Weekend Trip Alert!
Let me start off by saying- no shots to Maine, but it wasn't on my list of must go places in the US. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Portland, and I've heard nothing but great things about Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, so now I might even go back! Look at me, becoming a fan of Maine! My trip to Portland was brought on by work, and not wanting to return home after just a day or two, my husband flew up to Portland and we decided to stay the weekend and explore! We picked a great weekend- the weather was beautiful- not too hot and not too cold, and we stayed at the Hampton Inn Old Port which was a great location- walking distance to everything in Portland. Since it was just a weekend, we did not get a rental car, and explored Portland on foot.
June 6: Joe didn't get in until that night, so I took a long run on the Eastern Promenade/Back Cove Trail - it was flat and pretty and I'd highly recommend it for you runners. I did some shopping at the little boutiques by the water in town, read a book outside on some rocks along the marina, and when Joe arrived we had dinner at Fore Street which was a 5min walk from our hotel. We ate at the bar since I couldn't get a reservation, but it worked out great and their food and drinks were delicious.
June 7: Big day in Portland- we did it all! Another run to start the day after our Hampton inn breakfast, lunch at Portland Lobster Co (couldn't go to Maine without getting lobster on the water right?) I have to mention though- you hear about lobster being cheap in Maine? I have come to the conclusion, it may be cheapER, but it's never going to be cheap. I've accepted this fact and I'm fine with it. After our big lobster lunch we rented bikes and rode over the bridge to South Portland - which is way more residential and feels like Cape Cod. We biked to all 3 lighthouses - Bud Light, Fort Williams park, and Two Lights State Park. Pretty easy ride, only a few parts where we had to ride on the road with traffic but not bad. After our day of biking both parts of Portland- we had dinner at Scales which was outstanding. Again, we rolled up and tried to get seats at the bar, but a table became available pretty quickly and we were able to dine by the big bay windows overlooking the marina. Portland has got some really good restaurants let me tell you- even coming from the city I was impressed how good all the food and drinks were. However, none of it was cheap, we were paying city prices for sure, totally worth it though! After dinner we checked out Old Port drinking scene. It was kind of a shit show, which was fun for a minute but got old quick as more and more bachelorette parties took over. After a couple, we headed back to the hotel.
June 8: Such a quick trip! I think we conquered Portland though. From the Hampton it was only a 15min ride to the airport, and they provided a free shuttle.
Cost Breakdown of trip (excluding flights per person):
Hampton inn hotel for 2 nights: $600
Food/Drinks: $200
Bike rental: $20
Taxi for Joe from airport to hotel: $20