A Weekend in Portland

Last weekend Dave and I decided to take a quick weekend away to Portland, Maine, for a vacation of eating, relaxing, walking around the city and biking.  We were able to do most of that.

Since we moved into Dave's parents house, we sold a lot of stuff on Craig's List.  A LOT.  So we had this giant wad of cash and as it grew, we decided to make it our vacation fund.  We knew we'd only end up with enough for a weekend away, someplace close that we could drive to.  We decided to go to Portland since I'd never been there, they had great restaurants with amazing food, and we would be able to walk the whole city or ride our bikes all around.  We'd initially scheduled the trip for this coming weekend, but Dave has to travel for work on Sunday and as I tried to find another weekend to go, it seemed the best price on the hotel we wanted during the summer would be to go right away. So we did.

We left work on Friday and drove up to Maine, checking into the Residence Inn Marriott on Fore Street.  We booked a Brew with a View package, which included a bucket of beers and other swag from Shipyard Brewing Company just next door to the hotel.  And when we checked in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a suite on the top floor with a view of the harbor.  Not bad.

We settled in, cleaned up and then headed off to dinner at David's Restaurant, which had some pretty good reviews on OpenTable and a nice menu.  The night was cool, but summery and there were people walking about, but very little vehicle traffic, typical of the city--or at least the Old Port and Theatre District areas.  The restaurant was at Monument Square and there were street performers entertaining quite a large crowd when we got to the square.  The restaurant was very busy but we got seated at a table at the bar right away thanks to my making a reservation as Dave pulled off the highway.

We ordered drinks (a lovely Manhattan for me and a gin drink for Dave) and settled into the menu.  The dishes all sounded great and there was a good variety from pizza to entrees. Dave opted for the clam chowder with bacon (because it had bacon) and the open-faced lobster ravioli, which ended up coming with shrimp and scallops in a bisque-like sauce.  I ordered the garden salad and the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy.  Everything was delicious.  The presentation was lovely, our waitress was very sweet and it was definitely the perfect way to start our weekend.  We finished by splitting a piece of snickers cheesecake and headed back to the hotel.

We thought about stopping into a bar on the way back, but instead decided to head to the hotel lounge which was featuring happy hour.  Dave ordered a beer and I got a cocktail and we sat in the lovely plush chairs making our plan for the next day.

Not that it mattered what we planned since we woke up to rain.  No biking for us.  After breakfast from the hotel buffet, we took a walk to the Eastern Promenade, just to take a look out at the ocean.  The rain was pretty steady and the wind was pretty awful.  But it was a decent walk.  And along the way, we made a friend.

After our walk, we went to Maine Mead Works where they make Honeymaker Mead.  I'd never had mead before, but Dave had (much to his chagrin).  But we like these kinds of tours, and neither of us really knew anything about mead, and they were offering a tasting so why not.  We walked in and were greeted by Ron, who I think is the owner.  He gave us a tour (just the two of us, which was kind of cool) and told us all about how they make mead, how they are growing, and how they get the different flavors.  It was all very cool and unique.  Very "microbrew" is concept, but totally scalable, it was very interesting to talk to the business owner on one of these tours.  We ended with a tasting, and two other couples ended up coming in to join as well.

Let me talk about the tasting: this was cool.  Like I said, I'd never had it before, but I really liked the honey flavor that defines this mead.  It's crisp and slightly sweet, but not like a sweet wine.  And there's still a slight element of it being a cousin to beer.  Dave and I both really liked the Blueberry, so we bought a bottle and are looking forward to having it at home.

After the mead tasting (and being a bit tipsy), we went to lunch at Duckfat, which may be the actual reason we chose to go to Portland at all.  Several years ago we saw this restaurant featured on Phantom Gourmet and they positively raved about the fries, which are cooked in--can you guess?--duck fat. Those fries totally lived up to the hype.  They were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, perfectly seasoned and just pure joy.  We ordered the Truffle Ketchup and the Sweet and Spicy Mustard Mayo. The ketchup was good but completely took away from the flavor of the fries, while the mustard mayo was a really nice compliment.  Dave ordered their Spicy Italian panini and I went with the special BBQ Beef Brisket panani.  We were both utterly satisfied at having braved the rainy weather to venture to this restaurant.  It was busy and we sat at the bar, but the staff were friendly and very much on top of things.  We'll absolutely be headed back there.

