Courtyard By Marriott Portland Airport South Portland

... Horton’s, Wendy’s, MacDonalds, etc

· The highway signs in Massachusetts are displayed on a sign resembling a Pilgrim hat.

Things we Learned:

· All service centers have an elaborate fire suppression system built above the pumps. If a fire did start, the area would be immediately covered in foam. Ingenious!


Portland, Maine, United States jimcabay

... Horton’s, Wendy’s, MacDonalds, etc

· The highway signs in Massachusetts are displayed on a sign resembling a Pilgrim hat.

Things we Learned:

· All service centers have an elaborate fire suppression system built above the pumps. If a fire did start, the area would be immediately covered in foam. Ingenious!


Portland, Maine, United States jimcabay

Ni hao! (Hello in Chinese...pronounced "knee how")

We are now one week away from our departure and realizing that next week at this time we will be in the air over the Pacific and headed to China! The accumulating of stuff is coming to an end and the real packing is beginning. The girls love the whole packing thing...their mother...not so much. Excitement is in the air as the count down begins.

We are looking forward to ...

... a ride on an authentic old time train around the city's harbor and see many of the extraordinary sites that have stood for decades.
Most of the city is compact and perfectly walkable. There is so much to see and do that you will never feel bored or disappointed. One thing for sure, you definitely will not go hungry or run out of places to shop! The Old Port District is the historic side of Portland, and it is a wonderful area reminiscent of America's humble beginnings.

... the ocean to visit Old Orchard Beach. The beach could be mistaken for any beach in Hawaii except that the water is freezing. The beach was beautiful but the actual town was Coney Island like with carnival rides and lots and lots of tacky tourist shops. We continued on to Wells along the coast passing many beautiful homes and beaches.

The sun was shining brightly the next day so we decided to go to Kennebunkport. It soon became ...

... silverware, not plastic like Bar Harbor! It was yummy!

Tomorrow it is down the coast to Boston, and our favorite restaurant, Durgin Park. If you haven't been there, Google it. It has been there since Columbus discovered Boston, and the list of celebrities that have eaten there covers the walls. It is no-frills and long picnic tables with butcher paper. It's kinda like Dick's last resort with history!

Be good to each other and stay dry.

... just as well, as the welcoming sign on entering New Hampshire, carries the tag-line, "Live free or die." I see what they're trying to say, I think, but there are maybe other ways of saying it. I'm still alive so I must have been living free enough for the people of that particular state. Anyway, it all makes a nice change from my usual 9-5 desk job.

So aside from lots of driving ...

... in cold snow for the majority of the year i'd consider moving there.

for lunch we sailed up to a seafood restaurant called Cook's. we had a slight buoy mishap, that sent me running around the small bay to save the buoy but it was also the first exercise i'd had in days so that was good.

lunch at Cook's was a-w-e-s-o-m-e. we had steam-ahs and fresh maine lobstah in maine. simple boiled lobstah. it was awesome.

... to share was more than enough to stuff us silly. We sat and ate them in big wooden chairs next to the camp fire that was burning away in an attempt to stave off the chill of the autumn morning.

As the site is really nice and well cared for, even at this late stage of the season, we had decided to stay for another night and so waddled across to reception to book in. Then we waddled to the phone to call ...

Okay! This place is pretty cool. Their logo, painted boldly in big script on the back wall of the half of the diner we are led into, is "Where the Elite Meet to Eat!" Of course, the crowd is a wide mix of demographics, so one can conclude that it is a very democratic elite. Clean and bright. Reasonably responsive wait staff, all young highschoolers, it looks like. There is a small tremor of unease when our waitress ...