darthmacho
08-19-2008, 11:47 AM
Day three began with the typical scramble for breakfast, though we needed to be at Long Wharf in Portland by 9:30 to catch our boat for what I hoped would be the highlight of the trip, our whale watch cruise. One look out the window and I was filled with dread by the heavy downpour. I called the WW place and they said the rain was going to clear up and that the seas were otherwise calm and that so long as 25 people showed up, they'd go out without a hitch. They just recommended that we bring a raincoat.
Driving to Portland in the heavy rain was discouraging enough, but the complete lack of traffic and deserted Portland streets gave me further pause. After finding a place to park, and the family dressed in ponchos, I got a brief feeling of hope seeing the WW ticket window open and a nice sized group in raincoats was lined up on the dock. Reality sunk in when I was informed that they got too many cancels and that we were the only ones to show up. Their story was confirmed when I turned and saw the line of people boarding another boat.
I was completely bummed out.
Determined not to let this bother me, we quickly turned a negative to a positive by jumping on a trolley and going on a tour of the city. The tour was great, if only dampened slightly by the rain, and it took us to Portland Headlight, a lighthouse claiming to be the most photographed in the entire world. It was supposed to be another one of the vacation's high points, and while I was thrilled to visit it, and I loved being there, we only had about 15 minutes to spend there before getting back on the trolley tour, and the wind and rain were still a nuisance, I was hoping to make it back to visit the gift shop, museum, and maybe get a few sunnier pictures, but alas we never made it.
I will go visit that lighthouse again some day.
Back on the trolley tour we learned a lot about Portland. It is a fascinating city and like much of New England, is steeping in history. I won't go over it all here, but one of the most interesting things about Portland is that it has literally burned down several times and earned the nickname the "Phoenix" because it has risen so successfully from the ashes each time.
Portland is also an up and coming place to visit with lots of nightlife. When we returned from the trolley trip, we could see that the shops and boutiques in Old Port were getting busier as the streets were coming alive. It was just before noon, so we decided to get lunch at nearby Portland Lobster Co. a cute little dockside restaurant with outdoor seating that was partially covered and heated, though we decided to stay inside.
Having gorged on lobster rolls the previous day, I decided to have a **** wrap instead. That was a mistake. When you're in a place called Portland Lobster Co., one really should just order the lobster roll. i was obviously swayed by the promise of avacado and the cute name of the crab (peekytoe) and was deceived. The crab was actually delicious, but the near absence of avacado made me wonder if they forgot to put it in.
Mistake aside, my third local brew, the Sea Dog Blue Paw Ale (it was blueberry flavored) was delicious and complimented the crabmeat, even minus avacado. DW had a delicious lobster stew and the kids had typical kid fare.
It was still early, so we looked over the map of Portland for something to do. We decided on the Children's Museum, which seemed like the perfect thing to do on a rainy day. Unfortunately, every other parent felt the same way because the place was MOBBED! After hiking several blocks, uphill, in the rain, we encountered a tightly packed three floors of cramped kiddie style play areas, and apparently all of the body heat was adding to the humidity, and their lack of AC made me nearly boil over in the long sleeved shirt I brought to keep me warm on the boat.
Don't get me wrong, the place was a great hands on experience for the kids. I'd love to take them back on a day that wasn't so busy as they were having a great time. I just felt like the crowd dulled the enjoyment as we were jostled around trying to get by people, and each experience had to be cut short by the "let the other kids have a turn honey" and the "just wait your turn" speeches we had to keep repeating. Nevertheless, the kids seemed to have a great time anyway, were very polite, patient, and respectful, and I was proud that they acted much more civilized than most of the other parents and children.
We let them play for about two hours, hit the gift shop, and got out of dodge. We hiked back down hill to the waterfront to browse in a few shops. Poor DD2 was getting pretty tired and could have used a nap, but we didn't want to cut the trip short and instead tooked them for ice cream, which gave her a boost of energy as we shopped a little. The poor little thing pooped out quickly in the shops, so we decided to take a Duck Tour, which like the famous Boston tours is a land/sea adventure through the city. The key was that it was seated, and our nap suspicions were confirmed when DD2fell asleep in my arms and snoozed through nearly the entire tour. While I wish she could have been awake for the part on the water, i let her get the much needed rest. There was much overlap to the tour, though instead of going to the lighthouse, we went right out onto the water for some gorgeous views of the Portland skyline.
Upon getting back we finished our shopping and decided to get dinner. We ate at a nice place down by the docks, and to my surprise, I passed on the lobster again and got a plate of steamers. They were delicious. After supper we got "bubble tea" at a tea shop, which was very strange. I'll explain that another time.
