Roadtrip: Lubec, Maine. Me, the Camera, 30 hrs, 600+ Miles and more

I took a little solo roadtrip on Monday and Tuesday. I left at 10am, headed for Lubec Maine. The plan was simple: Get there and wander around the coast, photographing whatever piqued my interest.

They key to doing that is knowing what you'll be getting weather-wise, once you get there. You don't want to travel that far only to get stiffed by rain or fog. But the coast was clear - and I was hoping to get some milky way shots at the iconic West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec. So off I went.

I know what you're saying- "You drove 5+ hours to go take pictures?"

Well, in a word- yes. But it's more than that for me. It's a chance for me to go off by myself, and strip away all the noise of life.

Now you're saying - "But what about Valerie?". And that's a fair question. Truth is - Valerie encourages me to go, because she knows that me doing it helps me kind of get re-centered. She knows I need that kind of thing- even if it's just for a bit- to de-stress from work, and sometimes life. I mean - let's face it, we all need that some times, right? I know I do.

So off I went. I was back home on Tuesday late afternoon- which mean I was gone about 30 hours (still plenty of time to spend with Valerie and do stuff together). I travelled over 600 miles- and it was well worth it.

Here's a video of some of what I encountered -

I was out photographing the night sky until about 1am - and here's a better look at a couple shots I got out at the West Quoddy Head Light. Mind you- these are single shot images. I didn't put several photos together to make the final product. One click- that's all. The milky way was SO prominent in the sky, it was easily visible with the naked eye. It was the boldest display I had ever seen -

What the video doesn't have in it was that I slept in my truck. I don't want to spend 200-300 bucks to spend 2-3 hours in a hotel room. The truck is just fine.

I parked in a parking lot- a pretty big one, and i was in the middle of it - away from the building, the road and the loading dock. I parked there at about 1am - and at 3:30a- a tractor trailer truck thought it would be funny to drive into the parking lot - and drive around my truck blowing the horn. Friggin peckerhead - haha. NO reason to do so other than to be a dick, but whatever. I rolled with it, threw the truck in drive and headed out to shoot some night stuff - like this -

From the town docks- looking northwest-

The one above was taken a little closer to sunrise - before I headed over to West Quoddy Head to shoot the sunrise there. Here's some of those -

This spot is the first in the contiguous U.S. to see the sunrise - and people travel from all over to see it. It was a really cool way to start the day.

Then it was over to Campobello Island - which is actually in New Brunswick Canada. Gotta bring your passport to get in (and then back in to the US). Pretty cool harbors there-

Then it was down the coast through Cutler, on Maine's "bold coast" - and onward home.

It was a great quick-hit trip that included hiking, tall cliffs on the ocean, 6-8 porcupines, an awesome sunset and sunrise, a lovely server who fixed me a cup of chowder 40 min after the restaurant had closed (I know- how nice was she!!), lots of coffee- and about 800+ images.

And most importantly- it felt totally good for the soul.

I know I've said it many times- but whatever it is that helps you find peace, and balance in your life - find it, embrace it, and protect it. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about it either- it's self care- and it's important. (Here endeth the lesson)

Hope you liked the pics and video -

g