August 8, 2008: I arrived in Bangor, Maine amidst pouring rain and cold weather. Yikes, its early August!! It was a long trip in that dark box and it’s good to be out in the open again. I have been back and forth across America three times now – from California to Washington, D.C., back to San Francisco, California, and then back the other way to the Great State of Maine!!

When the box opened up, all I could see were many eyeballs looking down at me. My eyes had a bit of a time adjusting!! The Bangor Hitties are a very gracious bunch and immediately got me settled after introductions were made. Dawn has made me a shawl, which I definitely need tonight, and it goes beautifully with my dress. How did she know what shade of yarn to use?

August 8, 2008: We are having a slumber party on the top floor of the soon to be bear and doll shop, which is to be called “Teddy’s Place.” We have two very cozy rooms atop the building and have spread out our quilts and sleeping bags. I am going to play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with Hitty Bitty Kabins while Hitty Maple looks on.

The girls are in the next room are listening to a new book received from Esther Robertson. I hear the pictures are wonderful and will have to look at that book when I’m tucked in my bag for the night!! Nothing like a little late night reading!!

Popcorn for all later – ahh, it’s going to be a fun night.

August 9, 2008: I just had to have my picture taken with this wonderful doll that currently sits in the empty bear shop. She is, as yet, unnamed, so I will call her “Unnamed Doll.” I think she and I look very good together.

August 11, 2008: Hitty Maple and I are off for a visit with Margaret Adele Cummings. She is the widow of Henry Wescott Cummings who held a high position in British government before his death. Margaret is somewhat of a sleuth and is called quite often by friends and acquaintances to help them with a mysterious death or crime to be solved. As you can see, she has her bags almost packed as she is off to Belgium to see to a serious problem. She has regaled us with some very interesting stories of cases she has solved over the years. It was a very entertaining evening and I am thinking seriously about becoming a detective.

August 12, 2008: It’s a visit to the “Snoopy Room” today. There are so many Snoopys in there (and I hear there are more someplace else). The room serves as a “catchall” box until a place is found for a particular item. The box contains, among other things, a framed picture of a church painted by Dawn’s son-in-law; a small doll dressed in military garb representing an American soldier; a puppet theatre; a table Dawn made at mini club; a Bonsai tree; a chair for a hallway with hooks for hats/sweaters; unframed paintings; Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse; a cute little rocking horse made at mini club; and even Noah of Noah’s Ark. What an assortment of items. She really does need this catchall box!! I had fun poking around in there.


August 16, 2008: We attended the family barbecue today. It was held at the home of Dawn’s sister, Linda. All her sisters were there, and their husbands, children and grandchildren. I was able to visit with Trudy G. (a proud Hittygirls member) and the Plymouth Hitties and we had our picture taken. They allowed me to sit in the comfy lawn chair where I had a great view of the tree house. I also had a chance to meet Dawn’s sister, Sue Glidden, and her new Hitty, plus two other Hitties she had with her at the barbecue. We had a very nice day.

August 19, 2008: Tonight we worked on a Halloween charm quilt. What a predicament in choosing the fabric. If we used all the favorite picks, it would fit over a huge doll bed. We are going to have to get serious in making the final selections!!!!

Tomorrow we are going to visit Mr. Henson’s pet store where I “might” find a traveling companion. The key word here is “might.” We will see what happens, but I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight!!!

August 20, 2008: Hitty Maple, Miss Hickory and I traveled over to Mr. Henson’s shop. We had a great time. I found a little cat that looked at me with eyes that said “Please take me home with you.” How could I resist, but to be fair we looked at all the dogs, turtle, birds and hamsters, however my heart kept going back to the little cat who sat quietly in her pet bed. I just had to have her, so Hitty Maple told Mr. Henson that we would take the cat and her little bed. I am such a lucky Hitty. I will call my new pet “Taffy” as she looks like the color of taffy candy.

