A Taste of Maine - Oct. 17, 2013

We arrived in Portland, ME, this morning to a very gray, very foggy sky.  Seeing across Casco Bay was an impossibility.  The term “pea soup” came to mind when we looked out from our balcony.  Portland is a wonderful place to get a taste of New England, whether you are looking for incredible homes, architecture and history, or lobsters and chow-dah.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow referred to Portland, his boyhood home, as the “Jewel of the Sea”.

Charlie and I got off the ship and took a walk down the main street, getting caught in a rain shower.  Thank goodness, I remembered to pack the umbrellas.  We met up with our friends, Linda and Jim Tidwell and David and Linda Bohan, and boarded our motorcoach for a tour to Kennebunkport around noon.

To get to Kennebunkport, we had to go through Kennebunk.  We passed The Kennebunk Inn, one of the top ten haunted inns in New England, and where our friends, the Bohans, have stayed.  They can vouch for the Inn being haunted because they experienced it first-hand on a trip here a few years ago. 

Kennebunkport is just 45 minutes from Portland.  The leaves are not at their peak color, but it is definitely looking like fall in New England.  This is a charming coastal village which gained worldwide exposure as the summer home of former President George H.W. Bush. 

When we arrived in Kennebunkport, we stopped for a quick bowl of clam chowder and a little shopping before boarding our coach again.

Motorcoaches are not allowed to stop , but we drove slowly past Walker’s Point, the Bush Estate, and the former Summer White House, where world leaders often gathered.  We could see Barbara Bush (although at quite a distance) decked out in pink, outside working in one of the many gardens surrounding the compound.  

There is a guard house to enter the driveway which has Secret Service personnel in residence.  There is also housing for them on the estate.  The flag pole is very interesting, with the U.S. flag on top of a flag of the state of Texas and a flag of the state of Maine.

As soon as we arrived in Kennebunkport, the sun came out, the weather started to clear which made the leaves even more brilliant. 

One thing we did learn today is that there are 75 lighthouses in the state of Maine.  I’m sure we will see quite a few as we sail by the Maine coastline. 

It’s 5:00 pm, and the Celebrity Summit has begun her departure from Portland as the fog again starts to roll in.  We are now headed to Bar Harbor for a day of eating lobster and roaming around this quaint little New England town.