Expedition East Coast: Day 15 Portland, Maine - I don't know where that is

CrispyA · 12 Oct 18, 08:33 PM

2 August

We slept well again and had a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, while feeling a little bit sad about leaving Porcupine Cabin. We had enjoyed ourselves so much while we had been here and we weren't ready to go just yet.

We are fine with one night stays on a road trip but had really appreciated having a longer stay here and being able to have a proper base. Also, the space and everyone having their own room was really good for a change. We don't mind sharing a hotel room but it is nice to have a break from that as well. And the feeling of getting away from it all was awesome.

We tidied up and emptied the bins before saying a sad goodbye to the Cabin.

We drove through Ellsworth on the way out and found it quite charming and preferable to the busyness of Bar Harbor.

Then our journey took us on a lovely drive along the coast, passing Camden, Rockland and Rockport. As we were driving across a bridge, we also spotted a sign for Passagassawakeag River, which prompted a "You what?" from the back of the car!

The New England coastline is lovely and it amused us to see so many English place names - Bath, Woolwich, Yarmouth and Portsmouth amongst others.

We arrived in Portland, Maine, before too long and located the Maine Mall which was very near to our hotel. Tim McGraw claims not to know where Portland, Maine is, but c'mon Tim, the clue is in the song! When we had been looking at our road trip playlist, we did consider this one but on closer listening, realised that this shouldn't be anybody's State song!

There was a food court at the Mall but there wasn't a lot of choice. We had been hoping for a Panda Express but made do with Arby's instead. After lunch we had a look around and Hannah and I had a good sniff of everything in Bath & Bodyworks but figured it was all too heavy to take home. Evan showed us the trainers he wanted for his birthday (they look like orthopedic boots but hey, what do I know?) and he also treated himself to some receiver gloves from the sports shop.

Paul wanted to go to Carhartt and lo and behold, there was a sale on. The staff in Carhartt are the friendliest people in the world and instantly became our best mates. They were freakishly nice and we felt that if we had stayed maybe 10 minutes longer, we would have ended up with an invitation to a barbecue and keys to their holiday home.

Paul got some bargain clothing and we finally extricated ourselves from the chat. The assistant asked where we were headed and when we mentioned we were flying home from New York, he insisted on writing down some recommendations for us. We didn't have the heart to tell him we had already spent some time there and weren't that impressed, so we thanked him and pocketed the list.

After that, we went to the hotel and got checked in before heading to Willard Beach which I had looked up the day before and which came recommended as a free beach in Portland. It was indeed free to go there and it was a really pretty little beach.

The water, however, was absolutely freezing! The sun was extremely hot while the sea was extremely cold and we couldn't really stay in for very long. Evan managed some stone skimming but it was a very quick and somewhat bracing swim.

We hung out on the beach for a while before driving back to our hotel and having a quick dip in the pool there as well.

There were a few food options nearby and the Sebago Brewing Company looked walkable, so we decided to head there. It was one of those frustrating USA walks where the pavement vanishes and you end up having to cross a dual carriageway at high speed in order to get to a restaurant that is actually less than half a mile away.

The place itself was really nice and after a few days of cooking for ourselves, we were happy to eat out again. Being in Maine, we had to have the blueberry pie for dessert, which we shared, despite Evan's attempts to take the whole thing.

They had a fine selection of ales, so Paul was happy, and it was a nice evening.

The ballgame on TV was Yankees vs Red Sox and we watched some of it as we had tickets for the final game in the series in a few days time. Then it was back to the hotel and bed.

i love jack · 12 Oct 18, 10:27 PM

Mmm blueberry pie

Love the sound of the super friendly sales staff

maybe a bbq would have been nice!

Melbatb · 13 Oct 18, 04:30 AM

Sounds like a relaxing day! We loved all the British town names!

Bluenerry pie sounds delicious!

**WileyCoyote** · 13 Oct 18, 09:09 AM

Pretty looking place. Is blueberry pie nice ? I always think it will be a bit bland ?
Bless the friendly staff, that�s so nice. New BFF, can�t beat it !
Argh that thing about the pavements , it�s so true !

katiebaz · 13 Oct 18, 04:37 PM

Great looking Coast and love the look of the pie too. Know what you mean about trying to walk to some US restaurants.We too have had to dice with death to cross a road to reach a restaurant we can see from our hotel...

CrispyA · 14 Oct 18, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by i love jack

Mmm blueberry pie

Love the sound of the super friendly sales staff

maybe a bbq would have been nice!

They were sooo friendly, which was a little unnerving but much better than miserable and rude staff.

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Sounds like a relaxing day! We loved all the British town names!

Bluenerry pie sounds delicious!

It was gorgeous - didn't last long!

