Portland, Maine

 

“There’s a quality of life in Maine which is this singular and unique. I think. It’s absolutely a world onto itself.”

Jamie Wyeth

On our last three cruises, we went to Portland three times. We were glad since we really liked this lovely city and enjoyed it. On our first trip to this city in September, we entered the harbor and it was extremely foggy where you could barely see the city.

On our first trip to Portland, we got off the ship and walked along the bay. It was very overcast and foggy. Portland has a two foot narrow gauge railroad train that you can schedule to take you around a three mile round trip that takes about 40 minutes. It offers great views of Casco Bay and hear about some unique railroading lore. Walking down the main street, we noticed many homeless right in downtown. So sad. We walked around and did some window shopping.

Our friend, Tracy recommended the Portland Lobster Company as a great restaurant to get clam chowder and lobster rolls. We walked in and got a table right near the water. It was very comfortable sitting outside as it was about 75 degrees. Our lunch was very good and while we were eating, we enjoyed looking at the fishing boats on the water and watching the birds.

After lunch, we headed back to the port where we were to meet up with our excursion for the day. We chose Portland by Land and Sea which was an excursion offered through Royal Caribbean. Our guide lead us to the dock where the schooner was located. This schooner was 92 years old and had two large masts. We climbed on and shortly after we took off. They hoisted up the three sails and we sailed out in the harbor. Watching the crew climb up and down on the mast was amazing to watch. We sailed passed Peaks Island which has nice homes where people live all year. Many of the islands in the area are only used for summer residents. Then we headed to Portland Head Lighthouse, a historic lighthouse. It was gorgeous even in weather that wasn’t ideal. Sailing out towards the lighthouse, we got to see seals playing in the water. On the way back in, we passed Gorges Island which is a two acre fort. It was built during the Civil War from 1858 to 1864. No battles were fought there. It is now a park that is only accessible by boat. Near the cruise ship was a huge yacht that was owned by the man who invented Avatar. This yacht has 80 rooms on board.

After docking we headed to our tour bus to continue the excursion. We drove through the town of Portland and then headed to see the picturesque Portland Head Lighthouse on the shores of Fort Williams Park, a 90 acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She stands proudly on the rocks and is just stunning to see even in the rain. It was first lit on January 10, 1791. This lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in Maine and was automated in 1989. By then the weather was coming in but still gave us time to walk around and take some pictures. was in the same park.  Battery Blair was built from 1901 to 1903 and then deactivated in 1943. It was manned during WWI and the early years of WWII.  It was equipped with two breechloading rifles that each fired a 12 inch in diameter, 1070 pound shell up to eight miles.  The gun was last tested the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor and resulted in severe structural damage to the battery. It was a nice tour.

On our next stop to Portland about a month later, we decided to walk the town. We got off the ship later after having a nice breakfast onboard. When we got off the ship, we started by walking around the town and then headed up hill. We stopped at Union Hotels Coffee Shop and got a hot tea and Joe tried a Mast Landing Gunners Daughter Beer. He said it was one the best beers he ever had. Then we headed towards the Portland Observatory in town. When we arrived there, we discovered it was closed for the year. This is a historic maritime signal tower on Congress Street that was built in 1807 to serve as a communication station for Portland Harbor. It is the only surviving tower of its kind in the United States. The views must be great from the top. We passed Eastern Cemetery which was established in 1668.  This is the oldest historic landscape in the city and has interred about 4,000 marked graves. We walked down Congress Street a little further and grabbed a slice of pizza from a small corner store and sat outside at a picnic table. The pizza was great and it seemed as if all the locals were stopping there.

Our next stop was Harbor View Memorial Park and Fort Allen Park. There were gorgeous huge homes across from the park overlooking the bay. This park was busy with lots of people walking their dogs and enjoying the park. We headed back towards the ship and found J’s Oyster House and had a late lunch. It was a small restaurant but the clam chowder was great and Joe ordered the oysters and said they were very good. We enjoyed our day in Portland.

On our third visit to Portland, we had to do immigration before getting off the ship. That took quite a while so we were unable to get off the ship till 10:30. We had talked with another couple on the ship who said to go to Gerald’s for the best clam chowder in Portland. So we went there and got there just before it opened and there was all really a line. We got in and got a great server. We ordered their twin lobster meal and got clam chowder to share. Everything was perfect. Then we walked through an amazing seafood market. 

After that we walked around some. We stopped and got a potato donut which was delicious and one of Portland's specialties. It was cold today so we didn’t walk as much. We stopped at brewery that had a fire going and was warm. It was great sitting inside and relaxing before going back to the ship.

We enjoyed Portland and the people we met. It is a nice city.

Till next time. Bye for now.