The completely nondescript front door of Duckfat, which has no sign, just a little lettering on the door.

After lunch, we visited Shipyard Brewing Company for a video tour (a little history of the brewery), a peek at their bottling line (the largest in Maine) and a bit of a tasting, both of the beers and Captain Eli's soda, which they also make and sell.  It was a big crowd for the tour, including a bachelor party and a bachelorette party (not related).  The best part was noticing that the guys with the bachelor party insisted the groom wear a hot pink sash with the title "It's all about me."  I can only imagine the ruckus caused by that conversation in the morning.  Although I also enjoyed that the tour started in a room filled with church pews and awards the brewing company has won.

The beer was very good; I'd never had it before (Dave had one of the bottles left in our room the night before), but I liked it.  And apparently their pumpkin beer (Pumpkinhead) is supposed to be amazing.  Given my love of the Harpoon Pumpkin UFO, I think a taste test is in order this fall.

We headed back to our room to digest (or sober up, we'd had a bit of alcohol from the tastings and it wasn't even happy hour yet) and watched movies.  We scoured menus, maps and brochures trying to pick a place for dinner.  Dave settled on Gilbert's Chowder House based on their award winning chowders and the fact that he was pretty sure it was a complete dive (not quite complete, but close). 

We braved the rain one more time, but I must admit, we lost this battle.  Gilbert's is on the last street perpendicular to the wharfs, so between the driving rain (it was pouring at this point) and the wind, we never stood a chance.  Rain coats and umbrellas were only good for keeping our heads dry  Walking to the restaurant, the rain drove right into our left sides, drenching us completely from the waste down.  We settled into our dinners (fried shrimp for Dave and a grilled chicken salad for me), enjoyed our beers, and drip-dried (somewhat) at our table that was luckily placed near the heater.  Besides being wet and rainy, the weather was also quite chilly, never getting out of the mid-fifties and probably dipping into the forties with the wind chill.  Luckily we emerged to a slightly lighter rain so that our right side didn't bear the wet brutality that we endured getting to our dinner.

Back in our room, cozy and dry, we called it a night, despite desperately wanting to go get dessert or even just get a drink somewhere.  But we'd pretty much had our fill of walking in the rain (and didn't have any dry pants other than pajamas).

Sunday was still rainy, but less intense.  After breakfast, we packed up and checked out.  Instead of leaving right away, we drove down to the other end of Fore Street and hoped to find some shops open.  We found Cool as a Moose which is a fun and funky gift shop with moose and Maine related paraphernalia among other amusing goods.  We poked around for a while and then bought a couple fun T-shirts for Dave, a pair of moose pajama pants for me and a baby gift for a friend.  By the time we were done browsing and shopping, East End Cupcakes was open.  So we stopped in for the dessert we didn't get the night before: a Funfetti Cupcake for Dave and a Salted Carmel Dark Chocolate Cupcake for me.  We didn't eat them until we go home, but I think we were both a little disappointed.  The frosting was pretty good (although I tasted mostly caramel until my last bite which was full of salt) but the cake was a little dry.  Pretty little desserts, but we'll likely try another bakery next time we visit.

We headed out of Portland but decided to stop in Kittery, Maine, for some outlet shopping.  We found a few things (well, found a few things that I wasn't looking for; Dave did not find anything that he was looking for) and then searched for a place for a late lunch.  We found Warren's Lobster House which sits right on the water.  We were surprised for how busy, but luckily were seated right away and had a booth overlooking the water.  Warren's has a pretty extensive salad bar with lots of goodies, so I enjoyed that with my chicken, while Dave added crab cakes and fried clams . 

We had a lovely lunch, watched the weird little birds trying to catch fish (some sort of gull or cousin of a seagull, but way smaller than you'd expect) and tried to transition from vacation mode.  For a last minute trip, and in spite of the terrible weather, we had a really great weekend.  The only thing we didn't get to do was ride our bikes, which just means we have to go back again.  Luckily it's only a 2 hour drive, so I think I convince Dave to go back.  Especially if I promise to stuff him full of seafood again.

