Portland, Maine

We spent a week at the KOA in Saco and had a wonderfully mellow time. Maine is green and the weather was very temperate, in the seventies most days. We took a short narrated tour of Portland on an old firetruck and learned all sorts of things that I did not know, like that Portland is the most populous city in Maine, but only has 68,000 people. It’s an old town, but has burned to the ground three times. Looking at the town, I see tons of red brick buildings and tons and tons of windows. I have never seen a place with so many windows.

Tuesday we took a schooner tall ship tour of Casco Bay. Sailing is one of those mindful things that are so zen. The wind in your face and the smell of the open sea makes all of your ordinary worries of the day seem very small by comparison. Later we drove to Portland Head Light to take some pictures. It’s a beautiful site.

Wednesday, we drove to Boston. No one will be surprised to hear traffic is horrendous and parking fees outrageous. We walked a part of the Freedom Trail. We saw the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s House and the Old North Church. Boston is such a vibrant, modern city, yet around every corner there’s a memorial to the American Revolution. I started a conversation with a woman behind me looking at The Old North Church and asked if they still make school children memorize the Longfellow poem, The Ride of Paul Revere, and she said, with heated exasperation in a thick Australian accent, that she had to memorize the "bloody poem" in Oz! This a great hip hop version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dKJ75F3tj8

Thursday we took the ferry over to Peaks Island. The ferry is the only way to get there. It’s a small island with some remarkable houses and even more remarkable scenery.

Friday was a low key day as we preparing for the trek to New Jersey.Read more