Capron Bay is a fictional town based off of dozens of small communities of New England. These towns and villages exist up and down the region from the southern shores of Connecticut to the northern border of Maine. You'll find windy roads and waterfront cottages in places like Mystic, CT or Rockport, MA and Bar Harbor, ME. Many of them popped up as fishing villages, whaling ports or shipbuilding and shipping towns. Their functions were a lot different but the one thing they all had in common was the sea.
Today, many of them are still rooted in the fishing industry but those that aren't are now quaint and quiet tourist locations. People from Boston, Providence and New York escape to these towns to get away from the hustle and bustle of their busy lives. They can enjoy beaches, marshes, Main St. shopping with artist galleries abundant throughout each of the towns.
The beauty of New England is these towns don't just exist on the coastline. They thrive all over the area. Towns like these exist in the mountainous regions of New Hampshire and Vermont as well. There is North Conway in the White Mountain region of New Hampshire that contains pristine lakes for summer enjoyment, vast woodlands and forests for fall beauty and snow covered peaks for winter skiing. Another place is Stowe, Vermont. Just like North Conway, it can transform into a year-round tourist destination as it adapt to the changing seasons.
I chose New England to be the setting for many reasons. First and foremost, having grown-up there, I love the area for it's vast array of beautiful scenery and activity. But more than that, the people who live there can be as varied and adaptable as anywhere in the world. They have to be, I mean, there aren't many places that can be in the mid-90's during August with just sweltering humidity and just a few weeks later experience the first snowfall of the coming winter even though its just October or if Mother Nature wants to joke, even in September.
The region is the birthplace of our nation with its rich history of Colonial rebellion where there was the Shot heard round the world. I've watched the re-enactment on the Lexington Green many a times on Patriot's Day the state holiday that only Massachusetts celebrates. The day is known for the running of the Boston Marathon and the only day of the baseball season where a Major League Baseball game starts in the morning. Of course, over the last decade that day has come to symbolize more than just long ago history. The tragic events of 2013 still echo in New Englander's minds and give cause to celebrate Patriot's Day even more now.