Maine: Dirigo

Originally, I was not planning to travel outside of MA during my five weeks on the Cape. However, once the idea was brought to my attention, there was no going back. As I alluded to in my previous post, I was overly ambitious while planning my New England road trip. What can I say, sometimes my eyes are too big for my stomach! Nevertheless, I prioritized my list and made a more realistic plan. That being said, this will hopefully not be my last trip through New England.

My journey began early Friday morning; just me and Old Red driving north along the coast. Our first stop was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire--about two hours out. The visitor center gave me the direction that I needed to explore town. Market Street is filled with unique boutique shops--apparently, Starbucks is the only chain store in the city, which I can appreciate. I also was a fan of the no-tax laws!

Following the Harbor Trail through downtown, I arrived at Prescott Park. Even for the time of year, it was a nice area located near the harbor.

I also passed through Strawberry Banke--an outdoor history museum--which was closed at the time, but the ground were still open. An ice skating rink in the center was supposed to open that day, but it was too warm outside.

Just an hour north, Red and I found ourselves in Portland, Maine. As usual, I started at the visitor center to get oriented. It seemed like a walkable city, so I set off towards the East End. I picked up the Eastern Prom Trail, walking alongside the scenic bay.

From there, I cut into the Back Cove Trail, a 3.5 mile loop, but decided to turn around when I realized that I wanted to see more of the city before I ran out of daylight.

So I turned inland and walked along the Eastern Promenade, admiring the skyline views and big, mansion-like houses.

Eventually, I made my way to Commercial Street, located in Old Port along the Waterfront District. As the name suggests, this is a popular, touristic part of town.

Finally, I entered the Arts District in the West End, and made it to the Western Promenade just in time for sunset.

By nightfall, I followed Fore Street back to the visitor center, wondering how many miles I had walked in just a few short hours. My tired feet suggested quite a few.

Finally parting from the coastline, Red and I turned inland and drove 1.5 hours to North Conway, New Hampshire. Due to the holiday weekend, I did not have luck finding a free hostel or accommodation through AirBnB, so I stayed the night at Nereledge Inn B&B, excited to spend the following day in the White Mountains!