MAINE, Maine — Goodbye tourists...
goodbye traffic on I-95...
and Route 1...
and within ten miles of any beach.
Maine still has plenty of visitors in the fall and winter but nothing compared to the mayhem of summer that Mainers famously love to complain about despite its substantial bolster to the economy and the hospitality industry.
The Maine Turnpike said 'bon voyage' to tourists on Labor Day at the first toll in the pine tree state.
On Monday, Miles the Moose and Clawdette the lobster were out wishing well and thanking travelers at the York Toll as they waited for miles on their trip south.
Just like the migrating birds and monarchs that will soon head south, tourists leaving our beaches and Hannaford aisles bare ushers in the unofficial end of summer in Maine.
Miles and Clawdette handed out Poland Springs waters to worn travelers as they waited hours in traffic to pay, what will be for many, their last Maine toll until the earth takes another spin around the sun.
