48 hours in Portland, ME
We have a family goal to actually enjoy vacations this year. To kick us off, we spent 48 hours in Portland, Maine during April’s school vacation. Here’s a loose tracking of our stops:
Day 1
Stop 1: drop Bella (our Maltese-Yorkie) off to be boarded about 20 min from our house; her tail started shedding on the ride over and the anxiety level in the car is oof.
Stop 2: Gas station snacks! Lil Momma navigates her indecision (so. many. oreo. flavors.) AND agrees to get a water, so a win overall.
Stop 3: The rest stop just over the New Hampshire border to pick up a Combo spill, use the restrooms, and stretch our legs
Stop 4: A Wendy’s in Portsmouth; hanger averted, but at what cost?
Stop 5: Our hotel in Portland! We figured out parking for the night, ditched our stuff and went walking!
Stop 6: Gelato Fiasco! We got mediums when we should have gotten smalls (and LM mixed her mint chip with her s’mores and had to steal my cookie dough because ew), but another overall win.
Stop 7: Cool as a Moose (fun store; LM got a t-shirt)
Stop 8: After multiple stops at dinner possibilities (too bar-like for LM, no one would make eye contact with us waiting to be seated, etc.), we found Becky’s Diner about a 10-minute walk from the hotel which was a bonus win as they do breakfast all day! LM got a grilled cheese, I got a blueberry pancake and scrambled eggs, and the Mr. got a cheeseburger and waffle fries.
Stop 9: The hotel for the night (swimming, showers, reading, crash).
Day 2
Stop 1: Walked to The Holy Donut for gourmet potato donuts and coffee for the Mr. and me. Delicious but heavy donuts (LM got canolli, I got maple glazed, and the Mr. got bacon and cheddar) and the walk there and back wasn’t too chilly, even by the water!
Stop 2: Back to the hotel for a reading hour.
Stop 3: The International Cryptozoology Museum. So cool! Research and connections between local lore, media, and science (and science fiction). We all loved it.
Stop 4: Parked back at the hotel and hit The Portland Pie Co. for lunch. Vinalhaven Thanksgiving sandwich for me, roasted Brussels sprouts for the table, chicken fingers for LM, and some ridiculous cheeseburger pizza for the Mr. Meal of the trip!
Stop 5: Tech break back at the hotel.
Stop 6: The Portland Head Lighthouse and Goddard Mansion. Lovely, windy walk on the coast.
Stop 7: CVS for snacks and contact solution (oops for storing them in water the night before)
Stop 8: The Bug Light Portland Breakwater Lighthouse. Short walk and a squat lighthouse.
Stop 8: Back to the hotel for a reading break.
Stop 9: Dinner at Becky’s! With a whoopi pie dessert.
Stop 10: Walk back to the hotel for a swim and bedtime calm down.
Day 3
Stop 1: The floor at 4:30 am when LM rolled out of bed. We think her pride was more hurt than her body. As her bedmate, my sleep for the night easier sigh.
Stop 2: HiFi Donuts (far superior on this trip, they have cake, yeast, and crueller donuts; LM loved her cherry blossom and vanilla, I got salted maple, and The Mr. got a Blueberry Fizz) (and we got 3 more for breakfast back home the best day) and coffee. We walked back and ate at the hotel bistro.
Stop 3: Back to the hotel to pack up.
Stop 4: Headed up to Freeport to visit a chocolate factory LM and I had gone on a tour at 5 years ago, Wilbur’s of Maine. So much good stuff that they make in its entirety onsite. They chose 5 hand dipped chocolates each from the case (Fluffernutter was a win!) and I got dark chocolate covered pretzels.
Stop 5: The L.L. Bean flagship store for a wander and the bathrooms.
Stop 6: Gas station snacks!
Stop 7: Picked Bella back up after fighting weirdly timed Boston traffic.
Stop 8: Home!
I love a 48-hour trip! It forces us to figure out what we want to see and do and just go for it - and we get back in our own beds before I get too grumpy about too soft hotel beds. (To be transparent, we did get grumpy about the hotel fridge only working for 2 hours at a time then turning off for 8 hours, but I’m letting that go, haha!)
This does sound really fun! I like 48 hour trips too. And I like locations that you can drive too, and also having the hotel close enough that you can stop back during the day for breaks. In other words, your trip sounds perfect. And... International Cryptozoology Museum??? I'm intrigued!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was really so cool! I am so glad the Mr. and LM took a chance on it with me! I love a small, specific museum!
DeleteShort vacations are magic! They don't disrupt your home life too much, and you can get so much done in a short time.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Portland kinda day in Blog Land, because Kyria at Travel Spot wrote about Portland OR. I've never been to either Portland, but Maine is closer so I think that would be the one to start with.
Oh I will have to go check out Kyria's post - I have always wanted to go to the OTHER Portland! (I have never been that far west....)
DeleteThat lighthouse is stunning. We visited at the end of our NYC trip in 2022...the kids had an epic meltdown and that lighthouse is forever linked to that memory in my head. We need to go back on a less angsty day, because it really is breath-taking!
ReplyDeleteI'm a HUGE fan of short vacations. It's not always feasible for us because there isn't too many places we can get in one day (where it doesn't make more sense to just come back to our own house).
My parents always used to stop at LLBean on their trips down to the States to see my grandmother in South Carolina. I remember visiting the store once at 3 AM! I thought it was so cool to be able to visit a 24-hour store and to be there in the middle of the night and yet it was functioning as though it was the middle of the day!
Oh, I wonder if it is the lighthouse that induces meltdowns as LM was a bit on the miserable side on the walk up to it (well, what I could see of the back of her head as she would not walk with me, sigh).
DeleteI cannot imagine what an LL Beans must be like at 3 in the MORNING?!?! I feel like there's the plot to some sort of family comedy buried in that.
I love a weekend trip. You can fit in a lot in two days if you really focus on it!
ReplyDeleteExactly! I feel like I went in with the right amount of plan and the right amount of flexibility for side quests or disasters.
DeleteHow nice with a weekend trip! Anything with a lighthouse involved is lovely, despite wind. I'm also intrigued by the cryptozoology museum. I actually had to look it up! I've seen the word many times but never really learned what it was about.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I had to look it up, too, when I found it on the list of things to do (and again and again as I told people about our plans and they'd ask me what it was, haha)!
DeleteWhat a lovely little trip! I don't remember the last time I took a 48-hour trip but it seems like the perfect length of a quick getaway. And sometimes it's just nice to experience hotel life for a bit!
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly it - I really enjoyed that hotel break!
DeleteToday, I google mapped how long it would take me to drive to Portland, ME. One of my favorite states. <3 Thank you for taking me back! It would be 3 days of not-awful driving for me to get out there, so will have to plan this for a summer when I am not on contract all summer (I get money, though, so maybe that can be my "trip money". :>). Love the combination of outside fun, breaks inside (know thyself, and thy child, for sure...), and good food. <3
ReplyDelete3 days of not-awful driving isn't too bad (or for sure an adventure)! Portland does have such great food and so much to see. I am trying to figure out where my fall solo trip will be, but I am trying to keep it within 3 hours to help with my anxiety, haha. Although, by the fall, my need for a break may far outweigh my leaving my family for a couple of days.
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