Travel to sanity

Southern Maine area

Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine.  It is located in what is called Fort Williams. Fort Williams use to be a Army Base. My grandparents lived here when it was in operation. I remember their home overlooked the ocean and was steps from the beach area that we would walk on. It was and still is a Beautiful area. I actually was Married in Maine and had my Wedding Pictures taken here. I was born and raised in Maine so I know a bit about it.

Maine is a unique place for sure!! If you are from a big city it will seem like your stepping back in time a bit in a GOOD WAY!! The people are friendly, nice and helpful!! They are real people not that where you come from people are not but you will see when you get there what I mean. Maine is also very Beautiful!! The Rocky Coast Line is very tranquil and unique. Southern Maine has many beaches to choose from such as Pine Point Beach in Scarborough, Higgins Beach Scarborough, Crescent Beach State Park which you will have to pay to get into this one but has more amenities such as changing facilities and snack bar and parking. The other beaches be-careful where you park make sure you are in a legitimate spot because you WILL get a ticket if not. Maine has many Lakes also throughout the state. A couple that come to mind are Sebago Lake near Windham is the second largest lake in Maine about 40 minutes from Portland. Crystal Lake is in Gray Maine about 15 min on the highway from Portland. There are many more Lakes as you venture up to northern Maine also. Maine has many Lighthouses along the coast from Southern Maine to Northern Maine. In Southern Maine I have mentioned above Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. There is (Two Lights) State Park which is Beautiful and there is a Lobster, Seafood Shack for food where you can sit in or out overlooking the Ocean there. The parking is tight but you will make it. I recommend you go there. There are many more along the coast I won’t mention them all here but if you are driving up the coast research them if you want to stop as you go. I am going to categorize a bit now to break things up.

Restaurants in Portland area

Maine is known for its Seafood which I’m sure you already now. Lobster Rolls which are served with Mayo here mostly are Awesome!! Different types of Seafood are served for takeout and Dine in Restaurants. Ken’s Seafood and Clam Bake in Scarborough are very well know for Casual Dining and Great Seafood. Amato’s is well known for its Italian Sandwiches which are delicious!! This variety store has many other items that you’ll love!! I highly recommend stopping here for sandwiches maybe to bring to the beach with you.

Portland has become a Huge Foodie Location. Portland was Restaurant City of the Year 2018 in bon appetit magazine. Portland has Amazing Restaurants. Many upscale restaurants such as Scales known for Seafood, Fore Street which have seafood, meat and are farm to table, Street & Company which only has seafood very cool spot, Central Provisions which serves small plates great for and appetizer and drinks, Dimillo’s Boat is famous in Portland. It is an actual boat and it sits in the Harbor with Beautiful Views of Casco Bay. Across the bridge in South Portland is a small quaint Restaurant called David’s and I love this place. It is small but I have never had a bad meal there as a matter of fact I always find myself here at least once during my stay. All of these Restaurants you will need reservations for actually especially if you are in Maine in the Summer the places are packed everywhere so be sure to book ahead some a few days ahead. There are so many more Restaurants in the Portland Area of all types that you are sure to find what you are looking for. I just wanted to mention a few that come to mind.

Restaurants: Diner or Lunch upscale

Scales

Dimillo’s Boat

Street & Company

Fore Street

Paciarino Italian

David’s in South Portland across the bridge

Breakfast:

Becky’s

Maine is called Vacation land and this is for a reason as I said it offers a lot from Beaches, Lakes, Lighthouses, Great Restaurant, Breweries, Arts its an artsy place too. The state is Beautiful!! You can see why so many people vacation here every year.

Portland

Hotels Portland area

Portland has Many Hotels it depends on your price limit and what you are looking for. I will say normally in the Summer Hotels in Portland area are very expensive if you are OK with that book ahead and you will find what you are looking for. I am always trying to save money so I look for the best deals possible. I again stay at the Hilton and Marriott hotels which some are not cheap but they have some bargains. I try to book early also for the best deals. I will break up hotels in Portland area where I have stayed by category below.

