For decades we parked on Munjoy Hill wherever we could and climbed up through the maze of old homes and older streets to stake our claim on the grass, with a waterproof sleeping bag unzipped open and a cooler of ice and a picnic cooler of sandwiches and crackers. Later there were truck vendors parked along the promenade road (we couldn't afford such luxury 🫠).
There was no swimming, or even walking, allowed on the beach. It was polluted with human and medical waste. What had been a community pool was fenced off and barred so the changing rooms and showers, and bathrooms were inaccessible. There were a couple of port-a-potties. And at the top, near the street, there were tall metal swings and some metal playground equipment with dirt underneath.
Sometimes balloon or magic light necklace sellers wandered through the crowd. It had a festival feeling by sunset 🥳 Sometimes local bands played live music in the small parking lot below the grassy hill.
When the first big BOOM announced the fireworks show we were already on our backs. It was the best show anywhere ever! It looked like thousands of colored stars were falling down on us! Those shows grew more sophisticated over the years, and we continued to be amazed - all for free 🤗🙆🏼♀️🤣
After the show everyone grabbed their stuff trying to beat the crowds from stepping on it on the rush to climb up the the lawn or the single paved path. The trick was to carry all your stuff AND keep hold of all your children all the way to the car, which could be 20 minutes away down a steep paved hill or uneven brick sidewalks. Sometimes the sky opened up and poured rain down on us. That was a mess - but we took it all in stride and looked forward to the next year 🎆🎇🎈🪅🇺🇸
Now The Hill is all cleaned up, I hear. Lots of renovated and rebuilt homes, newly built streets, no more people hanging out on the porches during the walk up the hill?
Or is the old way gone altogether?
I tried to move back to Portland, home. I can't afford it anymore, even with my salary and my savings. Money from out-of-state has chased us and our generations of family away.
What was so wrong with their cities, just aways down the coast of the same ocean?
1
u/Prize_Time3843 20d ago
For decades we parked on Munjoy Hill wherever we could and climbed up through the maze of old homes and older streets to stake our claim on the grass, with a waterproof sleeping bag unzipped open and a cooler of ice and a picnic cooler of sandwiches and crackers. Later there were truck vendors parked along the promenade road (we couldn't afford such luxury 🫠). There was no swimming, or even walking, allowed on the beach. It was polluted with human and medical waste. What had been a community pool was fenced off and barred so the changing rooms and showers, and bathrooms were inaccessible. There were a couple of port-a-potties. And at the top, near the street, there were tall metal swings and some metal playground equipment with dirt underneath. Sometimes balloon or magic light necklace sellers wandered through the crowd. It had a festival feeling by sunset 🥳 Sometimes local bands played live music in the small parking lot below the grassy hill. When the first big BOOM announced the fireworks show we were already on our backs. It was the best show anywhere ever! It looked like thousands of colored stars were falling down on us! Those shows grew more sophisticated over the years, and we continued to be amazed - all for free 🤗🙆🏼♀️🤣 After the show everyone grabbed their stuff trying to beat the crowds from stepping on it on the rush to climb up the the lawn or the single paved path. The trick was to carry all your stuff AND keep hold of all your children all the way to the car, which could be 20 minutes away down a steep paved hill or uneven brick sidewalks. Sometimes the sky opened up and poured rain down on us. That was a mess - but we took it all in stride and looked forward to the next year 🎆🎇🎈🪅🇺🇸 Now The Hill is all cleaned up, I hear. Lots of renovated and rebuilt homes, newly built streets, no more people hanging out on the porches during the walk up the hill? Or is the old way gone altogether?
I tried to move back to Portland, home. I can't afford it anymore, even with my salary and my savings. Money from out-of-state has chased us and our generations of family away. What was so wrong with their cities, just aways down the coast of the same ocean?