Portland to Portland

Yes we are here in Maine, about 15 miles south of Portland (that seems so strange to say). Our last two days in the Cape were very restful. We drove around to view as much as we could. It was too windy to take the scooters and we wanted to see more than we could on the bicycles. We drove along the national seashore. It was late in the afternoon and we did not actually get on the beach, but just looked. As you can see, the beach is lovely. There was a pretty good size cliff right next to the beach and apparently the stairs had been demolished last winter. But they have been rebuilt. The waves on this side of the cape were beautiful to behold. I wish we had had time to go into the water. Alas.

We drove along most of the rest of the cape. It was apparent to me that we were staying in the low rent area of the cape (fine with me). The high rent areas had really HUGE homes with gorgeous landscaping. There were lots of high end shops and restaurants and lots of touristy stuff. I came away with the thought - quaint. The accommodations were not of the usual hotel/motel type. There were lots of bed and breakfasts in some of those huge houses. There were lots of cabins. Even those places that obviously were newer were built with that kind of style - quaint.

Our last night there we went to a very nice restaurant in Truro. It was in an old huge house. The food was scrumptious and we both overate. I had blackened swordfish and Bob had prime rib. I haven't had such good fish since Bob and I were in Barbados. Then we really splurged and had mud pie for dessert. It was also good. Both Bob and I remembered the first time that we had mud pie. It was in a small restaurant in Grants Pass Oregon. We both agreed that the Grants Pass mud pie is still the best mud pie we have ever had, but the one in Truro was not bad.

We took our time getting started this morning. We drove north again, skirted our way around Boston (hit a Cracker Barrel for lunch) and then 16 miles in New Hampshire and then into Maine. We stayed off the Turnpike as we left Massachusetts. At first there was a lot of traffic. (I think we were going through "the Hamptons." I always thought that the Hamptons were mountains. But there were three towns with Hampton in the name. So I think this was it.) There was lots of traffic, lots of stores and lots of very large houses. As we drove, the traffic eased up which made Bob very happy.

Along this part of the coast of Maine there are some really gorgeous beaches. We passed Ogunquit and Kennebunk (I love the names here.) The towns themselves are very typical coastal towns. We did not have reservations anywhere to stay the night. Everything I found was very expensive and the reviews were not great. We checked out several places and have finally winded up in a KOA just outside of Old Orchard Beach. It is a little too dark for pictures now, so I will save that for tomorrow. But this is fairly woodsy and well kept.

After we got set up, we drove to Old Orchard Beach. That is actually the name of a town, not just the beach. The town reminds me a lot of Seaside, Oregon, with tourist shops and restaurants lining both sides of the main street right along the beach. There is no parking except in paid lots. We drove up next to the beach and it looks like a nice beach, but it is chilly and windy today so we just drove around.

Tomorrow rain is predicted so we will go into Portland.