Lobstering!

Well it was a cold, damp, rainy morning so we decided to spend it all outside!  

It started with a stroll down to a food truck that had sandwiches named "The Jeff" and "The Lesa" just like P's hubs and daughter.  Ordered coffee from a joint on the way.   Food truck was parked in a weird little alley, so no go.  Cold press with malt extract is gross, so that was a fail too.  

However, we ended up having an excellent coffee and breakfast sandwich at Hi Fi Donuts on the way to our lobstering cruise!   Sometimes the bad brings you to the good.  Just sayin'.

Lobstering was fun!   It's an easy 90 minutes out in the bay and a little bit into the ocean.  If not for the rain it would have been perfect. We emptied old and filled new bait bags, dropped pots in, and got about 6 or 7 lobsters out of the deal.  I met a young woman from Wisconsin that worked at Epic - strange coincidence that I'd meet someone in Maine who works at the same company as the nephew.  Lucky Catch Cruises is the way to go if you want to do this - super fun and chill.

Of course we then went to Portland Lobster Company, as you do, for a lobster roll and fish sammie.  Delish!  

Forecast

 57 degrees and rainy tomorrow for our lobstering excursion.  Thank god it is only 90 minutes.  😬

Eventide Oyster Co. - Bucket List

When we did our New England trip 2014 and came to Portland for two days, we walked by Eventide many times.  We always paused and thought, "Should we stop and eat here?  It's supposed to be good."

We never did, and I've had oyster regret ever since.  So today, we put our names in for a 2.5 to 3 hour wait, and it was totally worth it.  Lemon Stones, Wet Smacks, Chebeague Islands, Bluff Heads, More Lemon Stones, and Pemaquids.  All from Maine.  There is something magical about eating a thing right from where it's from.  No air travel on ice to get somewhere, just pulled out of the estuary or bay right there where you are.  MAGICAL. 

The brown butter lobster roll was delightful, but Chris's fish sandwich was simply amazing.  I want to go back and get it tomorrow.  And the whoopie pie and hand held was a great finisher.

After that, we just came back and vegged out and binge watched Wings.  Not a bad way to spend the evening, I'd say.  Now onto planning tomorrow which includes breakfast at a food truck, and lobstering for sure.  Beyond that it may involve the ferry to Peaks Island, or just more goddamn oysters.  Either way, should be another great day in Maine.

12,700 Steps

It's been a good long while since we've done a walking tour of anywhere, except the 7 steps from our offices at home to the bathroom or kitchen.  It was good to get almost 13,000 of them today!

Did you know that Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow grew up just a block away from where we are staying?  I did not.  

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a historic house and museum in Portland, Maine, United States. It is located at 489 Congress Street and is operated by the Maine Historical Society. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, and administratively added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.  he house has both historical and literary importance, as it is both the oldest standing structure on the Portland peninsula and the childhood home of famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).

-- Wikipedia

The Song of Hiawatha (the epic poem) is one of his literary masterpieces.   And which, is really, really, really long.  I had no idea.  Epic poem with 23 parts?  It's basically a novella.  Which I didn't read and stopped on the first part.  And apparently the Longfellow House in Minneapolis, just a short distance from our house is a replica of where he lived in Cambridge, MA.

Might be an interesting tour if we have time.

All that in just the first block away from our rental.

Then we wandered down to where Eventide Oyster Co. is (more on that later) and down by the Old Port.  Kind of like you'd imagine - kinda smelly, seagulls everywhere (and they were HUGE), but a good wander for the day.

Oh, and I got this fabulous bag at Sea Bags - they make them out of sailboat sales - this one was made from a vintage sale.  It was ridiculously expensive, and it only dawned on my 45 minutes after I bought it that it has a big "C" on it.  ❤

When we stopped at Eventide on our way down, the wait was 1.5 to 2 hours.  We were like hmmmm, maybe tomorrow?   But then on the way back, we stopped again and put our names in...the wait had increased to 2.5 to 3 hours.  😲  We had time to go back to our place and relax a bit.  Next post - all things oyster...

Buzzed?

Started the day by heading over to Coffee by Design for a cup.   Cute little coffee shop, but only had two young women working there.  The barista was frantically making coffee while another woman helped customers and prepped for her.   They were so nice, and working so hard, I didn't have the heart to mentioned anything when they poured not one, but two full shots of espresso into Chris's cold press.  I just smiled and thanked them profusely, wondering if that much caffeine in one drink was legal...

The Other Portland - Day 1

First full day in Maine - nice and slow and relaxing.

Our AirBNB is really cute, right in the heart of Portland and close to everything (well, everything is close to everything here).   It's a little loud outside, and there seems to be no way to turn the heat up, so Chris is in his chilly element.  Now's about the time I am wishing for that first hot flash to kick in...

We have these wicked stairs to get up to the apartment - they are actually quite cool, and thank god we are only up on the second landing, not all the way to the top.  At least the luggage only has to go up once and down once.  This is more stairs than I've had in 2 years.

Lobsta. Lots and lots a lobsta.

Here we are.  First flight since Covid.  It's the same and different.  Same dipshits from before are still dipshits just won't wear masks right.  If there is an incident on this flight, you'll see me on the news.  I have one very fragile nerve left.  

Headed to Maine for our 25th next week, and going to soak up lobster and oysters and MOJO in Portland, then head to Bar Harbor for Acadia and whales watching.