August 24, 2008: I traveled to the North Pole tonight!!! Just kidding – a little Christmas humor there. I went to visit Elfie and Santa Claus. As you can see I am letting Santa know just what I would like for Christmas. Bitty Kabins wants to make sure she is on his “list” as she has committed a few mischievous activities thus far this year. Elfie has a very comfortable little room. He is a very busy elf as he is in charge of all the other elves. He is responsible for all the planning of what toys will be made each year for girls and boys (and Hitties) the world over!! He collects things, like the rest of us, and has recently started a collection of little trees which are currently located on his fireplace mantle. He also collects little Hallmark cars. We had a really nice visit.

August 25, 2008: We went to Mount Hope Cemetery to visit the grave of the infamous Alfred James Brady. As we all sat there staring the stone, we were amazed that a man so young could have come to this end. He was only 27 years old when he was shot and killed in downtown Bangor. He committed some terrible crimes. Here is a link to the story. http://www.bangorinfo.com/Focus/focus_brady_gang.html.

August 26, 2008: Dawn’s grandchildren wanted Hitty Emily to see the “haunted” house in Bangor. We don’t know for sure if it’s haunted or not, but it has been sitting (empty??) for many years and is in terrible disrepair. That’s not the worst, though. It’s the feeling one gets when one looks at it that creeps one out. I could never live in that house. I felt the little hairs rise on my neck when I looked at it and gladly got back into the car. The weird thing was there was a newspaper in a plastic sleeve bag on the front porch. Surely, no one is inside that house???

We took a drive down by the Kenduskeag Stream which runs through Bangor. There are lots of walking trails along the stream and it is very pretty. It is kind of a sanctuary within the city limits. Dawn got a shot of me on a fence overlooking the stream and with Lover’s Leap in the background. Legend has it that two American Indians forbidden to be together leapt to their deaths from the 150-foot cliff. Notice the water level is really low but in spring there is much more water running through there.

September 1, 2008 – Labor Day: We have been watching Hurricane Gustav on TV. We are all very worried about people affected by this storm and pray they will all be safe and sound, and hope all the Hittys will be safe and not floating around in flood waters.

We went to the Thomas Hill Standpipe today and had our pictures taken. What a pretty structure. One can see if from all over Bangor. More information can be found at the following site: http://www.bangorinfo.com/Focus/focus_standpipe.html

September 6, 2008: We traveled over to Cascade Park to relax and enjoy the beautiful water fountain. It’s a lovely park with lots of gardens and small waterfalls and waterways. Dawn snapped a picture of me enjoying the fountain. The fountain is lit up at night with colored lights that turn the water blue, red, yellow, and green. It’s a favorite spot to spend some time on a beautiful evening.

We just had to take a quick run by The Coffee Pot, one of Bangor’s most popular sandwich shops. People come from far and away to get a Coffee Pot (Italian sandwich). The building is nothing to look at, but the best tasting sandwiches come out of there. The onions smell very strong. The deluxe Coffee Pot has two salamis, ham, two cheeses, tomatoes, pickles, lots of those fabulous onions, with sprinkles of red pepper flakes. Every single day of the week, without fail, there is a long line of people outside waiting to get their sandwiches. This goes on for about four hours steady each day. The gentleman that waits on the customers must be in his 70’s (or close to it). Dawn has never seen him with a spot of anything on him. He wears a crisp white shirt, and a crisp white apron, and he is a whiz at adding up the orders in his head. It’s amazing to watch him work. He moves that line really fast.

September 12, 2008: Saying goodbye is the hard part about being a traveling Hitty. I have been here longer than I was supposed to because of Hurricane Hannah and now Hurricane Ike. Traveling to Florida was just a little too risky. They have had three storms since I have been in Bangor -- Hurricanes Gustav, Hannah and now Ike, although Ike veered off towards Texas. We have been watching the news with great interest. I will be on my way to Florida early next week.

I am making many acquaintances all over the country and enjoying it so much. We have had a good time in Bangor. We have spent many nights up too late at our slumber parties. Dawn has had to speak to us a couple of times as she has to get up and go to work in the AM, but most of the time we were pretty quiet and had discussions under our blankets. It is with mixed emotions that I step into my travel box. I love the traveling, but I shall miss everyone here. We all shared a goodbye hug and hoped that some day we would see each other again.