It was bittersweet to say good-bye to Bruno—we were glad to finish the long drives, but grateful that Bruno had kept us safe from deer, blown-out tires, or other road hazards. We’d pushed that car a lot, racking up more than 4500 miles, with an overstuffed trunk. That was one good little car…
We drove into a little town called Freeport to visit the big name in town—L.L. Bean! We knew we’d found the place when we saw this boot out front. I sent Mark to pose for a picture, and he immediately dove underneath it, just like he did with the big Louisville Slugger bat. Seems he likes being crushed by all the giant landmarks.
Amber was working a half-day, so we shopped at the L.L. Bean stores while we waited for her. We also killed time taking photos. We ran into this big guy, appropriately named the Big Indian, where Edra and I re-created our famous Lewis and Clark pose.
We pulled in to the L.L. Bean lot, but Amber was not out yet. We figured we had time for another quick stop, so we raced toward a roadside shop selling a local delicacy, frozen custard. (I’m telling you, Easterners are obsessed with their frozen treats!) I’ve never had frozen custard before, but Amber had prepped us beforehand. Unlike ice cream, which comes in myriad flavors, frozen custard only comes in three—chocolate, vanilla, and a rotating daily flavor. I opted for chocolate, while Edra ordered blackberry, the flavor du jour. It was very similar to ice cream, but a little more eggy. It was good!
Amber was nervously trolling the parking lot when we returned, so we quickly grabbed her and drove off. She drove us down to the Portland harbor, where we met up with her friend Donna (Donna’s a fellow Parrot Head who came to Cali with Amber last fall to see Jimmy Buffett play. We liked her right off!)
We boarded a nearby boat for a lighthouse tour around the harbor. It was super cool—we saw six lighthouses in all, including this one, which is the most famous lighthouse in Maine (that’s what the captain said). The lighthouses were gorgeous.
We even saw one solar-powered lighthouse, which cracked me up.
It started raining on us halfway through the cruise, but only on one side of the boat. It was kind of funny—it was a wicked crazy downfall, pelting the people on the unlucky side of the boat. It felt kinda nice, breaking up the uncharacteristic heat that had plagued us upon arrival. It was so weird—it was just coming down one minute, and the skies were gray and overcast, and then suddenly, it just stopped. The skies returned to blue, and the sun was shining brightly, and you’d never know we were getting drenched just moments before. We got to see sunny, spectacular views of Portland. It’s a beautiful city.
After the harbor cruise, we moseyed through town in search of happy hour. We found a nice spot outside, complete with freshly potted herbs and sun umbrellas.
It was the perfect spot until 30 minutes later, when the rain returned with a vengeance. The whole crowd on the patio moved inside, immediately filling the restaurant. But the rain never dampened our spirits (literally or figuratively!)—we had beer, appetizers and good friends—and a little rain wasn’t going to ruin our vacation.
We eventually decided to move on to the local brewpub for dinner (the happy hour pizza joint did not have lobster rolls, and I was determined to eat lobster every day). So we braved the rain and ran a couple blocks to the pub, where we enjoyed a very yummy hot meal and inexpensive micro brews. (Lobster roll rating: 7 claws, out of 10. Good lobster, but came with chopped celery mixed in. Negative points for mixing with the traditional recipe of lobster and mayo only!)
And I have to say that any day that ends with a good red micro brew, is a good day in my book. It was only my second day in Portland (or Pahtland, as the Mainers say) but I was digging the town a lot.
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