Weekend Trip to Maine

Last weekend, our friends Felise and Nick invited us to join them at a friend's condo in Bridgton, Maine.  Since Panda was at her new home, we took advantage of the late season ski conditions, packed up our gear and headed out.

Nick grew up with family friends who bought a condo right across the street from Shawnee Peak, a downhill ski area.  Erica, one of the children in that family, was going up and invited Nick, Felise and any of their friends to come up.  We picked them up on Friday night and drove up to Maine in the rain and fog to meet Erica at the condo.

The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and were expecting temperatures in the mid-40s.  Erica and Nick got ready for downhill skiing at Shawnee Peak, while Dave prepared to snowboard.  Apparently the mountain was doing a theme day to encourage people to go skiing, so Saturday was "Retro Day."  Since Erica's family had the condo since the early 90s, she found the perfect outfit: a hot pink snowsuit, complete with shoulder pads, cinched belt and matching sweater.  Very hot.

Unfortunately, Erica was the only non-employee who was dressed and she still didn't get an actual prize.  Apparently the contest was rigged (employees voting for other employees), but the manager felt bad enough that he ran into the ski shop and got Erica a fleece scarf and glove set.  At least she got something out of it.

Like me, Felise doesn't downhill either.  So we went cross country skiing at a nearby apple orchard, Five Fields Orchard.  It was very cute and unlike any cross country trails I've been on, in a lot of ways.  First, the guy running the place (we didn't catch his name, so we called him Al) was busily painting and wood-working the trail signs in the hut when we arrived and was covered in sawdust.  He was really nice and showed us the trail map, making suggestions, and reminding us that since all the signs were in the hut, there wouldn't be much signage on the trails.  Al asked us to sign in, took our ten bucks and offered us free bottled water.  Then we went out on our merry way.

From the top of the hill at the hut.

The orchard is beautiful and sits on the top of a hill.  There is even a cemetery in the orchard (this became a reference point for us), so eclectic might begin to describe the place.  Unfortunately, the orchard isn't contained to just the top of the hill, and in order to get to the long trails, we had to go down.  A lot.  These hills were pretty steep.  Add to that, the rainy conditions from Friday made the snow very very fast.

One of the reasons I don't do downhill is because I don't like the speed nor do I feel like I have much control.   I could not stop no matter how hard I tried.  I had warned Felise of my propensity for falling, but this was a little excessive.  We had gone west across the orchard, and then started down the hill.  It was much steeper than I thought, so I tried, desperately, to turn and head back across the orchard to the east.  And I fell.  And then I was trying to get back up, but since my skis were still pointed down the hill, I couldn't and fell again.  Eventually, after several failed attempts, I got up and we trekked back to the other side, hoping for less downhill action.  It was better, but I still fell a few times.  The best however, was when I managed to fall on my butt and not my face, but still slid down the hill for a good 10 feet.  It was awesome.

Finally in the ravine, we managed to be successful and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Since it was sunny, the snow glistened and since it was late in the season, there was no one around.  In fact, it wasn't until we were close to being finished that we saw another skier.  We definitely enjoyed a peaceful and serene workout, even if getting back up the hills were killer.

Crossing the stream.  That's Felise way ahead of me.

We headed back and reported the conditions to Al.  He offered us suggestions for lunch and then I asked him, since he didn't give us trail pass tags for our coats, if we could come back later.  He said sure, we had the whole day, no problem.  I think that's when Felise noticed the sign on the porch that said, "If no one's here, just put your fee in the bucket and enjoy the trail."  Nothing like the honors system.  I figure, the skiing thing was just something this guy did to take advantage of his orchard being covered in snow.

We met Erica, Nick and Dave at the condo for lunch and then decided to head back out to the trails while they hit the slopes again.  It started to cloud up in the afternoon, but I was much more competent.   I actually only fell once and that was because I couldn't make the turn I wanted to and it was either fall or hit a tree.  I decided against choosing the tree.

I did however, manage to lose my pole randomly.  We were cruising along and I pulled up my right arm only to discover my hand was empty.  And I had a hard time stopping because I was going at a pretty good skate and was laughing pretty hard.  Once I finally stopped and regained composure, I looked back and there it was, sticking up in the ground.  Clearly the snow was much stickier this time around.  Or I didn't pull my strap tight enough.