Most Expensive:

AC Hotel Portland Downtown/Waterfront by Marriott

This hotel is very new very nice Modern look gorgeous bar in lobby parking is valet and weird but its OK very convenient to downtown.

Portland Regency Hotel & Spa

This is a old remodeled Hotel with a lot of Character reminds me of back in the day Hotels but beautiful wood and style very nice not modern but nice.

Hyatt Place Portland - Old Port

This is a beautiful Hotel right in downtown old port area. You are in walking distance to everything.

Hampton Inn and Suites Waterfront Old Port

Beautiful Hotel right in the Old Port Area have waterfront views and close to everything

Middle of the line Hotels:

Hilton Garden Inn near the Airport

This is a very nice hotel very clean and attractive. They have breakfast you pay for but cook to order which is very good. The location is nice to many restaurants and shopping nearby.

Hampton Inn near the Airport by Hilton

This again is a decent hotel for the price includes breakfast in a similar area to the Hilton Garden

Embassy Suites Hotel by Hilton

This is a great Hotel is a Suite good for families kitchen, living room area and normally a full breakfast cook to order part of it and a great buffet comes with it.

Least Expensive:

Home2 Suites by Hilton Portland Airport

This hotel is a newer version of the economy for Hilton. It is fine I think if you are trying to save money. It looks like they are trying to appease the Millennial Generation but works well for the Baby boomers too or anyone trying to save money. It is basic but fine clean and reasonable. It has the same amenities as other hotels. Check it out I’ve stayed here more than once and will again.

Tru by Hilton

This is another of the Economy Hotels Hilton has come up with. I like them very clean basic but great!! This one has a game room in the lobby for people along with a store with a variety of items to buy. I’ve stayed here more than once and will again. Great Value for your money.

Visit to Maine July 16-19-2020

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is OK and staying Safe. Well, I ventured out again to visit my Mom I hadn’t seen her in 6 months since this pandemic. We went to Augusta, Maine where she lives and had a wonderful visit with her. During that time we did go out to eat OUTSIDE to make sure it was safe. We went to the Quarry Tap Room in Hallowell Maine. This place has outside seating and distance tables right in the middle of this quaint vibrant little town. The food was delicious and perfect for eating for all of us at this time. I love Hallowell. I have gotten partial to a couple of Restaurants there. One is the Liberal Cup which is adorable but inside mostly. They do have some outside seating right now but limited. I love eating inside this place. Rustic but so local and vibrant great place and the food is so good!! I also like the Quarry Tab Room as I mentioned above.

We also earlier that day walked around and stopped at a few shops in town. Its a great place to stop and poke and have lunch or dinner. Remember to make reservations both are very crowded and especially during this time of limited seating.

After our visit with my Mother we ventured down to Portland, Maine for two nights. We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Waterfront in the Old Port Area. These rooms were very reasonable in comparison to a regular summer in Portland. That is why I took advantage and stayed there. I had a ocean view room and everything was very safe and clean and a great stay. I would recommend this hotel. It is close to everything walking distance to the whole Old Port Area for shopping, dining, drinks etc. We went to eat at DiMillo’s Boat for dinner on the upper deck overlooking Casco Bay. Beautiful View and safe outside and tables were spaced out nicely. Everyone’s food was good and the staff was very friendly and attentive. I recommend this restaurant and it has a local Maine atmosphere. After dinner we decided to walk around a bit and wanted a drink and landed at the Independent Ice Company outside seating. Everything was great here also except near us were a lot of people walking and as the night went on more and more crowded it seemed. We decided to not stay long because of the crowds only because of this pandemic otherwise a perfect spot to eat or have a drink as there are many spots like this in the Old Port Area. The Old Port has cobblestone stone streets with nooks and crannies to find many restaurants and drink places and shops to venture around in on the edge of the ocean. If you are older at this time I would go to dinner early. Younger people were out later and probably not as safe during this pandemic. Overall a fun night and so nice to get OUT.

