Story and photographs
by Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer

10 a.m. – Armed with $20 scrounged together from inside the couch and car, I strap on my backpack stocked with water and snacks and head out into the Saco Heath located on Route 112, west of the turnpike in Saco, after fortifying myself with a late breakfast of oatmeal at home.
I learn from the sign posted at the beginning of the trail that the area is composed of two peat bogs that joined on top of the water and is home to unique species of bog plants such as the carnivorous pitcher plant, a tube-like plant that feeds on insects.
Somewhat unsure if I want to enter these unknown woods alone, I spot a woman part way down the trail with binoculars. After introducing myself as a reporter, Joanne Stevens of Scarborough agrees to walk at least part of the way down the trail with me. She is on the hunt for several elusive birds reportedly seen in the area recently, but has no luck finding them. Stevens is preparing for an upcoming Audubon survey. She easily identifies birds by their trilling calls in the distance. Every so often, we halt on the trail and cock our heads to the side to listen. Stevens names black and white warblers, a variety of thrushes, prairie warblers and common yellow throat warblers. Part way through the bog, Stevens decides to turn back while I continue to the end of the trail, more informed of the bird calls around me.
The 1.8 mile long trail circles through a stand of trees before spitting people back the way they came. Portions of the boardwalk suspended over the bog are a bit treacherous but as long as I keep my eyes on where I am going, it is not a problem. The trail is mostly flat terrain and a fairly easy hike for all, as evidenced by the preschoolers who pass me.
Clifton Bradbury, of Old Orchard Beach, is inspecting a tree that split open years ago when it was struck by lightning. When I approach him on the trail, he tells me he spends a lot of time walking the heath during the summer and has learned to identify four types of orchids.
He explains that most of the damage to the boardwalk is from moose that have stepped up to the walk from the bog. On the sides of the trail, Bradbury points out painted trillium in bloom and notes that many other types of vegetation live exclusively in the bog because of the acidic water created by the peat moss.
Total spent at this activity: $0.00
Total spent for the day: $0.00
Money left: $20.00

11:30 a.m. – After hiking in the bog, I decide to head to McArthur Library in Biddeford. I apply for a library card, a process requiring no more proof than that I work in Biddeford (needed because I don’t live in the city) and my signature. With my shiny new library card, I head upstairs to the adult room seeking an audiobook as well as a novel or two. Librarian Brooke Faulkner points me in the direction of the audiobooks and leaves me to browse. After choosing a James Patterson novel I haven’t read, I seek Faulkner out once again, hoping she will recommend a good read. Upon hearing my favorite genre is murder mystery, she points out several authors new to me. Happy with my choices, I check out downstairs and find out they are all mine for the next three weeks and I can renew them online if I need them longer. I request a copy of the Shuttlebus schedule and peruse it while walking Main Street. I settle on one of the new benches (provided by the Downtown Development Committee) on the corner of Alfred Street and dig into one of the books while I wait for my 12:27 p.m. bus to Old Orchard Beach to arrive.
Total spent at this activity: $0.00
Total spent for the day: $0.00
Money left: $20.00

12:25 p.m. – The bus pulls up and my fellow passengers and I hop aboard after depositing our $1.25 fare. Having never taken the bus before, I should have asked the driver where he was going. But hindsight is 20-20, right? Though it had arrived at the correct time, my first clue I am the wrong bus comes when we drive south on Alfred Street toward the police station. I think perhaps it is a looping route and decided to silently tough out the journey without inquiring and deal with the consequences if the driver tells me I have to exit the bus. Then I will ask where the bus to Old Orchard Beach is.
Alfred Street flies by and before I know it, my bus arrives at the Shuttlebus garage on Pomerleau Street and the driver leaves. Curious, I think. There is no need to worry about the driver abandoning his passengers, however, because a new driver steps aboard and we are on the road again, destination unknown.
A quick loop through the Southern Maine Medical Center parking lot, a few departures and new arrivals, then it is on to the maze of parking lots that is Biddeford Crossing. Bracing for the driver to boot everyone from the bus at the end of the line, I wait for the other passengers to exit so my bus schedule reading ignorance will not be revealed to all. But…some people remain in their seats with no consequences. I decide to do the same and pull out the bus schedule to give interpretation another shot. Remarkably, I find a bus leaving Biddeford Crossing in less than five minutes and come to the conclusion I am already on said scheduled departing bus.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I decide to go with the flow and hope for the best. Though the bus ride takes longer than I planned, it also gives me the opportunity to see back roads and shortcuts in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach I have never seen before. What is supposed to be a 30-minute jaunt to Old Orchard turns out to be an hour and a half odyssey.
Total spent at this activity: $1.25
Total spent for the day: $1.25
Money left: $18.75

