Years ago… I used to say that my dream in life was to move the Northeast (I usually said Maine, but I don’t know if they actually have a big maple industry) and own a few hundred acres to make maple syrup. That was my retirement plan – no computers forever and no hanging out without work or something to wake up to – I’d have the trees! Well, after discussions about this at work starting over a decade ago… plus our shared love of the Northeast… a friend, Eliza, sent me an Instagram earlier this year.
“The person who sent you this wants to eat lobster with you in Maine this summer!” it read, along with pictures of piers, wooden walkways, and of course… lobster rolls.
I thought about it for only a moment before replying – “I can’t this summer, but how’s October 11th – 14th?”
And that’s how the trip got started. Since then, we’ve been joined by Rachel and Sara, friends you’ve heard of before on this blog who met Abby and me in Brooklyn a few years ago. Rachel is an ex-roomate of mine and Sara is her wife. I’m over the moon to be seeing all three!
I woke up somewhat early this morning and headed straight the airport. I feel I’m a little out of practice with this whole flying thing… but I made it through security all the same and jumped on the 4-hour flight to Portland, Maine. Portland is a small costal town known for its pier and cobblestone streets. Eliza flew in midday, Rachel and Sara drove from Rochester, NY (where they live these days), and we all got together at our Airbnb around 5pm.
A view off of our front porch for the weekend
I should take a moment to talk about the Airbnb – this place is amazing. We’re staying in what I’m guessing is a historic cottage on the Eastern Promenade. my room faces the East and the water is full of boats at all hours. Everything is amazingly nice here, all the finishes are upscale, even the towels are heavenly. I’ll post pictures, but they won’t do it justice.
When I arrived and parked, we said our hellos, I hadn’t seen Eliza in about nine months and it’s been almost exactly five years to the day since I saw Rachel and Sara so it was great to see everyone and catch up briefly before I insisted on dinner – having not eaten all day to this point (I still hate plane food).
We headed out into town, found parking, and tried one popular restaurant (Eventide) only to find out they had a two and half hour wait time! When I booked this trip I didn’t realize it was a holiday weekend – it seems like nobody else forgot, though! The two is crowded with tourists and locals alike and everywhere is busy. We then tried a place called “Scales” down on the pier… and they were able to find us a table inside.
Dinner consisted of… you guessed it! Lobster! I actually ordered the wrong thing – I expected a mixture of small bites lobster and scallops with some french fries or bread – what I got instead was a full lobster, cut in half, body mixed with cream and bread and cheeses, and then baked. It was pretty good though! I ate the body and tail, then got some help from Eliza with guidance on the best way to crack arms and claws out of the shell – I’ve never done that on anything larger than a shrimp!
All exhausted from our day of travel, we walked back to the car, and headed to bed. Tomorrow there’s talk of boats, traveling around Portland on foot, and getting a lay of the land. I’m feeling extra tired today, I might sleep in we’ll have to see. I get seasick and am planning on skipping the boat and letting Eliza, Rachel, and Sara catch up as I take a look around here and maybe take some pictures (I should have taken one of dinner, dang it!). There is so much to do here (and a very short weekend to enjoy it thoroughly)!
