View of Casco Bay from Portland
Wow–got so busy for the last couple of weeks that I couldn’t finish describing my trip to Maine…
Stuck a little closer to Portland for the last half of my trip. Went south to Wells and ate lunch at Billy’s Chowder House. Delicious…although it was the first time I ever ate “anatomically correct” clams (i.e. belly clams) and found their syphons a little disconcerting, to say the least!
Billy
Went on to visit the new Cabela’s store; loved their taxidermic displays of animals in different habitats, including the following prairie dogs (notice the backside of one disappearing into its burrow!):
Prairie dog display at Cabela
On through Ogunquit and Old Orchard Beach; beautiful little towns, and not too crowded this time of year (in between summer sunbathers and fall leaf-lookers). Drove to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and walked around the downtown area for a while. I love the old bridge over the Pisquata River and wished I was hungry enough to justify eating at the Portsmouth Gas Light Co., which has a lovely wood-fired oven pizza menu (http://www.portsmouthgaslight.com/pizza_menu.cfm) that I’ve enjoyed on other trips.
As for the rest of the trip, it was lots of “gomming and yowing” (that’s Southern for eating and talking) and hanging out with my friend. I caught up on my reading (Dombey & Son by Charles Dickens, which was fabulous and made me weep at the death of little Paul Dombey and the subsequent harsh treatment of Flora Dombey by her father); caught up on some videos (No Country For Old Men and Juno); and had dinner at Fore Street (http://www.forestreet.biz/), which has become a tradition when I visit Portland. Very simple, open interior features the entire kitchen at a glance, and everyone’s food looks and smells heavenly as it’s carried by your table.
Wrapped up my visit with a quick trip through the beautiful neighborhoods around the Eastern Prom(enade), then off to the Portland airport, through Detroit, and back into Asheville. A truly wonderful week, as the following photographic evidence supports:
Belted Galloway steer near Wells, Maine
Fresh Brussel sprouts on display
Giant LL Bean boot (Portland, ME)
