Maine's autumn, Day 1 | Drive home proves to be most scenic

In Lincoln, the halfway point on the drive from Bangor International Airport to my hometown of Princeton, a rainbow appeared after a shower moved through the area. The conditions appeared to be right for one to form, and when it did, my parents and I headed for a bridge over the Penobscot River. I like how this photo shows the rainbow touching down in an area of bright tree color.

Now that my Maine foliage vacation is over, I'll start slowly going through all the photos I took, publishing day-by-day highlights on The Offlede.

The problem with autumn in Maine is that it tends to be gray, rainy and miserable much of the time. In the past few years, locals have said that as the foliage peaks in color intensity, there has been a rainstorm or a day of gusty wind that shakes all the leaves from the trees. This year, it was much the same case.

Day 1, Monday, consisted only of travel: first, the plane ride from Florida, then the 100-mile drive to Princeton, Maine, my childhood home where my parents still reside. Unfortunately, it was the best day, as far as weather is concerned. The descent into Bangor, Maine - where Allegiant Air flies directly from Sanford, Fla. - was speckled with color. The drive home also offered scenes of pre-peak foliage in the foothills of eastern Maine.

Somewhere in northern Florida, the sky showed some color, too.

Now, in Maine, somewhere south of Bangor, the foliage starts to come into view. In this particular shot, there's quite a bit of glare from the airplane window.

The filtered sunlight made for some interesting colors cast onto the surface of a river south of Bangor.

In the Bangor area, a red roof complemented the spot color on the trees.

This is my favorite shot from the airplane. Bangor Municipal Golf Course, where I had played during my days as a copy editor and reporter at the Bangor Daily News, is seen from above, complete with patches of sunlight. I had specifically requested a window seat in hopes of getting a shot such as this one.

Occasionally during the trip home on Interstate 95, I pointed my camera through the windshield and fired a couple of shots. The sun shined through a break in the clouds for this one.

Here, we stopped just short of our exit near the Lincoln area, capturing the foliage around a small stream that runs under I-95.

A zoomed-in shot of the tree-lined stream under I-95.

A vertical shot of the rainbow over the Penobscot River in Lincoln.

The weather still was unstable and interesting after the rainbow had dissipated Monday. Some parts of the state reported lightning and hail, which is funny because I got caught in a strong hailstorm on the first day of my Maine vacation last year. I took the above shot of the billowing storm clouds through the windshield of the car, as it zoomed by a statue and a church in the center of Lincoln.

I can't really remember too many large clouds such as this one during my childhood times in Maine. Then again, I never took as much notice then as I do now. Again, this was taken in Lincoln.

We stopped near a cousin's house on the shore of Stump Pond in Lincoln, where I took several shots. This first one is below a small dam constructed where the lake empties into a stream.

As the clouds moved overhead, the lighting got interesting. A darker sky but a strong sun behind me made it easier to properly expose these shots.

Focusing on the cloud reflection.

A bridge spans the small stream that empties Stump Pond. At the foot of it, many of the trees had already experienced significant leaf drop.

The ground was covered with ferns and fallen leaves.

I stood on the bridge, looking over the still stream and at the sun for this shot.

This one shows the sun a little more brilliantly, despite the lens refraction.

This was taken along Route 6, which connects Lincoln with Topsfield on my route home. The two-lane roadway is hilly and beautiful. With little time to stop, I just shot through the window.

Finally at home in Princeton, I watched the sun go down among the hemlocks and maple trees.