Portland--Best of Both Worlds

Portland is one of the few cities in Maine and is considered the largest. Even though it is a city, it is so much more and has many cultural and historical features to add to a visit there. It is a city full of fascinating architecture, museums, antique shops, and restaurants of all kinds, and it is an up-and-coming young professional city that is more and more appealing to the young family.

Portland is built on a hill that tapers down to the coastline. The waterfront, with a shipping and fishing industry that keeps it alive and well, is busy with a popular tourist trade also. The city is full of life with its historical port, cultural events, wonderful sculptures through the streets and squares, old hotels, and two great museums. There is a marina, condominiums, and whale-watching and boat tours. It is a family city with much for the children as well, including the Children's Hands On Museum.

The Old Port has been revitalized with renovations of the original old stone-and-brick buildings and numerous smart shops, cafes, and restaurants. It's fun just to walk along both sides of Commercial Street. There are old original narrow cobblestone streets that hide charming places to shop and find treasures to bring home. There is one old fashion tourist shop with T-shirts and all the tacky plastic lobsters and souvenirs you could imagine. Kids love it. One store has all things to do with the sea and ships--so much fun. Bakeries are also in competition for the "best bread" title, and islanders are busy shopping for their week's supply of goods until their next ferry ride back into port from the islands in Casco Bay.

Directions: Route 95, take Route 295, exit at Portland Waterfront District or Franklin Street exits.

Quick Tips:

Take a couple of days to visit Portland. There is the Holiday Inn on the bay or the old Eastland Hotel for two choices. One day should be for touring the islands on Casco Bay by ferry from the Old Port, and another day should be for visiting the museums and shopping. Nighttime is alive with pubs and restaurants. There are so many to choose from.

Best Way To Get Around:

To tell you the truth, I would say by foot. Walking around Portland is enjoyable once you can find a parking place. There are many parking garages, and the waterfront does offer parking to tourist as well as visitors who are staying on the many islands in Casco Bay.

When one tries to write about a place they have just visited it is really difficult to say much about it because you don't know much about it except the quick exposure you have just experienced, all you can really say is how it affected you personally.

However, this is one place I know a lot about because it is where I have vacationed in July every year since 1990. We as a family (which now that the children have grown is mostly my husband and I and an occasional grandchild or visitor) have come to love this place like home, and our exodus from Upstate New York starts with a loaded car headed for Maine. We have to take everything we need, for it is an island that we get to by ferry, and if we run out of something, we just can't go to the store to get it.

One thing we have plenty of is fresh lobster right off the boats at the end of the day. We order them in the morning, and pick them up around 5am when the lobster boats usually come in for the day. Another tasty treat is the fresh caught striped bass we catch just about everyday. So with the steaks we bring with us and keep in the freezer, it is almost "surf and turf" every night.

Cliff Island is located in the Casco Bay off the coast of Portland, Maine. It is the last island that is serviced by the Casco Bay Ferry Lines. About 2 miles long and ¼ mile wide, it is home to about ninety year round residents and 300 summer folk who either own a seasonal cottage or rent one. We rent one which is on a rocky point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and looking far out to sea. With a wide wrap around porch we can see from all directions and love to observe the wildlife around, the incoming storms, the passing of many schooners and sailboats, the local lobster men, the sunrise and catch the last of the sunset that reflect off the cliffs across the Fisherman's Bay.

It is a place our children grew up riding their bikes on the dusty sandy roads, swimming in the cove or off the ferry dock, fishing, and playing baseball with the other island kids. So don't tell anyone about this place. It's a secret. It is very difficult to find a place to stay, the same families have a monopoly on their places from year to year.

Finding sea glass and shells, having ice cream down by the ferry landing waiting for the last boat to come in with new visitors or old ones just leaving. Going to the old Stone Library three mornings a week, hoping the books will last you until it is open again. Having community suppers, and movies and dances in the Association Hall on every Monday night are just a few of the joys of Cliff Island, Maine.