Way back there in the middle of the trail is my pole.

Eventually we met back a the condo again.  We decided to go to Moat Mountain Smokehouse for dinner in North Conway, New Hampshire.  I'll admit, it was kinda cool going to Maine for the weekend, but then going to another state for dinner.  Only in New England.  That and it was 25 minutes away. 

Dave and I have been to North Conway a couple of times for winter trips and the last time we were there, we found this restaurant. It's awesome.  They do barbecue, pizza, burgers, and all kinds of yummy stuff, plus they have their own beer.  I suggested it and Erica was so excited because she hadn't been there in a while.  Felise and Nick had never been and it turned out to be a great choice.  The food was great and a perfect follow up to a long day of skiing.

For an impromptu vacation weekend, this was definitely a good one.  We had a leisurely Sunday, cleaned up and headed back home.  I'm glad we got out skiing again too, because it would have been a shame not to take advantage of the snowy winter we've had. 

Oh, and when we got home, Dave swears he saw a mouse cross the drive way and jump into the house were the siding meets the foundation.  C'mon, you'd have been disappointed if that saga had ended.

Boothbay Mini-Moon, Part 2

I rescued my pictures from my camera! Now I can actually show you what we did and where we were all weekend.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday and Sunday. Perfect blue skies with just little poofs of clouds here and there, lots of sun, and although it was windy and I was chilly, the 60 degree temps in Maine in April were a welcome surprise.

This is the Welch House where we stayed. Here's a view from the roof deck:

And here's from the window of our room (The Captain's Lady):

Saturday morning after our yummy (and my adventurous) breakfast, we took a walk down the hill into town to watch the morning's Fisherman's Festival activities. We'd missed the Cod Relays (yup--dressed up in fisherman regalia tossing giant fish at each other) but were able to get to the dock for Trap Hauling Contest. In this event, contestants ran down the dock, untied their boats and jumped in. The Skipper hauled that sucker out into the harbor where the contestants raced to find, bait and drop a few lobster traps and then haul ass back to the dock, tie up and run back up the dock. Fastest time wins. Our view wasn't great--we were on the next dock over and two boats were in between us--but we got the vibe. Especially when those lobster boats came full speed into the docks and the wake shook us around a little bit.

I didn't have sweatshirt with me and was getting a little cold, so we decided to walk back up the hill to the inn. We spent some time on the roof deck relaxing, reading and listening to more of the festivities. After a little while, we decided to walk around town again since there were a few other goings on. We did a little shopping, stopped by the craft fair and watched the crowd around the docks some more. Then we decided to take a drive. Stopping by the market, we grabbed some lunch, got some beverages and drove out of town to Ocean Point, a rocky coast on the opposite side of the harbor.

We ate our lunch and hiked along the rocks. It was windy, but really pretty and D took some great pictures. These shots are his--I was using our little point and click camera and it was so sunny, I couldn't even see the screen to know what I was taking a picture of. A photographer I am not.

We came back to town and took another walk around, this time stopping at Orne's Candy Store. This place is awesome. Everything is handmade and they've been in business for 125 years. We thoughtfully chose our favorites (I definitely bought two peanut butter cups because I certainly wasn't sharing one with D) and walked toward the shipyard. Supposedly there was to be a tour of a big sailboat and D was looking forward to it. However, when we got to the shipyard, not only was there no people around, there was no sailboat. Anywhere. Not even a little one. We suspect the boat just never made it. A bit of a bummer for D, but I was ok. I had chocolates.

Later that evening, we finally decided to go to dinner at Robinson's Wharf, a cute pub-style restaurant with seating on the dock (in the warmer weather) and a pub upstairs with a deck and live music. We stayed downstairs and grabbed a seat at the window so we could look out at the water (until it got too dark and all we saw were our reflections). I stopped being adventurous and ordered a burger and fried, but D was in his glory trying the lobster BLT. He described it as a lobster roll topped with a BLT sandwich for garnish. And he was very excited to have gotten two primary vacation food groups in one meal--lobster and bacon.

(See, I told you I wasn't an photographer.)

