NEW ENGLAND BLOG September 23rd & 24th, 2023 - PORTLAND, ME

9/23/23– The day has finally come for our trip to New England. We planned this trip originally last year in April but cancelled due to important events. It works out as we want to see the Fall foliage anyway.

We pack our car and leave around 8pm. The drive to should take almost 10 hours straight through and thought leaving at night would save time on traffic and expense on a hotel. We thought of stopping in New Jersey as a halfway breakpoint, but the pouring rain changed those plans real quick. Perhaps we’ll revisit that idea on the way back.

Thanks to our transponder, we’re able to fly by the toll booths with ease.

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9/24/23– Shortly after 2am (after crossing into Connecticut), we pull into a rest area to sleep. The seat was very uncomfortable, so unsure I really got much at all, but the rest will be needed later today.

 

It takes another 4 hours before we get to our first destination of Portland, Maine. Our Airbnb hasn’t contacted us yet for early check-in, so we go there ourselves and are pleasantly surprised the place is all ready. It’s a spacious Victorian home with multiple rooms and has everything we need for the next several days. Unfortunately, we don’t spend much time as we’re ready to hit the ground running, so we throw our stuff inside, change clothes and drive 16 minutes to the downtown Portland area.

Sunday is free parking at the meters day, and since it’s cloudy out we thought hitting up the Victorian Manson would be the place to start. Built before the Civil War, this was the home of Ruggles Morse (a wealthy hotelier who owned several upscale hotels in the 1800s). No expense was spared in building this Brownstone masterpiece as each room and floor is decked out as it once was in its heyday.

 

We noticed there were no photos to be taken on their website, but they allow us to with no problem as long as there isn’t a flash. This just got so much better. The tour lasts an hour, taking us in each room (including upstairs) explaining the significance of each. We thoroughly enjoy our time and highly recommend for anyone coming to Maine.

Walking back to our car, we retrieve our jackets as the chill sets in, and walk about 14 minutes toward the Old Port area. The old buildings give off a unique feel, as we’re transported back in time, soaking up the moments with each step around the wharf.

After souvenir shopping, we settle on the Portland Lobster Company for a very nice, sit down, full lobster meal and it’s very, very good. We definitely got some stares as we played with the lobster for the first five minutes before eating it, and it was quite the experience of breaking it open to find what's what. Luckily we had a guide to assist. We then scope out the area for a bit before driving back to our Airbnb for the night.

Side note: Found out the tolls cost us $60 to get here from Virginia. I mean, is it really necessary to charge $17 to cross the GW Bridge. Seriously!

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