July 3-4             Portland, Maine 

Morning brought an unwelcome discovery.  Our ladder had disappeared.  The brackets and screws had been dislodged and the entire ladder assembly was gone.  This was an expensive loss and a very inconvenient one.  Our electrical hookups were on the port side and now we would have to dock with access on the starboard side and the connections would have a limited reach. One more challenge!

While David did “ladder research” on the internet, Blake again took control of the helm and followed the course without incident to Portland Harbor.  We were delighted to see the magnificent Portland Head Lighthouse, sitting majestically above the cliff as we entered the beautiful harbor.  Our dockage was at DeMillo’s Marina located on Long Wharf in downtown Portland.  It was an easy walk from the boat to the hub of the dock and tourist area.

Downtown Portland is a myriad of charming and touristy shops in carefully restored and maintained older buildings.  The sidewalks are brick and some of the streets near the dock are cobblestoned.  Amanda and Blake are shoppers and they had no difficulty finding ways to deplete their wallets.

                                                                                                                                  

After a brief walk, we indulged in delicious frozen yogurt before hurrying back to the dock area for a trolley ride to see the city.  We had a great guide who was eager to share her knowledge and love for Portland.  We saw the historical area with its many nineteenth century and early twentieth century homes, the early settlement area, and the lighthouse that had greeted us as we turned into the harbor.  It is now a museum.  The views there were beautiful with the blue water sparkling in the sunlight below the granite cliffs.

I awakened early and departed on my bicycle for the Portland Art Museum located only about a mile away.  The museum is housed in a spectacular building designed by I. M. Pei and that is reason enough to visit there.  However, the collection is outstanding with magnificent paintings and sculptures by American artists from the eighteenth century to the present.  Several galleries displayed Impressionist paintings from major French artists.  The galleries are painted in a variety of muted yellows, oranges, purples, greens, and blues which is very pleasing and enhances the viewing experience

After visiting the museum, I rode my bike down the hill to the main street and Becky’s Diner, a popular local eatery recently featured on the popular television show Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives.  David, Amanda, and Blake were waiting there for me and we enjoyed a delicious meal.  Although advertised as home cooking, the food was definitely not ordinary and presentation was outstanding.  David had walked the quarter of a mile to the restaurant and insisted on walking back.  He was tired and in some pain but the effort proved to us that he was improving.

The lovely weather ended several hours before the fireworks display was scheduled.  A strong storm with winds, lightening, and thunder interrupted the plans for a festive Fourth of July.  We were docked safely and had scrapped our plans to take the dinghy out to watch the fireworks.  We were glad we had done so when we saw the boats returning with drenched passengers.  We watched the televised fireworks display in New York and remembered how wonderful it was when we had been there last year.

Amanda had been fighting motion sickness since we had left Salem.  She experienced no difficulty in port but was immediately immobilized when we began to cruise.  She never complained but it was obvious she was experiencing considerable difficulty.  Blake wisely decided she had endured enough and rented a car to take them on land for the remainder of the trip.  They would join us in Rockland and Southwest Harbor.