Miles Driven – 0
From – Portland (Maine)
To – Portland (Maine)
Via – Peaks Island (Maine)
Emergency Poos Required – 1
Cultural Experiences – 0 or 1, depending on your point of view
Old people in Becky’s eating for 50% off – Possibly Millions
From – Portland (Maine)
To – Portland (Maine)
Via – Peaks Island (Maine)
Emergency Poos Required – 1
Cultural Experiences – 0 or 1, depending on your point of view
Old people in Becky’s eating for 50% off – Possibly Millions
Link to today's photos : http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157608894259243/
This will probably be a slightly shorter and less cohesive blog than usual given that I am writing it the wrong side of a bottle of Chile’s cheekiest rouge. So what happened yesterday? Well, Kate had two breakfasts and then popped into a shop to buy me a “surprise breakfast” which turned out to be a soggy grilled cheese which she then had half of…before demanding a chocolate bar just 10 minutes later. I think she has a worm the size of a python.
Anyway, we decided to stay in Portland for an extra night as we hadn’t really seen much of the city centre despite being here for a coupl
e of nights already. The other thing we hadn’t seen was Peaks Island which is one of the 211 islands that make up Casco Bay. A 20 minute ferry ride later we were on the island which is infamous for it’s failed attempt to secede from Maine just last year. It’s a seriously picturesque island with incredible isolated ocean views on the east side and takes just 90 mins to walk round (including one fairly marriage threatening argument about directions which I am man enough to say Kate was right about all along…although I can beat her in an arm wrestle so, net-net, I win). The only down side about the walk was the emergency bathroom requirement which dominated the latter 75% of the walk and may explain Kate’s strange facial expression in the photos.
The return ferry to Portland was far less idyllic than the outward journey as the sub-zero gale force wind decided to make an unwanted appearance. Whilst sitting on top of the boat seemed like a fun idea for the first 16 seconds, even our fur covered wolf derivation whined and cried enough to make us realise than the heated cabin was the way forward.
Becky’s is the notorious diner of Portland (every city seems to have one) and the food didn’t disappoint. I had a fantastic thick and juicy haddock sandwich whilst Kate and her giant worm had 6 sandwiches, 4 pasta dishes, the complete range of soups…all washed down with a diet coke. The place had what you expect from a local legendary diner - good food served with intimate, friendly service. But that isn’t what I’ll remember Becky’s for. Now America has a reputation for being almost stomach churningly patriotic but even I was a bit choked as a bunch of young lads intently listened to an “old-timer’s” war stories before buying him lunch and making the guy feel like a hero. I don’t care what your opinion of war is, or how appropriate you think it is to celebrate veteran’s day, I challenge you not to consider that a pretty nice moment and I’m glad I witnessed it.
The nights seem have taken a bit of a predictable regime – beer, food, more beer, sleep. So tonight, to mix it up a bit, we hit the local movie house to watch W (the story of George W Bush) which was a fascinating two hours, although I can never watch films like this without having two distinct thoughts – 1) clearly they have no idea of the exact dialogue so it’s completely hollywoodised and 2) I wonder if George has seen it? Now Kate thought that watching this film as two non-Americans made us cultural but I have to disagree as surely this is a story that we should already know. Anyway, just in case the experience was too cultural, the night ended in Bingas Wingas (American for Bingo Wings?) where we drank $3 local beer, ate buffalo wings (I opted for “hot” rather than the politically incorrect “Chernobyl” as I was with my wife rather than my footy buddies) and listened to neck threatening heavy metal. Marvelous stuff.
This will probably be a slightly shorter and less cohesive blog than usual given that I am writing it the wrong side of a bottle of Chile’s cheekiest rouge. So what happened yesterday? Well, Kate had two breakfasts and then popped into a shop to buy me a “surprise breakfast” which turned out to be a soggy grilled cheese which she then had half of…before demanding a chocolate bar just 10 minutes later. I think she has a worm the size of a python.
Anyway, we decided to stay in Portland for an extra night as we hadn’t really seen much of the city centre despite being here for a coupl
e of nights already. The other thing we hadn’t seen was Peaks Island which is one of the 211 islands that make up Casco Bay. A 20 minute ferry ride later we were on the island which is infamous for it’s failed attempt to secede from Maine just last year. It’s a seriously picturesque island with incredible isolated ocean views on the east side and takes just 90 mins to walk round (including one fairly marriage threatening argument about directions which I am man enough to say Kate was right about all along…although I can beat her in an arm wrestle so, net-net, I win). The only down side about the walk was the emergency bathroom requirement which dominated the latter 75% of the walk and may explain Kate’s strange facial expression in the photos.The return ferry to Portland was far less idyllic than the outward journey as the sub-zero gale force wind decided to make an unwanted appearance. Whilst sitting on top of the boat seemed like a fun idea for the first 16 seconds, even our fur covered wolf derivation whined and cried enough to make us realise than the heated cabin was the way forward.
Becky’s is the notorious diner of Portland (every city seems to have one) and the food didn’t disappoint. I had a fantastic thick and juicy haddock sandwich whilst Kate and her giant worm had 6 sandwiches, 4 pasta dishes, the complete range of soups…all washed down with a diet coke. The place had what you expect from a local legendary diner - good food served with intimate, friendly service. But that isn’t what I’ll remember Becky’s for. Now America has a reputation for being almost stomach churningly patriotic but even I was a bit choked as a bunch of young lads intently listened to an “old-timer’s” war stories before buying him lunch and making the guy feel like a hero. I don’t care what your opinion of war is, or how appropriate you think it is to celebrate veteran’s day, I challenge you not to consider that a pretty nice moment and I’m glad I witnessed it.
The nights seem have taken a bit of a predictable regime – beer, food, more beer, sleep. So tonight, to mix it up a bit, we hit the local movie house to watch W (the story of George W Bush) which was a fascinating two hours, although I can never watch films like this without having two distinct thoughts – 1) clearly they have no idea of the exact dialogue so it’s completely hollywoodised and 2) I wonder if George has seen it? Now Kate thought that watching this film as two non-Americans made us cultural but I have to disagree as surely this is a story that we should already know. Anyway, just in case the experience was too cultural, the night ended in Bingas Wingas (American for Bingo Wings?) where we drank $3 local beer, ate buffalo wings (I opted for “hot” rather than the politically incorrect “Chernobyl” as I was with my wife rather than my footy buddies) and listened to neck threatening heavy metal. Marvelous stuff.
Northbound deeper into Maine tomorrow…
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