My wife once had a conference in Kennebunkport, Maine, some years ago, in mid-September, which was a great time to go. The tourist season wound down after Labor Day, and the weather had not yet turned cold. So it was not crowded.

We flew into Portland, and I was a bit surprised to find it was a much smaller city than I had imagined. We rented a car and drove several hours through the scenic Maine countryside to get to Kennebunkport, which sits on the Kennebunk river. We stayed in a B& B she found not far from the conference hotel, so other than taking her to and from the conference, I was free to do a little exploring during the rest of the day.

I enjoyed walking around the small town and visiting the few historic sites. The trees had not yet begun to change colors, and it was a late summer, so the weather was warm but not hot.

The Bush family compound was nearby, and I did drive by to see it, but of course did not stop; it was just a private residence. I was told that former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara sometimes came to town for dinner, and were always very gracious with the locals.

Two days later, Afghan President Hamid Kharzai came to visit the Bushes, and suddenly the place was swarming with Secret Service and police of every stripe. There were even police boats in the river outside the Bush compound. It would have been hard for anyone to get through that cordon.

That was our first time eating lobster; every place in town served it! Since it was the main industry there, that was not surprising. Folks up there ate lobster like we eat hamburgers, down here. And it was not expensive.

After her conference was over, we drove about four hours north to Bar Harbor, which we simply could not pass up. We stayed at a wonderful place at the top of the mountain overlooking Frenchmen’s Bay, where the cruise ships came. The Wonder View Inn had the distinction of once being the home of famed mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. Both of us had read a number of her works. We were glad to have the chance to stay there. It did indeed have an amazing view! The evening we got in, the Queen Elizabeth II was seen in the bay below, but it was gone the next morning when we got up and went to tour Bar Harbor. It was a small town, and when the huge cruise ships disgorged their 4,000 or so passengers for the day, they would really overrun that little town, just as they do in Key West. So we were glad they were already gone by the time we got there.

After our allotted two days visiting Bar Harbor, we stopped by Acadia National Park on the way back to Portland. I was surprised to find the Maine mountains were rather small, compared to ones I’ve seen in the Blue Ridge mountains of north Georgia and Virginia. Not high at all.

One particularly interesting place we stopped to see was called “Thunder Hole.” That was a granite spot where the ocean slapped up against the rocks, and had carved out a big circular hole in one big rock. There was an observation point at the top of the rock, with an iron railing surrounding it, meant to keep people from trying to climb out on the rocks below.

A warning sign cautioned people to stay within the railing, as sometimes big waves had been known to come in and wash people below it out to sea. I was surprised to read later, after we got back to Savannah, that some poor soul had ignored that admonition, had climbed down to the rock below, and had indeed gotten washed out to sea when a big wave came in and unexpectedly took him with it when it receded. I don’t know if his body was ever found.

We have similar issues in the north Georgia mountains, when the Park Service has signs around scenic waterfalls, warning folks to stay on the marked trails. Sometimes people do not heed those warnings, either, slip on a wet rock and fall to their deaths below.

Warnings like that are put there for a reason!

We were glad for another opportunity to see a part of this amazing country. Now, when I read articles or novels set in Maine, I have a much better idea of what it is like. But I don’t think I could stand their winters! I am a Southerner, after all.

Rafe Semmes is a graduate of the original Savannah High and UGA. He lives in Liberty County and frequently drives through Richmond Hill.