Daniel Milnor posted: " Great Danes on the beach near Des Moines. There is no rhythm nor reason to it. Scattered traffic here and there and then long periods of scarcely a fellow human to be found. Season 2023 isn't season 2022. The COVID 19 pandemic forced those with means" Shifter
There is no rhythm nor reason to it. Scattered traffic here and there and then long periods of scarcely a fellow human to be found. Season 2023 isn't season 2022. The COVID 19 pandemic forced those with means to make new decisions, decisions like staying close to home. The major urban areas of the Northeast emptied out as city dwellers looked for ways to escape lockdown and the reality of being caged inside a megapolis.
Maine became a hot landing zone. Close to the major cities but still rural, wild in parts but also able to cater to a long-standing generational wealth population visiting their second or third homes. Both 2021 and 2022 were times of intense development and intense strain on both natural and human resources. Staffing was and still is a major issue. Reduced hours, closed patios and long waits became the norm. Massive price increases also became airborne, traveling from town to town as those with cash to burn ventured north. Hotel rooms I once had for $99 per night are now renting for $625 per night.
But there's a problem.
The skies and world are open once again and the masses are going elsewhere. Not all but many. Europe caters to the formerly cooped. Airfares still retain their COVID heights but Americans are traveling again and in record numbers. Why sit for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic and pay $600+ a night when you can hope a flight from New York to Rome for less than one, eight-hour hotel stay?
Don't get me wrong. This place hasn't become a ghost town, not by a long shot, but numbers are down. Locals who have been here for fifty plus years say "Weird, sunny on a Friday and I just drove through town and there was hardly anyone there." Sure, the beaches on sunny weekends are still popular spots but this year I see far more Canadians than ever before. I also see an automatic 18% gratuity applied to every single bill.
Last year as we drove our van cross country I told my wife, "America should be renamed Land of the Scam." COVID showed the best and worst of our country, and although we love to tout ourselves as the white hat wearing good guy of the classic western, we sure do love to get over on each other, and our voyage across the country proved again-and-again we are no different from anyone else, and we do love our money grabs. Gas, housing, food, parking, tolls, you name it. When the chance represented itself we took it.
And now the issue is that the prices remain but the people may or may not. Last night we looked at menus for a perceived dinner out. An $18 dollar fish and chip from last year was now $30 at the same restaurant. And yes, most often, the portions are smaller. At some point we overplayed our hand, but I do think greed has become a domineering factor in our culture. Also note, COVID changed everything, and I get that. COGS, transportation, and all other tentacles of the business world. Just look at banks and money lending. TIGHT.
The top financial tier of our country is just fine, but the rest of the classes are hurting.
I know where I am is a place of privilege, as is this location, but this little story is playing out all across our land. Ever seen a $150 tent site at a campground? I have. How about $7 gas? (Euros are like "that's a deal.") I guess the real question is "Do Americans know they have subsidized gas?"
I love coming to this place but my guess is our time is up. This year was only possible through a stroke of luck which won't be around come summer of 2024. A quick check online and I see that the closest rental location to where I am, a small house, is nearly $20,000 per month. You know how many needless cameras I can buy for 20K? Mesh speedos? Hook kick instructional videos? We had a nearly thirty-year run here, so I can't complain, and there are plenty of places near my home that I have still not explored, but come summer when my imagination begins to think of the buttery, Atlantic light I'll have to reflect on the images made and the times we had.
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