The Fraziers are officially going to be Maine-iacs!

Maine-inites? Maine-ians? Mainers? Portlandian Maine-o's? In any case, we'll be joining the ranks of the Maine folk come May. I was lucky enough to be accepted into the University of New England PA program in Portland, Maine. Hilary was able to come out to the interview with me and we both loved the city and the program. It was nice having Hils around for the interview and her aura of coolness definitely helped me seal the deal. I'm sure the interviewer was thinking, 'Wow, this guy is really awkward. And he kind of rambles on about stuff. But his wife seems attractive, hip, and normal so he couldn't be that bad. I guess we'll let him in.' Plus sightseeing by yourself is a drag. And eating by yourself in sit-down restaurants puts off the creep vibe.
Anyway, here are some of the things we really liked about the area:

• a safe, compact downtown with a good mix of salty New Englanders and hip youngsters
• fresh, cooked crustaceans
• it is stinking beautiful
• LL Bean boots, everywhere
• proximity of the University to everything else
• Tim Horton's donuts (a Canadian donut chain that we first had when we lived in AK)
• lots of parks, trails, and green space
• neat children's museum
• the little transit system
• the ocean will be at our doorstep

Downtown after the snowstorm. Lots of brick and cool little shops.

More downtown, good seafood restaurant, and Portland Head Light (I was protecting my lips from the o-so-cold wind)

Back Bay, Portland Head Light, Bean Boot, and naughty, pregnant Hils standing on an icy bench

Portland Head Light

Bottom line is we need to party with y'all (yes, I mean you) before we leave. So give us a call or else we might just show up.