Day 8 - Sat 17 Sep - Old Orchard Beach

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Geo: 43.5172, -70.3781

Up bright and early for the plane. i think they scam tourists everywhere. Price starts at $50 for a car but ends up costing $110US. Anyway turns out tp be a beautiful rig and really wide and comfy with more electronic equipment than anyone person needs, but i don't think he can speak English well.

We depart at 10.30am from Newark, on time for a 1.5 hour flight which took 1 hr !!

Arrive in Portland and collect car which is scary but we're upgraded to an SUV Hyundai Santa Fe.

Off we head and lost 10 mins later but fortunately end up back on the right street. They don't give you any decent maps, so going to have to buy GPS. Make it to Old Orchard Beach which is so much more quieter than NYC. Arrive at Normadie Inn and they've messed up, there are no rooms. They squeeze for of us into a tiny room for the night, then we get moved. That means still no washing.

Anyway, lovely walk along the beach. Shoes off ! It's very chilly now but some kids are still swimming. Further along the beach is a long pier with pubs and arcades and food places. Looks gorgeous but Kirsten thinks they're bogans and Graham thinks he's returned to Blackpool.

Wander around town. Very much a summer tourist town, but typical Maine houses. So gorgeous. Tried fried dough, huge enough to share but similar to a donut. Lots of sojvenir shopping and strange 'sell it all' type shops. Eventually return home and everyone is tied, so a swim for Ella on the heated pool and then a rest.

Decide to eat in and drive to supermarket. Prices very different now, cheaper, bit discover 1.5L wine! Decide its time for a wine, try a few pastries and a salad (forgotten what that is).

Graham's looking forward to trying a french Bordeaux wine, for $15. Get home only to discover there's no wine glasses, never mind, won't stop us, but oh no....no corkscrew. Graham will rig something.....nope....no joy! Oh well, have to have a coffee, lucky he bought some nice sachet ones. Oops, isn't sachet coffee, its pods! Can't take a trick.

Dinner was nice though. Kirsten did Mathspace while Ella and I snuggled on to watch a movie on TV. haven't done that since well over a week ago.

Time for sleep.

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