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Pretty looking place. Is blueberry pie nice ? I always think it will be a bit bland ?
Bless the friendly staff, that�s so nice. New BFF, can�t beat it !
Argh that thing about the pavements , it�s so true !

The whole craziness of not being able to walk between two very near places is so frustrating at times. But there was no way I was getting a taxi for that distance!

The blueberry pie was really nice - very sweet.

Originally Posted by katiebaz

Great looking Coast and love the look of the pie too. Know what you mean about trying to walk to some US restaurants.We too have had to dice with death to cross a road to reach a restaurant we can see from our hotel...

It's crazy to see somewhere so nearby you can't actually walk to. In one of Bill Bryson's books he talks about the madness of having to drive from one shop to the shop next door as there was no way to walk between them.

**Fuellady** · 16 Oct 18, 08:14 PM

Nice to get a little bit of shopping done, although disappointing not be be able to bring any B&BW goodies home. The blueberry pie looks delicious

CrispyA · 17 Oct 18, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Fuellady

Nice to get a little bit of shopping done, although disappointing not be be able to bring any B&BW goodies home. The blueberry pie looks delicious

The pie was lovely - when we got a spoon in edgeways!

12 Oct 18, 08:33 PM	#1
	12 Oct 18, 08:33 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	Expedition East Coast: Day 15 Portland, Maine - I don't know where that is 2 August We slept well again and had a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, while feeling a little bit sad about leaving Porcupine Cabin. We had enjoyed ourselves so much while we had been here and we weren't ready to go just yet. We are fine with one night stays on a road trip but had really appreciated having a longer stay here and being able to have a proper base. Also, the space and everyone having their own room was really good for a change. We don't mind sharing a hotel room but it is nice to have a break from that as well. And the feeling of getting away from it all was awesome. We tidied up and emptied the bins before saying a sad goodbye to the Cabin. We drove through Ellsworth on the way out and found it quite charming and preferable to the busyness of Bar Harbor. Then our journey took us on a lovely drive along the coast, passing Camden, Rockland and Rockport. As we were driving across a bridge, we also spotted a sign for Passagassawakeag River, which prompted a "You what?" from the back of the car! The New England coastline is lovely and it amused us to see so many English place names - Bath, Woolwich, Yarmouth and Portsmouth amongst others. We arrived in Portland, Maine, before too long and located the Maine Mall which was very near to our hotel. Tim McGraw claims not to know where Portland, Maine is, but c'mon Tim, the clue is in the song! When we had been looking at our road trip playlist, we did consider this one but on closer listening, realised that this shouldn't be anybody's State song! There was a food court at the Mall but there wasn't a lot of choice. We had been hoping for a Panda Express but made do with Arby's instead. After lunch we had a look around and Hannah and I had a good sniff of everything in Bath & Bodyworks but figured it was all too heavy to take home. Evan showed us the trainers he wanted for his birthday (they look like orthopedic boots but hey, what do I know?) and he also treated himself to some receiver gloves from the sports shop. Paul wanted to go to Carhartt and lo and behold, there was a sale on. The staff in Carhartt are the friendliest people in the world and instantly became our best mates. They were freakishly nice and we felt that if we had stayed maybe 10 minutes longer, we would have ended up with an invitation to a barbecue and keys to their holiday home. Paul got some bargain clothing and we finally extricated ourselves from the chat. The assistant asked where we were headed and when we mentioned we were flying home from New York, he insisted on writing down some recommendations for us. We didn't have the heart to tell him we had already spent some time there and weren't that impressed, so we thanked him and pocketed the list. After that, we went to the hotel and got checked in before heading to Willard Beach which I had looked up the day before and which came recommended as a free beach in Portland. It was indeed free to go there and it was a really pretty little beach. The water, however, was absolutely freezing! The sun was extremely hot while the sea was extremely cold and we couldn't really stay in for very long. Evan managed some stone skimming but it was a very quick and somewhat bracing swim. We hung out on the beach for a while before driving back to our hotel and having a quick dip in the pool there as well. There were a few food options nearby and the Sebago Brewing Company looked walkable, so we decided to head there. It was one of those frustrating USA walks where the pavement vanishes and you end up having to cross a dual carriageway at high speed in order to get to a restaurant that is actually less than half a mile away. The place itself was really nice and after a few days of cooking for ourselves, we were happy to eat out again. Being in Maine, we had to have the blueberry pie for dessert, which we shared, despite Evan's attempts to take the whole thing. They had a fine selection of ales, so Paul was happy, and it was a nice evening. The ballgame on TV was Yankees vs Red Sox and we watched some of it as we had tickets for the final game in the series in a few days time. Then it was back to the hotel and bed. __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 Edited at 08:35 PM.