NEW ENGLAND BLOG September 26th, 2023 - PORTLAND, ME

 

9/26/23– 7am rolls around and I call up Toyota to schedule a car appointment for the oil change. I get there just before noon and am told it may take an hour and a half, so I take a walk around the area. Goodwill isn’t much and Kohl’s is… well Kohl’s, but it does kill most of the time needed. By the time I return about 1:15pm the service guy tells me they are backed up and are just now getting to it. Ugh!

An hour later, my car is ready (oiled up and rotated) and luckily the rattle noise was just a loose heat shield. What a relief! It’s now 2:30pm and the weather couldn’t be any clearer, so I pick up Sharece from the Airbnb and head for town. 

We park by the Custom House ($5 for 2 hours metered) and go to the top of the garage to get some great views of the city. We wanted to go to the Observatory but find that it’s closed over the next few days, so this will have to do for now. It’s free and had 360 degree views of the coast line and buildings so not too shabby.

Next up, we walk 15 minutes to the Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Museum. Built around 1807, it’s the oldest surviving structure on the Portland Peninsula, and was the boyhood home of poet Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow. The place is unique in that it has about 98% original furnishings still in it on display.

We re-park our car near the East Promenade of Portland and enjoy the park and water views for a spell before driving back in town to eat. We find a place with a canal view called J’s Oyster and are very impressed with the Shrimp scampi with white sauce. Although the clam chowder we aren’t much fans of, it’s still a perfect way to end the day.

Before driving back to our hotel, we go to the top of the Custom House parking garage one last time to capture some sunset shots. Overall, we both enjoyed our time in Portland very much. Time now to plan for the next few days and be thankful that our car is still in one piece.

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