Ain't Portland Pretty?
27/03/11 07:15
Wasn't that just ducky. A quick ride to Portland for the day with my honey. That is what we did yesterday. It was just an oh-so-fine day for a ride that we couldn't resist. We invited the Ev boy along but he declined in typical "I'm sixteen and you're not" fashion. He seemed more inclined to want to hang with his buds and do a little paintball and lunch at the Bell (Taco). Hasn't anyone told him that the Bell was recently taken to task for false advertising? It seems that their beef concoctions are not as close to 100% as billed. That's hardly a show stopper for the youts of today. Bring it in at less than a dollar, load it up with carbs, and you're good to go. So much so that they probably do a bang-up business at their take-out window. I know because were constantly cleaning up the wrappers from that joint and others after Evan drops off the car. And this is a surprise to who? Besides, I think we'd better getter our road trips in while the price of gas is less that $3.50 a gallon although it exceeded that price at station after station as we made our way up the coast to our destination. Not sure we had a real destination although we wanted very badly to go to this one particular fish market in Portland on the wharf. Oddly enough, we've spent a lot of time over the years just a block away in the Old Port without ever getting off the beaten path to places like the Harbor Fish Market.
It was a sunny and breezy day with temperatures just barley above freezing. Not so cold that you needed a winter coat but absent that you needed multiple sweaters or layers up and down your body just to stay warm. I even had gloves on and I wasn't alone. Nancy even tried on some ear muffs in one store but they didn't fit quite right so there they stayed. I suggested she try on some beads seeing that they were "her color" and were really were quite nice. Foot traffic was brisk. Panhandlers were ever present and the coffee shops dotting the downtown area were filled to capacity with people huddling socially in groups, working on laptops at shops offering WiFi (who doesn't these days), and looking in and out of windows at the shops and people out and about for the day. I managed to go to 2 coffee shops within a 2 block area without ever stepping foot in Starbucks (my usual haunt). I guess you could say that it was a 2-cup day. A rarity by any standards much less my own. I spied a Cuban Espresso in one shop and couldn't place my order fast enough. That'll be to-go, por favor. After taking a quick sip and having my breath taken away by the loveliness of the highly and supremely caffeinated swill, I carried my little espresso as fast as I could without spilling it to where I thought my darling might be so she too could enjoy the rapture offered up by the beverage. It was heaven sent. She concurred but was satisfied after one small taste which left her upper lip with brush of caramel colored froth. She is one to guard against potions and portions that move her out of her comfort zone. I am nowhere near that disciplined.
The fish market was not quite what I expected. The building and area on the outskirts of the port were seemingly in disrepair and the alleyway leading up to the store was narrow and difficult to navigate. We immediately noticed people coming and going in and out of this one door which must have been the store itself. It was a working market by anyone's standards with drains in the cement floor and large pools of water containing lobsters lining the outer walls of the small shop. Sounds of bubbling water filled the air from the open tanks and created an ambience unique to the port area. Raw fish can be quite appealing to the eye and if nothing else it left us wanting a little something "fishy" before leaving the port. Before leaving for our trip back we sat in a restaurant a block or two out of the port area just so we could get off the beaten path and enjoy something less commercial. The place was small (two waitresses max) but the prices were right, the shop was not too busy but busy enough and busy enough with the right clientele (regulars) who by their very presence spoke to the quality and/or quantity of the fare. That was good enough for us. Besides, it was a nice warm place with an open table near the window and specials on the board that were simply appealing enough. I had clam chowder, fries, and a half sandwich while my sweetness had a bowl of fish chowder and most of my fries. Hey! Leave a couple of those crispy puppies for me, will ya? I think our bill came to $17. We stopped by Borders on the way out of town just to see if they were still in business after recently declaring bankruptcy. They were. The drive back to New Hampshire seemed longer than usual but that may have been because we were tired after a long day. And that we were. Tired but happy.
It was a sunny and breezy day with temperatures just barley above freezing. Not so cold that you needed a winter coat but absent that you needed multiple sweaters or layers up and down your body just to stay warm. I even had gloves on and I wasn't alone. Nancy even tried on some ear muffs in one store but they didn't fit quite right so there they stayed. I suggested she try on some beads seeing that they were "her color" and were really were quite nice. Foot traffic was brisk. Panhandlers were ever present and the coffee shops dotting the downtown area were filled to capacity with people huddling socially in groups, working on laptops at shops offering WiFi (who doesn't these days), and looking in and out of windows at the shops and people out and about for the day. I managed to go to 2 coffee shops within a 2 block area without ever stepping foot in Starbucks (my usual haunt). I guess you could say that it was a 2-cup day. A rarity by any standards much less my own. I spied a Cuban Espresso in one shop and couldn't place my order fast enough. That'll be to-go, por favor. After taking a quick sip and having my breath taken away by the loveliness of the highly and supremely caffeinated swill, I carried my little espresso as fast as I could without spilling it to where I thought my darling might be so she too could enjoy the rapture offered up by the beverage. It was heaven sent. She concurred but was satisfied after one small taste which left her upper lip with brush of caramel colored froth. She is one to guard against potions and portions that move her out of her comfort zone. I am nowhere near that disciplined.
The fish market was not quite what I expected. The building and area on the outskirts of the port were seemingly in disrepair and the alleyway leading up to the store was narrow and difficult to navigate. We immediately noticed people coming and going in and out of this one door which must have been the store itself. It was a working market by anyone's standards with drains in the cement floor and large pools of water containing lobsters lining the outer walls of the small shop. Sounds of bubbling water filled the air from the open tanks and created an ambience unique to the port area. Raw fish can be quite appealing to the eye and if nothing else it left us wanting a little something "fishy" before leaving the port. Before leaving for our trip back we sat in a restaurant a block or two out of the port area just so we could get off the beaten path and enjoy something less commercial. The place was small (two waitresses max) but the prices were right, the shop was not too busy but busy enough and busy enough with the right clientele (regulars) who by their very presence spoke to the quality and/or quantity of the fare. That was good enough for us. Besides, it was a nice warm place with an open table near the window and specials on the board that were simply appealing enough. I had clam chowder, fries, and a half sandwich while my sweetness had a bowl of fish chowder and most of my fries. Hey! Leave a couple of those crispy puppies for me, will ya? I think our bill came to $17. We stopped by Borders on the way out of town just to see if they were still in business after recently declaring bankruptcy. They were. The drive back to New Hampshire seemed longer than usual but that may have been because we were tired after a long day. And that we were. Tired but happy.