It was starting to get dark when we headed back to the hotel.
Despite the disappointments, I though it was a great day, and I fell like we only scratched the surface of Portland, Maine. It's a place I most certainly want to return to and explore!
¡Viva Darth Macho!
Driving to Portland in the heavy rain was discouraging enough, but the complete lack of traffic and deserted Portland streets gave me further pause. After finding a place to park, and the family dressed in ponchos, I got a brief feeling of hope seeing the WW ticket window open and a nice sized group in raincoats was lined up on the dock. Reality sunk in when I was informed that they got too many cancels and that we were the only ones to show up. Their story was confirmed when I turned and saw the line of people boarding another boat.
I was completely bummed out.
Determined not to let this bother me, we quickly turned a negative to a positive by jumping on a trolley and going on a tour of the city. The tour was great, if only dampened slightly by the rain, and it took us to Portland Headlight, a lighthouse claiming to be the most photographed in the entire world. It was supposed to be another one of the vacation's high points, and while I was thrilled to visit it, and I loved being there, we only had about 15 minutes to spend there before getting back on the trolley tour, and the wind and rain were still a nuisance, I was hoping to make it back to visit the gift shop, museum, and maybe get a few sunnier pictures, but alas we never made it.
I will go visit that lighthouse again some day.
Back on the trolley tour we learned a lot about Portland. It is a fascinating city and like much of New England, is steeping in history. I won't go over it all here, but one of the most interesting things about Portland is that it has literally burned down several times and earned the nickname the "Phoenix" because it has risen so successfully from the ashes each time.
Portland is also an up and coming place to visit with lots of nightlife. When we returned from the trolley trip, we could see that the shops and boutiques in Old Port were getting busier as the streets were coming alive. It was just before noon, so we decided to get lunch at nearby Portland Lobster Co. a cute little dockside restaurant with outdoor seating that was partially covered and heated, though we decided to stay inside.
Having gorged on lobster rolls the previous day, I decided to have a **** wrap instead. That was a mistake. When you're in a place called Portland Lobster Co., one really should just order the lobster roll. i was obviously swayed by the promise of avacado and the cute name of the crab (peekytoe) and was deceived. The crab was actually delicious, but the near absence of avacado made me wonder if they forgot to put it in.
Mistake aside, my third local brew, the Sea Dog Blue Paw Ale (it was blueberry flavored) was delicious and complimented the crabmeat, even minus avacado. DW had a delicious lobster stew and the kids had typical kid fare.
It was still early, so we looked over the map of Portland for something to do. We decided on the Children's Museum, which seemed like the perfect thing to do on a rainy day. Unfortunately, every other parent felt the same way because the place was MOBBED! After hiking several blocks, uphill, in the rain, we encountered a tightly packed three floors of cramped kiddie style play areas, and apparently all of the body heat was adding to the humidity, and their lack of AC made me nearly boil over in the long sleeved shirt I brought to keep me warm on the boat.
Don't get me wrong, the place was a great hands on experience for the kids. I'd love to take them back on a day that wasn't so busy as they were having a great time. I just felt like the crowd dulled the enjoyment as we were jostled around trying to get by people, and each experience had to be cut short by the "let the other kids have a turn honey" and the "just wait your turn" speeches we had to keep repeating. Nevertheless, the kids seemed to have a great time anyway, were very polite, patient, and respectful, and I was proud that they acted much more civilized than most of the other parents and children.
We let them play for about two hours, hit the gift shop, and got out of dodge. We hiked back down hill to the waterfront to browse in a few shops. Poor DD2 was getting pretty tired and could have used a nap, but we didn't want to cut the trip short and instead tooked them for ice cream, which gave her a boost of energy as we shopped a little. The poor little thing pooped out quickly in the shops, so we decided to take a Duck Tour, which like the famous Boston tours is a land/sea adventure through the city. The key was that it was seated, and our nap suspicions were confirmed when DD2fell asleep in my arms and snoozed through nearly the entire tour. While I wish she could have been awake for the part on the water, i let her get the much needed rest. There was much overlap to the tour, though instead of going to the lighthouse, we went right out onto the water for some gorgeous views of the Portland skyline.
Upon getting back we finished our shopping and decided to get dinner. We ate at a nice place down by the docks, and to my surprise, I passed on the lobster again and got a plate of steamers. They were delicious. After supper we got "bubble tea" at a tea shop, which was very strange. I'll explain that another time.
It was starting to get dark when we headed back to the hotel.
Despite the disappointments, I though it was a great day, and I fell like we only scratched the surface of Portland, Maine. It's a place I most certainly want to return to and explore!
¡Viva Darth Macho!