comes out of the ground, and gets put into the bottles.

We buy it for $10 a gallon or so... and complain about $3 for gas, which gets heavily refined.

Another thing I associate with "Back East" is Dunkin Donuts, and yes, those Munchkins were VERY good!  :-) 

 
On the way back to the airport, I swung by York Beach to see Nubble Lighthouse.

In town I noticed  that a hotel in York is being preserved.  After a fire gutted the foundation and basement, it was lifted, and a new foundation and first floor is being built underneath the original structure, which is going to be remodelled and refurbished, making for a VERY unique place to stay... I'm going to have to check it out the next time I visit...  If its done by then, anyway.  

 
 
Nubble looked as inviting as always...

I had some extra Munchkins, so I figured I'd toss them out to the sea gulls waiting in the parking lot.  When I threw the little morsels of goodness, only those that were very near where they landed would get up and go to it, then they'd sit right back down... I haven't seen sea gulls so well behaved in a LONG time!

It was so cold that they would sit as soon as they could, to keep their legs warm.  Another suprising thing is that they'd fly to the water and land... the ocean was quite a bit warmer than the air.  It struck me as odd, but it made sense. 

 
Nubble, named for the island it sits on, looked awesome! 

 
Heading over the Piscatiqua Bridge, I noticed that the state border sign was missing, and the bridge itself looked bent... weird.  

 
 
Since I had a bit of extra time, I stopped by the USS Albacore.

Built in the mid 1950's this is the first Modern Submarine. 

 
 
Until this ship, submarines were essentially surface ships that could sink themselves... while the Albacore was the first submarine that could also float.

Its performance changed the way sumarines were designed, used, and built. 

 
 
Pulling into Manchester Airport...  It had been a nice trip, but crossing under this bridge into the airport is the first 'real' step on the trip home.

 
Taking off from Detroit I was treated to a clear view - one of the few I had on the flight home.

It was REAL foggy in Seattle, and you couldn't see anything until the very last moment... a bit unnerving, but I guess its par for the course for the pilots who land there every day...

It was a fun trip, but it was real good to be home! 

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