Our next big stop on our adventure was Portland, Maine, where we were staying for two nights. We left Boston North Station on the Downeaster at 11:50, arriving in Portland at 2:20. By the time we got ourselves to our Airbnb and settled in, it was time to head out in search of some dinner (especially because we did not eat lunch). My main (or Maine) goal was to try a whole lobster. We found a place by the waterfront with good reviews. I ordered the lobster, and Ryan decided to try a lobster roll, one of Maine’s specialties. While the lobster was good, I will say it was a lot of work to eat and I’m not sure it was worth all the hassle. It’s a little plain on its own. Ryan felt like his lobster roll was good, but overpriced.
After dinner, we walked around a bit, enjoying some live music from a brass band that was doing a rehearsal. We also found an antique train that we later figured out was part of the railroad museum. We also decided to check out the local Whole Foods to get some food for breakfast in the morning. We had tickets to a whale watching tour at 10 am, so we wanted to make sure we could walk down in time to check in.
Our whale watching tour was with Odyssey Whale Watch, and it was an amazing experience! The weather was perfect, so we managed to see Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoises, Minke Whales, and a Finback Whale. Even the naturalist on board was impressed by how much we were able to see! I did not take any pictures of the sea life as I know my photos would not have turned out well, and it was more enjoyable to watch without a camera in my face. But I did manage to get some photos of some lighthouse views we saw as we headed out of the harbor.
Our tour lasted over 3 hours, so when we were finished, Ryan and I both wanted to find some lunch. My parents headed out in search of souvenirs, and eventually got some lunch as well. But Ryan and I stumbled across a place to eat that turned out to be our favorite meal of the whole trip! It was called Old Port Tavern, and because we were there at a weird time we almost had the whole place to ourselves (other than a Canadian couple sitting near us). Ryan and I both ordered the Lobster Bomb which comes with Lobster Bisque, Lobster Rolls with a lobster bisque sauce, fries, and cole slaw. It was a lot of food, so we were able to take our leftovers home to enjoy later for dinner. The Canadians were jealous of our meal, and mentioned they might come back another time to order the same thing.
After our lunch, we did a little souvenir shopping ourselves, then walked back to our Airbnb to get ready for our kayaking excursion. This was a delayed Christmas gift for my mom. We joined a guided sunset kayak tour with Portland Paddle. We kayaked across Casco Bay in what was supposed to be a leisurely journey, but the wind was getting pretty strong, so it became more difficult to paddle, especially as we were heading back to shore. What seemed like a short distance on the way out became much longer on the way back. And it became difficult to keep our kayak pointed in the right direction. But we made it back successfully. However, a couple of inexperienced kayakers in our group needed some assistance getting back to shore. Despite the challenge, it was still very enjoyable and one of our top experiences of the trip. In fact, this whole day was shaping up to be the top day of our trip!
The following morning, we had time to walk around a bit for a few more pictures and some more souvenirs. Ryan and I got a simple breakfast at a local coffee shop called Coffee ME Up. We easily could have spent more time exploring Portland, but sadly it was time to go. We had a train to catch–back on the Downeaster back to Boston for one more night!
In the next post, I will close out the narrative of this adventure with our final day in Boston, then the train journey back to Chicago.
Tracy Travels & Teaches 
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