I arrived in Maine on Tuesday, 4 June afternoon after a trip up Mt Washington in the morning. I wanted to arrive in good time to meet Jenny at the airport and to sort out the car for me as a second driver.
I met Jenny in Harper’s Ferry after Google Maps directed me up the driveway where she was staying with a group of friends for Memorial weekend. They invited me in for a beer so that I could figure out where the hotel was that I was looking for. I left them two days later feeling like a much richer person. What an amazing group of people!
I found out in my last few hours with the DC gang that Jenny was legally blind until a year ago when she had corrective surgery. I could not imagine what it must have been like not seeing all the beauty in the world. I wanted to share that with Jenny, so I invited her to join me on Trinity up the Maine Coast. Jenny was very excited but wasn’t sure how she’d handle being on the bike as she had never been on one.
As luck would have it Jenny’s friend, Carol, offered us the use of her cottage in Portland and another friend lent her a helmet. We could now explore Maine and she could try out riding with no pressure. Perfect!
As I could only go halfway up Mt Washington, due to snow and ice, I arrived in Portland around 2pm. Jenny’s flight was due in at 4.09pm. I popped around to the cottage to get ‘the lay of the land’ – it was a lovely cottage and a very nice neighbourhood near the ocean.
I had about an hour to kill before going to meet a Jenny at the airport at 4.30pm, so I went to a grocery store to buy us some food for the house. I was craving good organic food and went to the store hungry, so I got a little carried away!
At about 3.45pm Jenny text me to say that she had arrived and was heading to Herz. I was still shopping! 😱
After a few back and forth messages, Jenny decided to go and collect the car on her own and drive to the cottage. I felt like a complete jerk not being there after telling her I’d collect her at the airport!
This was the first time Jenny had hired a car to travel around. She had warned me that she had no sense of direction. Worst yet, she warned me that her phone’s battery as nearly dead. I was so worried about her that I sat at the front door until she arrived.
When Jenny arrived she was ecstatic that she had managed to find her way to the cottage on her own. She gave me a huge hug. I was so happy to see her happy and safe!
As the weather forecast wasn’t great for our few days in Portland we decided to head out for a bike ride that evening. We went to Portland Head Lighthouse, which wasn’t too far from the cottage. Jenny was so excited, although she looked petrified in the photographs, which we later laughed about later.
As we walked around the coastline Jenny kept stopping to admire the rocks and the flowers on the trees. She would get excited about seeing a lighthouse in the distance or a bird in the water. She kept saying, ‘Sorry, I get really excited. Please tell me if it gets annoying’. It was making me so happy there was no way I would stop her!
We took the obligatory photo at the lighthouse and couldn’t resist tipping a toe on the grass next to the ‘Keep off the grass’ sign. We couldn’t stop giggling and this pretty much set the tone for the next few days.
We went to a grill house that evening for dinner. Jenny had a burger and I had ribs. Both were good but I think Jenny chose the better meal.
The next day we ventured to the historic part of town which was about a 25 minute drive from where we were staying. I’m not sure it was quite what either of us expected but we had a good day wandering around the streets. I bought myself a new cap and Jenny bought me a sticker for Trinity which says, ‘Not all who wander are lost’.
That night we picked up some Italian and a couple of bottles of red wine and went back to the cottage to have a meal in. It was a fantastic day.
Below are some photos of our first two days in Portland.
We had a slow start on Thursday morning. After a little too much wine the night before we were keen for a walk so we headed back to the lighthouse. Carol had given us a list of good local restaurants and we were determined to try at least a few out. The one was a food truck at the lighthouse, which was great!
After our walk we went back into town to catch a ferry to Peaks Island. What a cute place! We explored the island on foot although you can also do so by bicycle or golf cart.
We wandered through the houses admiring aspects of the ones we liked and laughed when we came across one with a huge metal cock in the front garden. We also stopped off at a house with a quote from Maya Angelou in the front garden that read, ‘Love recognises no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences and penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.’
After a photo at the house we stopped off at a small beach and watched a couple with a toddler and two babies on the beach, then walked on the pier and took photos of us doing a Lotus pose. On the way back we came across a cat with a dodgy eye which nearly adopted Jenny after she gave it a lot of attention.
