From Freedom Trail to Carriage Roads

Part 4 – Portland, Where the Breweries Outnumber the Lighthouses.

Its safe to say that we could have spent the rest of our vacation exploring Acadia National Park and enjoying our nights in Bar Harbor, but that’s hindsight and the adventure is discovered in exploring the new! Our afternoon drive south took us back the way we came, back through Bangor and Augusta, toward Portland. We discussed taking an alternate coastal route to pit stop in some different towns, but knew we wanted to make it to Portland by evening.

Making sure to have the perfect stop picked out to break up the drive, this haul we would be swinging by Maine Beer Company. Having heard a lot about their beer, and not being able to find it readily at home, meant that this brewery was definitely on the list to visit. Grabbing a pint and a flight of their crisp refreshing brew hit the spot.

Driving into Portland around 4:30PM on Friday, July 6th we hit a little bit of traffic as we neared the hotel which wasn’t surprising. Although, what did catch our attention was the amount of people that were setup along the sidewalks and in the pedestrian plazas, including what appeared to be vendors, protestors, onlookers, and quite a few people with legitimate dreadlocks. Not to hold back any suspense, we found ourselves at Portland’s First Friday Art Walk as we were staying near Congress Square Park. Not knowing all that is included as part of the First Friday Art Walk project, our first (and perhaps unique) impression of Portland was definitely different then we would have expected after Bar Harbor.

Once checked into our hotel, we explored the Old Port District. We quickly found that a lot of the restaurants we were hoping to dine at were crowded and had extensive wait times for seating; which wasn’t going to work traveling with a one-year old and stroller. We found Sebago Brewing Company that had plenty of seating, and after previously hearing time and time again that there would be two-hour-plus waits, the cold beer and no wait time was as refreshing as it could be. For dinner we had lobster mac and cheese (surprise, surprise, as this became a trip favorite), and some New England clam chowder. After dinner we returned to the hotel and planned out tomorrow morning’s activities to hopefully beat the “foodie” crowds.

Saturday morning we snuck out of the hotel around 7:00 AM, and made our way to The Holy Donut for some blueberry coffee and Maine potatoes donuts. This was a success with no lines to wait in yet.

Sipping our coffee, we drove to Cape Elizabeth to stroll Fort Williams Park and check out the Portland Head Light lighthouse. Once we parked we indulged in eating our blueberry donut, while enjoying the still quite morning as the parking lot was empty.

We had a beautiful summer morning to be outside, once again taking in the beauty of Maine. We found ourselves enchanted by the lighthouse, and made sure to take advantage of multiple photo opportunities.

After the hundreds of photos of the lighthouse, we took one of the trails along the rocky bluffs, looking out over the water, and made our way down to Ship Cove and the beach. Once at the beach, we made sure to dip our toes in the water before making our way back to the car.

 

Heading back into Portland, only mid-morning, we decide to visit Shipyard Brewing Company as they opened conveniently early.  Our goal was to enjoy some liquid libations and then hopefully get an early jump on the lunch time rush to avoid the waits from last night’s experience. At the Shipyard Brewing Company tasting room we were able to sip on some of the more well known beers, as well as try some fresh brews not readily found in stores. As we worked our way through a couple flights, we found ourselves enjoying Portland a little more.

We had scoped out a restaurant we wanted to experience, and figured an early lunch we be our best bet as they opened at 11:00AM. To our dismay, leaving the brewery and arriving at 10:50AM there was already a line around the building. It would seem that the “foodie” reputation that Portland has come to develop was serving it well and creating high demand. It was time to call an audible in our plans as our frustrations resurfaced with the popularity of Portland’s old port and downtown area restaurants.

Allagash Brewing Company was an easy decision that we already hoping we would find time to visit, depending on our willingness to leave downtown. With a short drive to an industry park, we were instantly satisfied by the vibes found at Allagash; from the outdoor seating and food truck area to their tasting room. We were excited about getting to try a wide range of their beers, include some of their more exclusive brews.

After sampling several beers in the tasting room, we made our way to a table at the outside patio area near the food truck and additional taps to order beers from. Not having lunch, the food truck was calling our name. Bite Into Maine was on site, and their menu was on point. We order a Connecticut style lobster roll with hot butter and a lobster BLT sandwich. Both were amazing, and I’m pretty sure the lobster roll was the best of the trip. While the industrial park area is also home to several other smaller garage style breweries, we wanted to take in more of what Maine had to offer. As such, we decided to take to the road and make our way to Kennebunkport.

It was great to be able to experience one more of Maine’s coastal towns before the end of our trip. Kennebunkport was more similar to Bar Harbor with its shops and restaurants. Although, it also sported more of a beach town feel. We strolled by the shops, bought some saltwater taffies from The Candyman, and drove Beach Avenue before making our way back to Portland.

That night we finally ate in Old Port at a place located on one of the wharfs; and I’m pretty sure we both would have preferred to dine at the food truck again.

Sunday, July 8th, 2018, we made our way back to Boston Logan International Airport to catch our flight back to Baltimore. We grabbed lunch at Boston Beer Works in the airport, were we enjoyed some pre-flight blueberry wheat beers one more time while on our Boston and Maine vacation. It was a great to spend the Fourth of July Holiday experiencing a different part of America as a family!