The next morning we awoke to another wonderful breakfast. This time is was blueberry pancakes the size of the plate and sausage, with good old fashioned New England maple syrup. They were fantastic, as expected. After, we took a brief walk around town, stopping to take some pictures. We walked down to the pier and I remembered that next time we visit Boothbay, it has to be during whale-watching season since they do great whale-sighting cruises out of the harbor. I'm sure my niece will give me a hard time though because she's wanted to come visit for years ever since she learned that I live somewhere close to where she can see whales.

We walked out on the dock and I actually did take one cool shot, so maybe I'm not that bad a photographer after all.

And then I had to share this one. It's a really big shop specializing in magical-dragon-fairy-rainbow stuff. It's hilarious. This tiny little coastal Maine town described by a local as "a drinking town with a fishing problem" can actually sustain this store:

For reals.

Later, we checked out of the inn, thanked Michael for the wonderful stay and hospitality and drove to Pemaquid Point, another rocky coast--this one boasting a lighthouse from the 1800s--a little further up from Ocean Point. It was a great day for a drive and again, D got a lot of great pictures. The lighthouse wasn't open, but we walked around the grounds and hiked the rocks, enjoying the late morning.

After basking the warm sun and chilly breeze, we decided to head back. I teased D about stopping at Subway for lunch. Unamused, I offered that we stop at Red's Eats, a very popular-- and it turns out very yummy--food stand right on the corner as Route 1 goes though the town of Wiscasset.

D had crab cakes and I just got chicken tenders, but the food was yummy. And the people where great. They run a very tight ship, but a great operation. Super friendly staff. It's just a little place, so all the seating was outside and I think part of why they were so busy was the beautiful weather. Everyone was taking advantage. When we sat down, I noticed a sign that listed probably 100 publications/TV broadcasts where Red's had been mentioned or featured. It was pretty impressive and not just limited to New England. Sure the Boston Globe and Phantom Gourmet had noticed Red's, but so had newspapers in Indiana and Alabama, the Food Network and even a PBS special from Pittsburgh. Pretty impressive.

So our mini-moon was a relaxing success and of course we'll be going back to the Boothbay Harbor. I didn't make D stop in Freeport to shop on the way home, but I'm thinking next time, I might just have to do that.

Boothbay Mini-Moon, Part 1

This weekend my husband and I took our mini-moon. And it was a great weekend.

Backing up, D & I tied the knot in September, but chose not to honeymoon right away. We’d planned to go to Lake Tahoe this month, but hadn’t made plans or reservations. We just knew we wanted more time to plan it out, save a few more bucks and do it right. We wanted to do an active vacation with possibly hiking, biking, kayaking and other fun, outdoor things. Unfortunately, when D got hurt in December, that wrecked any idea of planning since we couldn’t be sure he’d be well enough for that type of excursion.

Luckily, in mid February we got a postcard in the mail from the bed and breakfast we’d stayed at the weekend we got engaged. It offered a deal we couldn’t refuse, so we made the best of the situation and took our mini-honeymoon to Maine.

We drove to Boothbay Harbor on Friday afternoon. It was cloudy and drizzled at some points, but was an otherwise ok drive. Well, except for the lunch part of things. We’d left the house at noon and decided we’d stop for sandwiches at Subway somewhere along the way. I knew there was a Subway on the highway about 30 minutes from home, but wasn’t sure which exit. When I saw the sign on the highway, it was too late for D to switch lanes, and since it was so early in the trip we figured no big deal, we’ll see another one. We continued traveling on I-495, and then eventually I-95, and ultimately I-295. And wouldn’t you know there wasn’t a damn Subway anywhere? To be honest, we had gotten to the point where we didn’t really care if it was Subway or something else, but really, we drove for hours without seeing anything suitable for lunch. Finally, we got close to Freeport, ME, and I saw a sign for a Subway, a half mile from the exit to the right(ish) (it was one of those arrows that wasn’t actually pointing in a direction you can describe—halfway between right and straight, but the street didn’t have that many options). So D went that way, but I guess we picked the wrong right(ish) road, because we ended up driving through downtown Freeport.

