Honeymoon 3: Portland, Boats, and LL Bean

We woke up fairly early today. I fueled up with Pop Tarts and a green banana. Meg had a bagel. We drove to Portland, but stopped at a New Balance factory store on the way. We had a coupon, so after we found some really cool shoes, we ended up getting an additional 20% off. We drove to her friend's house in Portland. Driving in was very pretty. All of the homes look like you'd expect to see in New England -- old, large homes with wood siding and simple colors. Even the bums look like they’re supposed to – like washed up sailors with salt and pepper beards and leathery skin. Her friend rents a floor in an older home, and the owners live above her. It looks like most of the larger homes are broken into smaller apartments.

Portland is a very cool town. It looks like a mixture of Savannah and San Francisco. I asked if it was a liberal place because we saw an article in the paper about the 23 annual gay pride parade last weekend. She said it is "very liberal and very gay.".

We started out with lunch at an Italian/seafood place. Meg got the lobster roll (like chicken salad with lobster) and I got the crab roll. I've never been a big crab fan and definitely don't like it cold. The lobster was a little better, but again I think we would have been better with something warm.

After lunch we boarded the Islander for the harbor tour. Our captain gave us some insight as to how the tour would go when he told us he enjoyed talking and it would be obvious to us that he enjoyed it. His safety speech about life jackets and railings lasted over 10 minutes. From the time we got on the boat until after we got off, the heavy Boston accent faded in and out as he filibustered about everything from ships to Portland to John Wayne, all while failing to hold the mic at a constant distance from his mouth.

We got to see some lighthouses and pretty homes, as well as some old sail boats. As we weaved through lobster trap buoys it became very apparent we were underdressed, and the incoming thunderstorms weren't going to help. We huddled under the wool blanket, embroidered with the ships name and a number for identification while we prayed we didn't get struck by lightning. I took a ton of photos. The only thing I regret is not walking to the port side of the ship to get the old homes and shops overlooking the harbor on our way -- it was raining when we came back in. A few lighthouses, seals, a loon, and some stinky birds later, we stepped off.

We walked in a few souvenir shops, bought Eric a birthday present, then headed to Freeport. Freeport is a funny little town. At first it looks like a historic city, but when you look closer you notice the main drag is all outlet malls. The city ordinances are so strict, everything had to look historic. McDonald’s isn't allowed to talk to you through the drive thru speaker. They have a sign that says "Order, we can hear you." Luckily they use that screen that tracks your order to make sure it's right. After working drive thru before, I'm sure it’s very frustrating.

We went to Freeport to go to the L.L. Bean factory outlet. It’s a massive compound, complete with a massive bean boot. There are 4 separate stores -- an outlet, hunting and fishing, retail, and boating. We bought some rain jackets and I bought a day pack.

After grabbing dinner at Mickey D's and its unique drive thru, we headed back for Bethel. The Dogs are winning 5-1, but with the bases loaded I'm a little worried... Must watch!