Stuck in Portland, Maine

Find myself in Portland, ME tonight and for the rest of the weekend. Assigned a short run that I cannot deliver until 5 am Monday. Decided to stop here to be able to get decent TV reception and have some good food not found along the Interstate. Took my camera and a book and walked to the downtown "tourist area" along the waterfront, about 1.5 miles. Decent weather but a strong wind was blowing making the hike a teary-eyed trek. Made it there and back (within 100 yards anyway) before the rain started, good timing.

Walked the restaurant district trying to decide what to have for dinner. Settled on a pub featuring a number of local micro-brews and seafood. Had a lobster roll, an Octoberfest and then a wheat beer. Tasty except for the bread used for the roll, pretty standard and a bit dry. The beer was great.

Planned to post a few pix of the wharf area, but found my batteries dead when I pulled out my camera. They're in the charger as I write.

During my walk I noticed what appeared to be some homeless people in the area. Pushing grocery carts, digging through trash cans and such. As I returned to where I'd parked my rig, I saw a man and woman climbing onto the low rooftop of a warehouse with their belongings. I guess it's where they planned to spend the night. It's a sad sight to see people living like that in the wealthiest country in the world. That and the fact that this part of the country is cold, wet, snowy and miserable as winter approaches. I was tempted to suggest to them to head south, sleeping on the streets in warm climes is certainly less stressful and would seem to be a good deal more comfortable. Well, there it is, my first rant. Albeit a tame one, a rant it was.