As I’m writing, I can see the beautiful falls on the Androscoggin River that delineates the western boundary of Lewiston, ME, our destination for today.
It’s day five, we’re acclimating to life on the road. Today we reveled in the sunshine and the green forests, farms and lawns in northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in the summer. We rode about 200 miles from Stowe, VT over pretty secondary roads. Our route took us on Rt 100 north to Rt 15 east, to US 2. We had to divert to I-93 south because the road was closed due to severe flooding a couple of weeks ago. We picked up State RT 116 East, to US 2 to State Rt 26 to SR 119 and in. (For those who want to follow us on the map.)
Lewiston was first settled by white folks in 1770 and is likely named for Job Lewis, a Boston merchant and financial backer of early settlers. The town grew to become a city in the 1860’s and, based on the river’s great power, its economy grew on the shoulders of Textiles. Like many cities in the north, textile manufacturing moved south causing a huge loss of manufacturing and jobs. The city’s website claims significant efforts to repurpose these now empty buildings. And it looks like Lewiston is working to create extensive parks and recreation facilities to make the city a more attractive place to live.
Tomorrow it’s on to Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, and lobster! (Not necessarily in that order!)
Wandering Retirees 