Day 9 - North Conway to Portland (Maine)

Woke up to a cold and grey day today, we were really very lucky with our weather yesterday for Mt Washington.

It was time to say goodbye to our lovely air bnb in North Conway but before we did we got a last treat - we saw a tiny wee chipmunk just outside the door! It was too quick for any photos sadly.

Our main aim for the morning was to get to the coast. We quickly hit Maine (our 6th state) but otherwise the drive was quite uneventful.  We rolled into Portland just after 11 and were immediately struck by what a pretty city it it. There is a lot of brick and it's on the water. Our first stop was The Holy Donut in the old port area and we somehow managed to get parked right outside!

The queue for donuts was long but worth it, we even managed to snag 2 of the 8 seats once we got inside. The donuts at the Holy Donut are made with Maine potato and are delicious. I got 2, one with Maine apple and a ginger one made with sweet potato. K only got 1 but she made it count with a maple and bacon bad boy. When we were sitting at the window we saw a wee girl in the queue get interviewed by a muppet. It was weird seeing the puppeteer lying on the ground while being filmed. No idea what it was for though.

We then spent a few hours wandering about the old port, exploring the many independent shops and looking at the boats, water and cool buildings.  We wanted to have lunch at one of the "must do" restaurants in town, Duckfat, but it is tiny and very busy. We were told it would be about a 45 min for a table but we decided to wait cos who knows if we'll ever be in Portland again. The wait wasnt too bad, i was mostly listening to other people who were waiting's conversations - it isn't my fault Americans are loud.

We got an outside table which wasnt too bad as there was a wee heater above us. We ordered the poutine (duck gravy) and also a bgt (bacon, goats cheese, tomato) panini to share. I got a house made grape soda which was also delicious.  Cos we've been so close to Canada there has been a lot of poutine on menus but this is the first one I've had and it was great, it really worked well with the lighter gravy. The panini was good too, the goats cheese was quite mild and the tomatoes were local heritage ones.

After lunch we decided to drive to the resort town of Old Orchard Beach. It was quite sad as most things were shut and it had that off season feel but I kind of wanted it to be a bit crap. We found a giant arcade and had a whole lot of fun for $10. The skee ball was only a quarter a shot! They had our very favourite arcade machine, connect 4 basketball, so we were delighted. K won the most games so that puts her in the lead for the holiday.

Back in the city we decided to check into our hotel. We got a bay-facing room but because it was such an overcast day we didnt get the best of it, it's still nice though. K is delighted cos there is a free juice dispenser in the lobby and one of the drinks - Sunkist Citrus Peach - tastes like that cheap tropical juice you get.

Soon we headed out to explore a bit more of the city, it really is lovely. We were  hoping to eat at Central Provisons, a hip, no reservations type place with food a bit like Ox and Finch but the wait was 2 hours! We ended up at one of the many breweries in town called Liquid Riot. I ordered one their own brewed beers and cos K wasn't driving tonight she ordered one of their own made bourbons with their own made cola - not a cheap affair. For food I ordered a coconut crusted fried chicken sandwich and K got this thing with cauliflower, halloumi and lentils. K's was good but mine was too spicy for my delicate little mouth. Cos it sunday they had the (american) football on the big screen and I ended up getting too invested in the Packers vs the Cowboys. K had her back to the game and I think she was glad.

The stroll back to the hotel was only 10 mins and it was good to get some air as I was still roasting foĺlowing the hot sauce!

Tomorrow we head down the Maine coast, I hope to see some lighthouses.