We had a day to kill before Jeff, Leslie & Emile Keats came up from Boston for the weekend, so we motored just a few miles over to Wildwood Park (north of Falmouth) along the shore to tuck out of westerly winds. A nice open anchorage with no one else around, it’s only downside was the long dinghy ride to shore. To be precise – a mile and a half of a wet choppy dinghy ride to shore (oh for an inflatable with a 10 hp engine that would allow us to plane). After a wet ride into the Falmouth town landing, the Harbormaster was good with us leaving the dinghy at his dock while we caught the bus to town for provisioning. We hit the ATM for cash, the bank for quarters (laundry), and the grocery store for a little bit of everything. Then it was back to the dinghy for a much calmer downwind ride back to the boat.
The Keats brought fabulous weather with them. They picked us up at the Handy Boat Yard where we had grabbed a mooring for the night. Then it was off to Portland to take in some good beer and food. Downtown Portland tends to be packed with tourists, but there’s an area just outside the city with all the up and coming breweries and eateries that we headed for. We started at Duckfat with a smorgasboard of charcuterie, and of course their famous poutine and vanilla milkshakes. Well, the milkshake was for Emily, while we sampled the local beer from Oxbow Brewery, which conveniently shared a courtyard.
After lunch, Leslie, Emily and I headed over to a local knitting store where we all got some cool yarn. Meanwhile, Jeff and Trip went down to the Maine Distillery to get some special whiskey for a Boston friend (as well as sampling some of the local rums). After that we met up again and headed down to Austin Street, one of the new up and coming breweries, for yet more beer, as well as some sushi to tide Emilie over till dinner.
Since we were close, and the Keats had a car, we made a quick stop at Trader Joes so I could stock up with enough of my canned/boxed favorites to tide us over till we got home (Trader Joes really is one of the best stores for stocking a boat). Then we went into downtown Portland to get some ice cream, stroll around with all the tourists, and more importantly grab lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese takeout. I love the Portland Lobster Company, but the crowds are crazy, so we did takeout and brought it back to the boat for an al fresco dinner as the sun set behind us.
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