stepping off the edge

Well, here we are at the top of the USA portion of our journey. Beautiful Portland, Maine. Having escaped the big cities of the lower East Coast it is nice to be in a kinder, friendlier part of the country. Not that the big cities were not inviting, but a bit guarded and no-eye-contact kind of vibe. Here there are smiles and good mornings everywhere. Must be bleeding over from Canada! We are close to our northern neighbor, or the 51st state, as our misguided leader likes to put it. Well enough of that, but much more when we cross over.

We showed up at our AirBnB (could not find a home exchange here) to find that we are on the third floor of a 100+ year old home. Nice and uncomfortably narrow steps as well. But your intrepid travelers braved the Everest of short term rentals and landed safely above the tree lined streets of our neighborhood. Eclectic dwellings and obviously historic places, with some having dubiously added nonconforming historic stairways to the old facades…

The following photo sums up the vibe here in Portland…

This is not from a large corporate establishment, which could certainly afford such humanity, but rather a true mom and pop bakery.

A great lunch at at portside spot and a walk around the boatyard filled one of our days. Although not a sailor, I have always been fascinated with boats in dry dock. Something about the underside of a craft, sort of like rolling under a vehicle on a mechanics creeper seeing all the intricacies that we never think about when we use them.

We found the museum here to be small but interesting. Nothing internationally famous but some great pieces…

Finally, lunch at a spot called the Duck Fat Cafe. I cannot say enough about the 30 seat gold mine. Everything, and I mean everything had some duck reference. Even Mrs. T’s Caesar was topped with duck confit. My brisket sandwich was accompanied by duck fat fried shoestring potatoes. Sat in front of the kitchen pass and watched three chefs turn out dish after dish. Side street, small sign, and still a 30 min wait at three in the afternoon. Perfect spot just the right size and well run. We met a talkative person on her way back from her shift at another spot that just serves breakfast and she chose to end her long day with a plate of duck poutine. Loved the fact that she showed up with an arm full of leftover bread from her employment for the crew, so I am certain she was comped her meal. Just the way it works in the industry.

Speaking of food… let me go on record with the following meme that represents this chefs feelings about a certain overhyped, in my opinion, food item…

OK, enough of that…

Our next memorable meal was at a BBQ joint in our neighborhood. Not only was the pizza they served the rival of all the other east coast cities including North Jersey (heresy, I know) but they served shredded smoked brisket over baked beans with BBQ sauce over, you guessed it, a pile of french fries. Hillbilly poutine and well worth the paltry sum of $12 !

And yet your faithfull author neglected to get a picture! I am shamed and promise to do better.

I look forward to the next post, when we brave the dreaded border guards as we cross over the longest unfortified (for now) international border in the world! See you in Canada, eh?