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Brunswick Naval Air Station |
That afternoon we started north toward Maine. It was our intent to try and obtain military lodging at Brunswick Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine. Being the optimist that I am, I figured that we would be able to get lodging in either the large Combined Bachelors Quarters (CBQ) or in the Navy Lodge. Not so.
Even though the Brunswick NAS is on the BRAC list and will be closed in the near future, the base was a sea of activity when we arrived. There were no rooms available, including at the Navy Lodge. The Chief at the CBQ lodging desk informed me that there
were rooms available only during the Christmas season. Other than this period, the base is extremely busy with ASW training classes, with naval personnel attending from other bases.We wanted this to be a "Space-A" trip as much as possible, so we telephoned ahead to the Pine Tree Inn on the Bangor Air National Guard Base in Bangor, Maine. We were informed that they could put us up.
It took us a few hours to drive from Brunswick to Bangor. Finding the ANG Pine Tree Inn was a little daunting. The Maine ANG facilities were part of the now defunct Dow Air Force Base that closed in 1968. The Pine Tree Inn was located inconspicuously among what appeared to be former military buildings that have been turned over to civilian operations.
The rooms were very spartan, with two single beds and a connecting bathroom to the adjoining room. The rate for lodging was $30 per bed! This amounted
Brunswick Naval Air Station |
to $60 for the two of us. There are a couple of rooms set off as VIP rooms that contain a single queen-size bed. The rate for these rooms is $30. A single bed - get it?
Although the price was OK, I must declare that this lodging facility is the poorest I have encountered since Jean and I have been doing Space-A traveling.
Pine Tree at Bangor ANG |
I use the term "poorest" because it was very apparent that the Maine ANG spends very little to maintain this lodging facility. The lodging office told me that a contractor operated the Inn. Regardless of the operator, the Pine Tree Inn could frequently use a good "GI Party", the kind I remember from my basic training days.