Maine Trip - Day 2 recap

Friday morning started out with a fabulous walk along the wharf and then stumbling upon a great "hole in the wall" diner called, aptly, Big Mama's Diner. The space was no larger than my kitchen at home and the food was yummy! Nothing like a plate of silver dollar pancakes, home fries and bacon to get your day started right.

We decided to be really tourist-y today and ride one of those trolleys that takes you on a tour of the city. As many times as I've been here, I've never done this, so off we went. We stopped by the Maine Pier and saw this amazing mural by Robert Wyland. He painted life size replicas of humpback whales and dolphins on the side of a huge warehouse. It was gorgeous!


Next on the tour was a stop at the highest point in downtown Portland, which had some gorgeous views. View this picture up close and enjoy the beauty.

Then, we ventured into town and saw the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Portland has an amazingly rich history and it's ASTOUNDING how many buildings from the 1800's are still intact.

Then we headed out to Cape Elizabeth, home of the most photographed lighthouse in the U.S., The Portland Headlight. There's a pic of that coming up. Here's a view of Casco Bay from the lighthouse grounds.
Oh, and here's a picture of my if I won the lottery summer house. Nice huh?

After our delightful trolley ride, we headed back into town for lunch at a cool, local hangout. There's a history behind the name of this place that I found to be hysterical. The building that houses this restaurant used to have the following painted on the side.
"$1 Looky...$2 Touchy...$3 Dewey..." And so, we enjoyed lunch at $3 Dewey's.

While waiting for our afternoon cruise to depart, we did a little shopping and more walking on the waterfront and then headed out to sea for a hair-raising adventure. A Mainer once told me that there are 2 seasons in Maine: Winter and the 4th of July. After yesterday, I'm pretty convinced he was right. It was so cold out on the water that my fingers turned blue while I tried to take gobs of pictures. I managed a few before retreating for hot cocoa in the galley.

Here's a gorgeous schooner that people pay a LOT of money to sail on. The maneuvers this craft was making almost gave me a heart attack.

And here's the Portland Head Light. Not a great picture, but very recognizable. It's the 2nd oldest lighthouse in the U.S. It was commissioned by George Washington and is now surrounded by a gorgeous state park that I would visit OFTEN if I lived here.

And so, we ended the day back at the hotel, where we enjoyed the pool and spa and headed to bed early, since the sun would be up before the roosters.