Maine - Portland

Saint John, NB to Portland, MA: Travel Distance: 475 km
AirBnB Accommodations: $ 140.00 CAD for 1 night

We made it to another city, starting to make our way down the east coast and on our journey towards home. We will be home in 10 days and hopefully we will not have a ton of snow waiting for us. We have been having a great time and learning all sorts of history about the places we have visited along the way. Today is just going to be an overnight stop in Portland, Maine (we are on our way to Cape Cod).

Portland is proud of their history and keep it forefront with paying particular attention to architectural preservation. Adjacent to the Historical Society, in the heart of bustling Congress Street, the boyhood home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the oldest standing structure on the Portland peninsula.

Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with a population of 67,067 as of 2017. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, more than one-third of Maine's total population, making it the most populous metro in northern New England (an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont). Portland's economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the Old Port district is a popular destination. The Port of Portland is the largest tonnage seaport in New England. The city seal depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, which is a reference to the

recoveries from four devastating fires. Portland was named after the English Isle of Portland, Dorset. The city of Portland, Oregon was named after Portland, Maine.

We poked through the shops and galleries lining the cobblestone streets that go up from the Old Port. There are unique pottery shops, local artisans, galleries and a number of places to eat within the old port. We found a couple of great pieces of pottery to add to our collection.

From there we headed down to the piers to check out some of the restaurants and local shops on the waterfront. We found a great local fish market - Portland Fish Shop. Some of the freshest fish, oysters and clams I have every come across. There was also a unique shop - SeaBags, that repurpose old ship sails. (www.seabags.com). A great

find fo a gift for the person that has everything!
We did discover that the city has the most amount of microbreweries on the east coast and fantastic dinning options. We will have to try a few next time we are up this way.

What a great day exploring. Roxy got to hang out with us and even come shopping into the boutiques and local shops; Portland is a very dog friendly city.

Well out of all the AirBnB's and HomeAway stays we have finally come across one that is definitely not as advertised. We have had such great luck (some places better than others) throughout the year until our stay today in Portland. All I'll say is that the host was very apologetic and compensated us for our inconvenience. Being that is was after 6 pm, and we were only staying the one night, we decided

to stay put and take our compensation. Given the amount of accommodations we have been staying at over the last 3 months, we were bound to come across one that is sub-par. It could have been a hotel or motel just as easily as an AirBnB. Luckily, It didn't hinder our opinion of Portland. However, if we come this way again we would be looking at other accommodations!

Tomorrow we are up fairly early to make our way to Cape Cod.