We had such a great experience in Ogunquit last weekend that we decided to make back-to-back weekend trips to Maine so that we could check out Portland. The drive was a bit further, but still completely do-able as a day trip from our house in Southern NH.
As soon as the kids woke up in the morning, we hit the road. Less than 2 hours later we'd arrived in Portland. We parked the car near the shipping docks and Bryon ran off in search of breakfast (at a place I'd already picked out) while I took Maksim and Deklan to purchase some ferry tickets.
Bryon's destination? Portland's renowned Holy Donut. Bryon and the boys LOVE donuts. And these donuts are made with fresh, local ingredients that surprisingly aren't all that bad for you (considering they're donuts). The secret ingredient? Fresh Maine (mashed) potatoes!
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| Potato donuts! |
Bryon selected 6 different flavors - Chai Glazed, Maple Bacon, Sea Salt, Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate Cake and Ginger. I can't really remember much about them - except for the fact that I was able to eat exactly 1/2 of ONE donut before the remainder were entirely inhaled by the rest of my crew. Breakfast of champions!
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| 2.0 seconds before those donuts were annihilated. |
We ate our breakfast while aboard a mail ferry. For a small fare, we were able to cruise around Casco Bay via a courier fleet that hops around five of the islands delivering postal services to locals who reside on them. We were happy to have avoided to typical touristy boat tours and enjoyed the nearly 3 hour scenic tour of such unique coastal communities!
Once back ashore we quickly grabbed lunch. Unfortunately, EVERYBODY was out and about and the restaurants we'd intended on scoping out had nearly 2 hour wait times! We caught a bite at a local brewery and made it back to the docks in time for another afternoon ferry.
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| I'm on a boat! |
After a short 15-minute ride across the bay, we arrived at Peaks Island. Can you believe that local children on the island (which has residents year round, in contrast to some of the neighboring islands which are strictly seasonal due to utility hookups) arrive at 6am each morning to catch a ferry across the bay in order to hop on a school bus and attend school in Portland? Anyhow, we rented a golf cart and spent the remainder of the afternoon driving around the small island, stacking rocks along the shore, watching sailboats passing by, catching glimpses of lighthouses in the distance and playing on short stretches of sandy beach. Bryon and I both agreed that we will be looking into a VRBO on one of the islands come next summer!
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| Watch out, world! I wouldn't trust any of these 3. |
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Stacking rocks.
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Upon landing back in Portland, we grabbed some food and drinks at Novare Res. This was the perfect end (nightcap for Bryon) to our trip. It was a welcoming beer garden with long beechwood tables set up both indoors and out. We grabbed a spot outside and the boys ran around playing with about 6 other children while adults conversed, drank and played lawn games. The boys had a blast and fit in just as well as the rest of the adult crowd! With more than 300 beers to choose from, Bryon was quite pleased with our final stop, too!
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| Wanted a "pony" just like his big brother. |
Maine definitely hasn't disappointed me thus far. Although this is likely to be the end of our Maine adventures for this season, I'm excited to plan a trip to Bar Harbor come warmer weather in 2017!
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