Now, if you’re not familiar, Freeport is your typical small Maine town, except for the fact that it is home to L.L. Bean company headquarters and its massive outlet store, around which a village of outlets sprung up. Despite this, the town is still very cute and cozy (at least the parts I saw of it)—very Maine. D did ask me if I wanted to stop anywhere, but I resisted and we actually didn’t go into any stores. (My credit score is proud of me.) We eventually came across a Friendly’s and decided that was good enough, so we parked, grabbed a bite to eat (about 3 hours after we left the house), and resumed our trip (which was less than 45 minutes). Of course, on the way back, I was able to locate about 5 Subways.

We got to Boothbay Harbor and pulled into the parking lot at the Welch House Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast with the most wonderful view of the Harbor. When we stayed a year and a half ago, our room was on the top floor, overlooking the roof deck that overlooked the Harbor. This year, our room (which was bigger) was just underneath the roof deck, but still had a great view. We checked in and got settled into our room. Then we took a quick walk down the hill for some beer, and started our vacation. We decided to unwind with a beer before figuring out where to go for dinner.

For the record, part of the reason we chose this weekend to visit Boothbay Harbor was the events planned for the weekend. The Fisherman’s Festival was taking place, which is basically a lot of hokey, fishing-related events that the locals get really excited for as one last hurrah before the busy summer tourist season kicks off. It’s sort of like the unofficial end of winter for them. So as we walked around town, we noticed a few businesses were opening for the first time for the season, while others were still closed up. And there were few people milling about on Friday night. This may be because they were all at the high school for the Miss Shrimp Pageant. Our decision to go to McSeagull’s for dinner was based in part because our deal at the inn included a $50 gift card for the restaurant and because we figured the locals would swamp the place after Saturday’s festival events.

We wandered down to McSeagull’s which is a good sized pub and restaurant catering to the beer drinking public specializing in local favorites—any kind of seafood, especially lobster. They had a live band that night and we got a seat right on the water (the restaurant is on a pier). The food was great. We ordered drinks and nachos; I had a pulled pork sandwich and D had “popcorn lobster” because he’d never had it before and was curious. For those of you who want to know, I renamed the dish lobster tenders because these suckers were huge. Big pieces of claw and knuckle meat, deep fried and served with French fries.

Now, I don’t eat seafood. I’ve tried different kinds on many different occasions, and I just can get past the fish-flavored aftertaste (yes, I know good fish doesn’t taste ‘fishy,’ but the general flavor of the ocean/seafood is too much for me) and oftentimes the texture. But I was feeling adventurous, so I asked D if I could have a bite. I tasted it, really waited for the flavors and can honestly say it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had. It was, in fact, the best fresh seafood I’ve ever had. But I didn’t really like it. (D gave me points for trying, though.)

Saturday morning we woke up and were anxiously looking forward to our breakfast. The Welch House is known for two things—the gorgeous view of the water and their a-MAZE-ing breakfasts. They start with a wonderful spread of fresh fruits, pastries (Saturday was cranberry muffins), cereal, yogurt and their homemade granola that is so good and different. D and I call this spread the breakfast appetizers. As we sat on the deck enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warm weather, Michael, the husband part of the husband and wife owners, came over to offer us the day’s breakfast—quiche with crabmeat. Still feeling adventurous, I decided to give it a try. We joked with Michael that I didn’t have to finish it, but it was worth tasting.

Michael brought out our dishes and I must admit it looked very pretty with a little baby green garnish and finely chopped crabmeat you could barely tell it was in there. I took a bite and did ok, but noticed the seafood undertones much sooner than in the lobster tenders from the night before. But I couldn’t decide if I didn’t like it. So, yes, I had another bite. Ultimately, I decided it really wasn’t my thing, but I was proud of myself for testing the waters since that’s something I don’t normally do. I guess that’s part of growing up—I supposed that since I’m 30 I ought to at least try things I’m not sure about before I turn my nose up at them.

D was proud of me too, but I think he was also happy I didn’t eat my breakfast. Michael came over to check on us and asked if I was going to finished it or let D eat it. I told him it was ok, but I was going to give it to D. He thanked me for trying and D definitely finished every bite.

There’s definitely more to the story, but I think the Festival activities deserve their own post. And I have pictures that are currently being held captive by the camera, so I’ll stop here.