It was a fantastic day which ended at a meal at another one of Carol’s recommendations, Central Provisions. Below are some photos of our day.
After cleaning the cottage and giving the unused food to one of Carol’s friends, we took Trinity for a ride up the coast. I’m not used to having anyone one the back of Trinity but I didn’t even feel Jenny on the back once we got moving. I just had to concentrate more when we stopped. Jenny was full of smiles!
I rode with Jenny back to the airport on Thursday before heading off to find a new headlight globe for Trinity which stopped working on Tuesday as I arrived into Portland.
I went to Portland with the intension to show Jenny the beautiful in this world through my eyes; everything that she’d been missing. Instead, seeing the world through Jenny’s eyes changed my world. I will treasure my time with her always.
I found a headlight globe at a dealer just north of Portland. I knew I wouldn’t make it to Bar Harbour so I asked them where I should stay. They said Boothbay Harbor, so off I went.
I arrived at Browns Wharf Inn as the sun was starting to set. The Inn was on the harbour and the view was spectacular! The lady at reception told me to go and enjoy the sunset while she sorted out my room, which I did. I sat on a swing chair on the deck admiring the sunset and thinking of the swing chair on the porch in Harper’s Ferry. It was perfect!
After sorting out my room I popped down to the bar for a drink. I had held the door open for a group of people on my way up to the room, which included two Harley riders. They were sitting at the bar, so I joined them. This is how I met Jim and Derek.
As luck would have it I met them again in Bar Harbor two days later when I was walking down the Main Street looking for a place to have dinner and I saw Jim calling to me from across the road. He saw me through the window of a Mexican Bar that they were in and he came out to call me.
What fantastic guys! Jim is a complete chatterbox, which constantly made me smile with all his stories. Derek is definitely more reserved and would pop up every once in a while. It took Derek a little longer to open up but once he did he had the most electric smile. I absolutely loved meeting the guys and I gave them both a huge hug when I left them the second time.
Meet Jim and Derek.
Boothbay Harbor was beautiful and I could easily go back there but my time there was very short. In the morning I hit the road to get to Bar Harbor which was about a 2.5 hour ride away.
Arcadia National Park sits in the middle of what almost looks like an island off the coast of Maine. I wanted to explore the whole area so I rode around to the quieter part of the ‘island’ – the southwestern side. It was stunning! A combination of rocky beaches, lakes, mountains, lighthouses and large trees.
Below are some photos of my day.
I had a fantastic day riding around and taking photos and at around 4pm stopped at a harbour restaurant for coffee. As I sat there I thought, ‘I like this area. I’m going to stay here’.
I booked myself into a B&B called Lindenwood Inn, which was a 3 minute ride from the restaurant, and with Gordon’s words in my mind that I had to have lobster in Maine, I ordered a lobster. This was the first time I have ever eaten lobster – I’m not a huge seafood fan.
I had two couples next to me from Florida who had also never eaten lobster, so we were giggling over the experience of having to work so hard to extract the meat from the shells. I felt like a caveman. It was hilarious! I would still rather eat a steak but the lobster actually wasn’t bad. I kept my bib as a memento.
Lindenwood Inn was fantastic! I think it’s my favourite stay so far, primarily because their staff are amazing. Most of them are from Serbia, which I visited last year during my Eastern Europe tour. The guy at reception’s name is Milan, which immediately made me think of my friend Milan, who I spent time with in Croatia during that tour. It was a great start to my stay and it kept getting better.
After a wonderful day riding around Arcadia National Park and two trips up Cadillac Mountain, one in the day and one at sunset, I sat down at one of the fireplaces and was joined by three other guests and Milan for drinks. We sat chatting for a few hours before heading to bed.
What an amazing day!
Below are links to some photos of the day and the gorgeous Cadillac Mountain.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bygr57ZntL7/
Meet Jennifer, Milan, Lilian and Bettina.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BygtaXUHAQu/
I could not have had a more beautiful experience of Maine.
Mel & Trinity 