Today was all spent in Augusta, Maine. It is the state capital. We started out the day with a tour of the State House, the 48th we have visited. Only Minnesota and Hawaii are left. We were the only ones there for the 9:00 tour. We spent almost two hours with our guide and really learned a lot. I love it when we are the only ones. That happens a lot. I didn't realize it, but Maine was part of Massachusetts during the Revolution. So they were not signers of the Declaration of Independence. They were admitted in 1820 as the 23rd state.

The state house was not ornate. We were able to visit the Senate and the House of Representatives. Maine history is one of those things that I have never really had any information about. They are the number one producer of blueberries in the US. Their big industry is tourism. They also have some ship building in Portsmouth. Maine also has a substantial income tax. It also snows here. two good reasons not to live here.

We visited the Maine State Museum which was very good. They had lots of interesting stuff. We spent a couple hours there. We learned about the Popham colony which was news to us. it was started in 1608, a year after Jamestown. It was not successful and was eventually abandoned.

We also visited Old Fort Western which was built in 1764. The main building has the original timbers. It was initially a military fort then became a major trading location. I had a hard time following the history the guide was giving.

Today's photo is interesting. Ginny is enjoying a lobster roll at McDonald's. Can you believe it? It was good. We are heading out to Bar Harbor tomorrow. Looking forward to lobster dinners there.