The next day we went to the Beach the ones I mentioned in this blog. We started out going to Cresent Beach and the line of cars were long so we went to Higgins beach up the road and no parking and you cant park on the street so we went to Ferry Beach a local spot down from Cresent and a short wait and we were in. It was a Sunday so typical I guess for a nice summer day everyone had the same Idea as we did. We had a great day at the beach then back to our room oh have to mention we did stop at Amatoes for Italian Sandwich’s to bring and had lunch on the beach. Amatoe’s is amazing for a lot of things Lobster Rolls in season right now too. Italian Sandwiches is what I miss from Maine a native local sandwich that is delicious. We did stop at Fort Williams on our drive back I always have to stop there and it was quite crowded but a beautiful stop. Then back to our room to shower and freshen up before Dinner. We decided to go to and Italian restaurant I had never been to and it was inside but had great reviews and reasonable compared to some of the restaurant prices in the center of the Old Port. The restaurant was PACIARINO. The tables were spaced apart nicely and it was a Sunday and not that crowded so no worries on being inside. I have to say we found a gem of a place. Homemade pasta, great service and overall quaint restaurant definitely recommend this place so cute. After dinner back to our room to relax. The next morning before checkout went shopping a bit then the vacation was over but it was so fun and great to be in Maine such a wonderful friendly beautiful area. You should at some point try and visit you wont regret it.

Northern MAINE AREA

RESTAURANTS IN Bar Harbor AREA

Restaurants:

We recently visited Bar Harbor and wanted to share with you the restaurants we went to.

West Street Cafe

This is a very nice restaurant ocean view airy a lot of windows moderately priced food was good the wine list limited especially the red. That was my only complaint. They did seem to have plenty of white available though. This restaurant is right in town walking distance. I would recommend this place at least for the first night until you are able to walk around and see for yourself where you want to go.

Geddy’s Irish Pub

This is a typical lively Irish Pub we stopped in for a Brew and appetizer. The people were friendly and the fish taco’s were delicious and the drinks too. It is loud with Irish Music playing but depending what you are looking for its a great place.

LaBellaVita

This is more of and upscale restaurant Italian but of course has fish dishes. We had italian though when we went and I have to say my husband and I were both very happy with our meals and they had a good price for a red wine which worked well for us. They have large plates and small plates which I like its a nice choice to have. This is walking distance to town too. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Jordan’s

We went to Jordan’s for Breakfast two mornings and it didn’t disappoint great place for breakfast fast and efficient. The Best Blueberry Pancakes around!!

I would recommend trying to call for reservations if you can most places didn’t take them but a few may.

Some Tips for Bar Harbor

You now need to call ahead of your trip and get a pass to drive up Cadillac Mountain its about 6.00 but it has been so crowded there they have had to limit the amount of people visiting in a certain time. It is Beautiful up there though and I highly recommend you go but expect it will be crowded especially in the Summer Months. If you are a Hiker you are in your glory there are so many Hiking trails. They have a Sandy Beach area too and Beautiful Views. Thunder Hole is fascinating as you see the waves crash to shore.

There is a lot of shopping in town small unique shops very nice.

The area also has a great deal of different types of Cruises that are available. Look on line and you can book the night before for the day and time to go. We went on a Sunset Nature Cruise which was nice gave you some history of the area along with Beautiful Ocean Views and Sunset. They have beer and wine to purchase on the ship a mask is needed inside but not outside. There are many other Cruises to choose from all times of the day.

Campers and RV Campers

On your way to Bar Harbor is Searsport Shores Ocean Campground that is recommended. We know the owners and they have been family owned for years and highly rated. Make reservations early though because they have repeat customers every year. You will enjoy this friendly right on the Ocean Camp Ground.

I would say if you know your planning a trip here book ahead to keep the prices down some what. Beautiful Area!!! The Town is great!! Many restaurants to choose from too.