We had decided to stay at DeMillo’s Marina for a few days while our friend Cathy Tisdale came to visit. We have been staying at so many anchorages and moorings that it was a real treat to be at a marina. We arrived in the Portland harbor after a short one and a half hour cruise.
We were surrounded by some amazing ships.
The first thing I did was two loads of laundry while Jonny took care of some needed boat chores. Cathy arrived later in the afternoon and it didn’t take long for us to celebrate her arrival with a cocktail. We all went to Luke’s Lobster for lobster rolls so Cathy could get her first lobster fix of the season. We sat outside on the deck next to a pile of lobster crates.
That evening, like the political junkies that we are, we watched the interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
The next morning Jonny made us delicious blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We had a small world story when Jonny discovered that the boat that was docked next to us was owned by a fellow from New London, Jonny’s home town. He was the same age as us and knew many of the people that Jonny grew up with. In fact, he had been at Jonny’s childhood home, though neither of them clearly remembered each other. Not only that but he also was at UConn when we were there. He and his wife live in Marblehead, MA and they invited us to stay at their dock on our way back.
From there we began our exploration of Portland and headed over to the Portland Art Museum. This is an excellent museum which we had visited previously. This time we spent a couple of hours enjoying the various exhibits especially those from local artists and an amazing exhibit of baskets by Jeremy Frey, a seventh generation Passamaquoddy basket maker. His work is extensive, highly detailed and just beautiful.
By the time we finished visiting the museum we were hungry for lunch and we stopped at David’s Restaurant which did not disappoint.
Cathy had been encouraged by her neighbor to stop by the Standard Baking Company for bread which we did. We also found another bakery where we bought a blueberry pie to take home for dessert.
That evening I made a new recipe, sort of a modified TikTok pasta recipe in that this one included shrimp and spinach in addition to the pasta, feta, and cherry tomatoes. It turned out well and we enjoyed the blueberry pie for dessert.
On Friday, Cathy and I took Archie for a walk to Walgreens so I could pick up a prescription. We had been talking about exploring one of the nearby islands either on our boat or by ferry. The ferry was so convenient and inexpensive that we decided on that option. Once we returned to Zendo the four of us (including Archie) walked to the ferry and and took the short 15 minute ride to Peaks Island.
This is a very pretty island with attractive homes, a few restaurants and shops and lots of wooded areas. The first stop we made was to a quirky little museum full of umbrella covers, of all things! We didn’t stay long.
We walked around half of the island and particularly enjoyed walking along the coastal road that had very pretty homes and gorgeous water views. We met an interesting man from Washington, D.C. who vacations on Peaks Island every summer and who shared with us his perspective on the island and island living in general.
We stopped for lunch at a waterfront restaurant next to the ferry dock and sat outside on their dock which was very pleasant.
By mid-afternoon we took the ferry back to Portland and rested a bit before going out to our next meal! Can you tell what our priorities are?
That evening was Cathy’s last chance to get the fried clam dinner that was on her list of must haves. Portland has a plethora of excellent restaurants and as we looked for reservations we found that some of the best ones were fully booked. This was not surprising because one of the big cruise ships was in town. We chose Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room, another waterfront restaurant, which has been open since 1898 and was close to our marina. We enjoyed another good dinner of local seafood.
The next day Cathy would be flying out and we planned to continue our cruise. It has been another great visit in Portland and we enjoyed sharing it with Cathy.
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