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Travel Bloggers

Ali
Katie

Portland, Maine, USA

A part of me thinks life is unfair. Cruising up the Atlantic-coastal Routes 1 and 9 from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, heading to the picturesque Portland, Maine in the visually stunning New England area, and I’m driving a Mercury Grand Marquis that’s the same color as me - gray and whatever the color of a tonsillitis-infected throat is.

But then I remember where I am and once again, Ali has me believing the skies will be blue again, and my antibiotics will surely do their job if I give them a bit of time. And it would help if I made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since she was driving. I’m not sure how she intended for that to help me, but it made me laugh and that is supposedly the best medicine.

To avoid the crazy tollbooths (where you pay a fee to keep driving on a highway), and to take in a more scenic view, Ali and I took Highway 1, which directed us closer to the coast and through charming lesser-known towns such as Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. We stopped at a couple spots along the highway to take pictures of the ocean when we caught our first glimpse of the Atlantic on our trip, and twenty minutes later, we saw the sign for Portland and were excited to enjoy our first course of our Maine deluxe meal.

After a quick driving tour of downtown Portland and a few calls to local hotels, we came across the Extended Stay America in Scarborough, a little town southwest of downtown. It was less expensive, had nice, clean rooms, and is only a ten minute drive to the heart of the downtown region. We actually looked for a place more centrally located, but were only able to find the Hilton, and The St. John’s Inn (one is out of our price range, and one was in a less than desirable area of town, from what we gathered). Choosing a hotel just a few miles from the heart of town can often save you up to $100 per night. If you don’t mind the extra few minutes driving, then you can do what we do, and spend the money on more fun things, like a nice dinner, a silly touristy souvenir, or an extra few gallons in the gas tank.

We settled in, made use of the kitchenette to heat up some dinner (Boca burgers, fries, and a salad), and freshened up for our evening stroll. We arrived back in Portland at nighttime with high expectations. Not only did we hear great things about the town, we both have read them too, going as far as adorning our Frommer’s East Coast book with post-its and highlighting to pinpoint where we wanted to go. So here’s the TGTG opinion of Portland: through the foggy mist, there is a superb town beyond. We parked our hearse, AKA The Grand Marquis, near the Portland harbor on the east edge of town and though brokenhearted as we were, we left our dear vehicle behind and walked (sense any sarcasm readers?).

Our “go with our gut” approach to viewing the town paid off and we enjoyed good, but silly conversation while looking into the windows of anything that caught our eyes or tickled our ears. It was quiet, even for a Sunday, but Ali and I felt comfortable and serene as we continued up and down the side streets and into territory yet unexplored. One thing we’ve both noticed is how safe we have felt on the streets of Maine, a very pleasant surprise.

The uneven brick laid streets are lined with the usual “downtown” clichés such as unique or trendy bars every ten feet and souvenir and trinket shops every five, although most were closed (the shops, not the bars) by the time we arrived at 9:00pm. The variety of bars and restaurants there within a few blocks was incredible - Italian, Mexican, Irish Pubs, several beer breweries, sports bars, and of course, about a million different spots claiming their seafood is the “world’s best.” Those decisions will be up to you, for it would be impossible to give a review of all of them! We decided to save our Lobster Splurge for Rockland, Maine since they have the title of “Lobster Capital of the World.”

We wandered aimlessly for an hour before heading back to our hotel, and decided we could understand why people could live in this town. As for us, we went to bed that night not knowing where we were going to point ourselves in the morning. Isn’t that the wonderful thing about going to places you’ve never been? The decision to be indecisive, the adventure of being spontaneous, and the love of traveling with a great friend in a new place. It makes us both want to get up and do it all over again in the morning.