2 p.m. – Traumatized by taking the wrong bus, I make a beeline for Beach Bagels on Old Orchard Street for some comfort food. I order a half of a turkey club sandwich, to go, and tote my lunch to the beach. Unfortunately, my arrival at the beach is marked with an increasingly dark sky that threatens to downpour at any second. I take my chances with the weather and sit in the sand to enjoy my lunch, though the overly friendly seagulls eye my lunch like I stole it from them. None approaches close enough to snatch anything away, though I am sure it crossed that big one’s mind more than once.
Filled to the brim with turkey, bacon, tomato, lettuce and crusty white bread (they made me a whole sandwich accidentally, so I wrap the second half up for later), I check the time. I intended to visit the Old Orchard Beach Historical Society, but due to my inept schedule reading, I have a mere 20 minutes before my return bus. I spend a while perusing window displays, noting the touristy T-shirts and bathing suits alongside boogie boards and skim boards. With more time and a slightly warmer day, I would have considered purchasing a boogie board (on sale for $6) and hitting the surf (but it was not meant to be.)
I stop at the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce and pick up a visitor’s guide to see what is recommended for the area. Several options including miniature golf at Pirate’s Cove (70 First Street in Old Orchard Beach) for $8 and less than $1 for shuffleboard in Ocean Park are appealing.
Money spent at this activity: $5.34
Total spent for the dayt: $6.59
Money left: $13.41

3 p.m. – Happily, I make it back to the bus I hope will return me to my home base, aka my car, parked in Biddeford for 3:30 p.m.
Confident this time I am correct, I delve back into my library book for the ride, until we get close to my stop at Alfred Street.
The return bus trip, thankfully, is uneventful.
Money spent at this activity: $1.25
Total spent for the day: $7.84
Money left: $12.16

3:35 p.m. – After lightening the load in my backpack, I strike out for North Dam Mill on foot, where there is usually art on display. After checking out the menu of coffee and sandwiches, I grab a cup of iced coffee at Union House Café from owner Jack Fowler and wander around the mill for a while. North Dam is home to many businesses, including furniture makers, a truffle exporter, Eye Sun (a holistic massage therapist), Brown Fox Printing, Benson Imports (a store filled with imported tapestries, scarves and furniture) and the Sweet Specialist, who bakes and sells specialty cookies and desserts. On this day the art offerings are limited, as preparations for the monthly art walk are underway for the last Thursday of the month, so my visit is short.
Money spent at this activity: $2.09
Total spent for the day: $9.93
Money left: $10.07

4:15 p.m. – Motivating myself toward Saco on foot, I walk over the Main Street bridge and stop to check out the Saco River, which is moving quite briskly on its way to the ocean. After crossing the bridge, I stop for a minute and pop one of the audiobook compact discs into my portable CD player rather than listen to traffic.
I pass the still wind turbine at the top of York hill before crossing the train tracks to Saco’s Main Street filled with a variety of shops selling everything from clothing, food and candy to real estate. I cross the street by the post office and look across the street at Saco City Hall with its steeple before continuing my walk past the Veteran’s Memorial.
Before I know it, I arrive at my destination, the Saco Museum located at 371 Main Street. Everyone can see the exhibits for free Thursday evenings from 4 to 8 p.m. Museum Director Andrea Cochrane greets me and shares a little history of the museum as well as the exhibit locations. She says the museum got its start in the 1860s with a natural history collection, which is kept on the lower floor. The main floor houses galleries for featured displays and the second floor reveals two period bedrooms, one Victorian and one Federal style. The gift shop offers 25-cent postcards and other small items as inexpensive souvenirs of the visit.
Money spent at this activity: $0.00
Total spent for the day: $9.93
Money left: $10.07

5:25 p.m. – After a somewhat brisk, mile and a half, walk while listening to more of the audiobook, I arrive at the J. R. Martin Community Center on Alfred Street in Biddeford for a 5:30 p.m. walk-in yoga class in the upstairs auditorium. Yogi David Winslow and the students welcome me.
The yoga stretches with a focus mostly on legs, hips and shoulders, ease away the long day of walking and reenergize me for my next destination. After more than an hour of stretching and relaxation, I bid the class farewell and head out a little early to a newly cleared sky and warmer temperatures.
Money spent at this activity: $8.00
Total spent for the day: $17.93
Money left: $2.07

7 p.m. – My last planned stop for the day is Biddeford City Hall for a city council meeting. Though municipal meetings may not be something people do for fun, once you are drawn in you can’t stay away because you start to really care about what happens. The evening features city budget talks and a chance to sit, a welcome luxury after my busy day.
Money spent at this activity: $0.00
Total spent for the day: $17.93
Money left: $2.07

8:05 p.m. – Leaving city hall into the warm evening, I decide to finish the other half of my sandwich from lunch while leaning inside the gazebo at Mechanics Park and looking over the Saco River at the changing sunset sky.
As darkness falls, I head home, figuring how much gas I used for the eight mile round trip drive to Saco Heath. My tiny Volkswagon Jetta gets great mileage, around 30 miles per gallon, so I figure the gas I burned for the trip was around $1 worth. Not bad for a whole day out in the tri-town area.
Total money spent for the day: $18.93