In this episode, we sit down with Bethel native Alex Poland: A registered Maine Guide, artist, fly-fishing instructor, land steward, and owner of Western Maine Yurts. Alex grew up in the foothills, worked side-by-side with his grandfather in excavation, earned a graduate degree he never used, and built a life that blends creativity, outdoor adventure, and deep Maine roots.

He shares how fly fishing became the passion that changed everything, why Maine holds over 90% of the Lower 48’s wild brook trout, and what really happens during a full day guiding clients on the Androscoggin. We talk yurts, guests roasting their first-ever marshmallow, wildlife encounters, and the old-timer dialects he worries we’re losing.

If you love Maine, wild places, or stories about carving your own path, this episode will be a favorite.

"People who read are interesting people. That’s why I’ve stayed in this business.”

For more than 30 years, Justin Ward has been the quiet anchor of downtown Bridgton. He and his wife Pam opened Bridgton Books in 1993, back when the mill had just closed, storefronts were boarded up, and everyone warned him a small-town bookstore would never survive the rise of big box stores, or, later, the Kindle.

In this episode, Justin shares what convinced him to choose Bridgton over Fryeburg, how the town has transformed around him, and what keeps independent bookstores thriving even in a digital world. We talk about locals vs. summer visitors, the surprising rise of “romantasy,” the magic of staff picks, and the deep, personal relationship between a bookseller and their community.

If you love books, small towns, or stories of resilience, this one’s a must-listen.

Rangeley has a way of pulling people in. In this episode, Virginia Patnode MacFawn explains why.

A lifelong Rangeley resident and co-owner of Rangeley Lakes Building Supply and Welcome Home, Virginia talks about growing up in a town where everyone looked out for one another, leaving for New York City and Charleston, and choosing to come home. We talk about family business, community trust, and why Rangeley embraces change, but only when it’s carefully corralled.

If you’ve ever felt drawn back to a place you can’t quite explain, this conversation will resonate.

Mike Rosa has an “Angry August” story that will sound familiar to anyone who has worked in a restaurant. A table comes in already keyed up. Complaints stack up. The instinct is to get defensive. Mike does something else. He goes straight to the table, listens, and makes it right.

That moment is a doorway into what this episode is really about: running a restaurant means running a team, a room, and your own nervous system, sometimes all at once. Mike’s first career was psychology, and you can hear it in the way he talks about the job. Culture matters. Communication matters. Managing personalities matters. You can have strong food, but if the service slips, people do not come back.

Mike moved from the Pacific Northwest to Maine seven years ago with his partner, Christie. They landed in the Lakes Region, worked in local kitchens, and opened Pondicherry House in Bridgton. Inside, it’s an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven, a chef’s counter, fresh pasta, craft cocktails, and a wine list they’ve built with care.

We also talk about what diners rarely see: forecasting, ordering, equipment breaking at the worst time, staffing gaps, and the quiet math of a week that can swing on one busy night. And then there’s the part that keeps it going. A town that shows up. Other business owners lending a hand. Regulars who notice when you’re trying.

It’s a conversation about pressure, pride, and the kind of hospitality that remembers every table is someone’s night out.

Anne Carter and Jesse Hill run Carter’s Cross Country Ski Center in Bethel, Maine. For a lot of people, it’s where winter begins.

In this episode, we get into how it all started. A small farm in Oxford. Trails cut through the woods. A building that had to do double duty as a farm stand and a ski shop. Then the move to Bethel, and what it looks like to build a destination around Nordic skiing.

We talk about what makes Carter’s work for beginners and for people who want a workout. The river and field trails. The mountain side. The cabins you ski into. The off-grid details. The kind of day you can have here without the pressure of downhill skiing.

Anne and Jesse also share what they are building next. A pavilion meant for gathering, plus plans that could bring more people out in summer and fall, too.

If Bethel is on your winter list, start here. If it isn’t yet, this episode explains why it should be.

If you want to understand Rangeley, you start at Sarge’s.

In this episode, Vanessa and April sit down with Crystal Sargent of Sarge’s Sports Pub, a place that has been an anchor of the town for more than 25 years. Crystal shares how a local bar became a year-round gathering spot, why consistency matters more than trends, and what it takes to run a sports pub in a mountain town that has changed fast in the last few years.

We talk about the moment COVID unexpectedly turned Rangeley into “Boomtown,” the challenges of staffing and housing in a small community, and why so many of Crystal’s employees have stayed for a decade or more. Crystal also reflects on what old-timers miss, how Sarge’s shows up when the community needs help, and why people keep coming back, not just for the food or the games, but for the feeling.

This conversation captures the social heartbeat of Rangeley, straight from someone who lives it every day.

Western Maine is known for its ski culture, but just beyond the slopes is a thriving food world shaped by farmers, foragers, and one woman determined to connect them all.

In this episode, we sit down with Meryl Kelly, founder of A Longer Table Homestead in Bethel, to talk about how a girl from Oxford Hills became one of the region’s most trusted food connectors.

Meryl traces her path from culinary school in San Francisco to sourcing ingredients for restaurants across Western Maine, building relationships with farmers, and eventually stewarding one of Bethel’s most beloved properties. Today, A Longer Table Homestead is part market, part community hub, and the home base for her celebrated farm-to-table dinners.

If you want a glimpse into the real flavor of Western Maine, this conversation delivers.

Bridgton, Maine has a cocktail bar with its own category: the Rhinestone Room, a pink-and-gold neighborhood lounge that feels more like a living room than a late-night spot.

In this episode, Vanessa Santarelli and I sit down with owners Mitch Slattery and Ivory Farrell to talk about how two kids from Missouri wound up in Maine after years in Oregon and three years living in an RV, and how a single Monday night bar shift turned into buying the business outright.

We get into the seasonal rhythm of running a tiny bar in a small town, why they refuse to “scale up,” and how lighting, music, and a rhinestone-covered deer head became part of their signature. It’s a story about place, community, and building a bar that feels like home.

What does it take to bring a mountain back to life — and turn it into the #1 ski resort in the East?

In this episode, we sit down with Saddleback CEO Matt Dieterich and GM Jim Quimby to talk about the mountain’s remarkable comeback, what it means to operate a ski area with a soul, and how a community rallied behind a place they refused to lose.

We get into the years-long closure, the investment required to rebuild everything from lifts to snowmaking, and the culture shift that’s putting Saddleback on the map for families, beginners, and lifelong skiers alike. And yes — we talk about being named the top ski resort in the East by Ski Magazine and what’s coming next for 2026 and beyond.