Blogs from Portland, Maine, United States, North America

We woke up bright and early so that we could make it to the Portland Headlight for sunrise. The Portland Headlight was one of the main reasons why we wanted to go to Portland. Portland Headlight Some interesting facts about the Portland Headlight include: 1. it is stated to be the oldest lighthouse in Maine 2. it is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. 3. it is also one of only four authorized by George Washington and never rebuilt. 4. it includes a light tower, keepers’ quarters, a whistle house, a paint locker and a garage I enjoyed watching the sunrise while scrolling around the Portland Headlight and Fort Williams Park. After being mesmerized by the Portland Lighthouse, we headed to Becky Dinner for Breakfast. Then it was time to explore the shops ... read more

From the taxi Travel is more stressful than it used to be. Booked a business class seat for my train ride to Boston. Unfortunately that is the last car on the train. Still, I managed. If all goes according to plan, the conductor will lift my suitcase from the overhead and a Red Cap will help me to the taxi stand for a 30 minute ride to the ship. The Business Class car was the furtherest from the station and the Red Cap earned his tip today, it was a very long train. All went as planned but the cabbie soaked me $20. Still I was off the train and in my room by 2:00. Bit knackered as I got up at six thirty but went to the Captains welcome party, sans Captain who may have ... read more

We take Amtrak from Boston to Portland, Maine. We arrive at 2:40 PM but our Airbnb will not let us in until 4 PM. We walk to Bunker Brewery dragging our luggage behind us. The brewery is quiet and we find a table outside. We enjoy the beer until it is time to call an Uber to take us to our Airbnb. We rented a one bedroom, one bath unit with a living room and kitchen. After settling in we walk to Whole Foods to buy supplies for breakfast and tonight’s dinner, We made dinner then relaxed and watched television.Mark was able to hook the tv up to our home Dish account and we were able to watch last weeks 60 Minutes. The show was about 9-11. So appropriate since we just visited the 9-11 museum. ... read more

After a good night’s sleep, we started the day with our Covid $5 continental breakfast. Bagel, cream cheese, yogurt and coffee. The coffee is self-serve in the pantry down the hall and unfortunately Starbucks, and not the strong stuff at that. To get the breakfast you needed to go to the lobby and pick it up from the restaurant. The bagel was just a bagel, not even sliced, but it was $5 and convenient. Tarragon got his breakfast and some love and we took our time getting ready. No big plans for the day just lunch, some spa time for me, and dinner. A pretty laid-back day. First on the agenda was lunch at High Roller’s Lobster Co. The best way to describe this is that it is a combination a 50’s style drug store counter ... read more

Poet, novelist and travel writer William Graham holds a BA and MA in English and a MS in Communication from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives in Stowe, Vermont. His most recent travel book is Border Crossings: Travel Essays and Poems. I have traveled to all seven continents of the world. I have seen many stunning landscapes. One of them is in my own backyard in New England where I live. It’s the state of Maine, where I have taken many vacations over the past 20 years. Maine’s unique combination of mountains, forests and stunning rocky coastline keeps drawing me back. My most recent trip involved travels to Monhegan Island, Camden and Portland. Here are a few highlights. Monhegan is a small, rocky island 10 miles from the nearest mainland and scarcely a square mile ... read more