Day 23 - Portland, MAINE to Rumford, MAINE

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After getting a really light breakfast of freshly made pancakes from the pancake machine along with a raspberry yoghurt I did something I had not done for years and played a game of pool in the lobby. I was most impressed by my skills playing against myself with the bigs thrashing the little’s and at one stage I got 3 shots in a row !



Today is a big milestone being our 33rd wedding anniversary so we hope it will be a memorable day.



We decided to go for a 20 minute drive to Babbs Covered Bridge and we stayed for well over an hour taking photos which changed dramatically when the sun would poke through and the wind went really calm. Some amazing photo shots and only a couple of people were there including a couple from Boston who have just retired. We had a really good chat for 20 minutes and found out nobody really has Boston baked beans anymore (we could not get them anywhere).



Then we drove back and across town to Portland Head Light (Lighthouse) and 2 unusual things happened on our way. First as we drove back across town we saw a Swat team which closed of a city block near Grant Street and then we got held up as the Casco Bay Bridge opened up to let a schooner boat through. I would later learn these are called bascule bridges where the road opens up at a 90 degree angle to let ships go through.



When we arrived at the Portland Head Light we had to pay $5- for parking which was for the minimum time of 2 hours. It’s one of 5 lighthouses in the harbour and it’s the oldest one and said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world.



We stayed here for about 30 minutes to get some good shots and then headed into downtown Portland and what a bustling old town this place is. It was pretty crowded despite having no cruise ships arriving today (sometimes they have 3 cruise ships in one day !).



We parked in a garage for $5- per hour and walked down Exchange St towards the waterfront and the first souvenir shop we saw I got my Maine licence plate. You beauty it was a classic and $5- cheaper than the one I saw in Kennebunkport yesterday that I bravely had let pass.



We looked in some other shops as well and decided to have a go at the famous lobster roll which was $26 including some fries and we also had some crispy calamari for $9-. We ate this on the waterfront watching a couple of harbour cruise boats come and go with so many coach tours arriving every few minutes so this place must go crazy busy when the big cruise ships come to town. One thing Kerry observed was that there were no birds around the waterfront area at all (an Australian seagull would have a field day here !).



We left downtown Portland around 3pm and it was a gorgeous sunny day and around 23 degrees as we made our way further north to a town called Rumford Falls. It was about 1 hour 40 minutes drive away and there was so much colour in the fall foliage. One of those things where you cannot really take a photo to truly show what your eyes are seeing.



Kerry found this Best Western Hotel about 9 months ago and it was supposed to be opened late last year but got delayed due to you know what and did not open until June this year. We booked it as soon as they started accepting reservations thinking it will be busy and our room rate was $179- and when we arrived they had no record of our booking on their system !



The lady mentioned that this had been a common problem in that the Hotel were not given details of any bookings taken by Best Western Website before the officials opening date so they always keep some rooms open just in case. This was lucky as room rates are now $240- per night and there are no other hotels around this area.



When I was parking the car we saw this amazing RAM truck and without mentioning names there is one neighbour who would be jealous if I brought this baby back home with me.



Rumford is a small town at the foot of the White Mountains where the population is 5,858 and main employer is the Pulp and Paper Mill which employs 620 people. The falls were originally referred to as Pennacook Falls or New Pennacook Falls, Rumford Falls is series of drops of the Androscoggin River. Although the river drops a total of 176 feet, dams have split the once continuous cascade into several distinct sections and we got a few good photos as the sun was setting on our short walk to town to get a Pizza. The wait was 35-40 minutes and more of a takeaway place than sit down restaurant so we walked back to the Hotel getting some more photos (so many shots taken today with perfect water reflections).



We then grabbed a hot chocolate and coffee from reception area before driving the car back to collect the Pizza around half an hour later to collect our “to go” order which was a 14” Meatlovers with a side of Potato Skins.



One thing that caught me out in such a small town was that when I was driving to pick up the Pizza I was actually driving the wrong way on a one way street. A friendly local pointed that out to me when I parked the car as Kerry went in to collect. It seems the two streets that run parallel that make up downtown area here are both one way streets but since no-one was driving and poor lighting just after sunset I had no idea !



We ate dinner in the lobby area downstairs which we had all to ourselves and the potato skins were amazing and the pizza was good too but had a heavy base and was too much to finish off so we left a couple of pizza slices with reception staff who gladly accepted.



Tonight is our last night in Maine. Our stop was designed to be as close as possible to tomorrow’s activity where I get to play golf at Sunday River Golf Club ranked in the top USA courses and designed by Robert Trent Jones in a forrest with amazing fall foliage. I have been praying for good conditions with my 4 big requests being dry weather, sunny, light winds, and not too cold as it’s up in the mountains a little.



We’ve been tracking the forecast intensely over the last week and a cold snap is coming down from the Canadian border so tonight I’ve narrowed my prayers to only the first two requests.



Kerry told me about the Sunday River Fall Festival which is also on tomorrow with the highlight being the North American wife carrying championship where first prize is your wife’s weight in beer as well as a cash prize being five times her weight. Neither of us have hit the scales since we left home but there is no doubt if I entered this the prizes would be better now than when we left !

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Photos

This RAM truck was parked when we arrived at the Hotel. Check out the colours in the background.
I reckon one of my neighbours would be jealous if I imported this beast home and parked next to his RAM !