Day 6 - PORTLAND!!!

It's here! IT'S HERE!!!

We tried to be a little conscientious and not sleep in until noon. So we set the alarms for 8:00 and actually managed to wake up before them. We did take the luxury of waking up slowly though. (sssshhhh...don't tell Mike.)

I called Mike (a.k.a Johnny Dollar) when we hoped to be about 20 minutes out from being ready, with the idea of greeting him in the driveway. We were mostly on time. :)

We followed Mike onto the Portland roads and left our fates in his hands. He didn't steer us wrong. We turned corners, went under bridges, rode over big bridges, it's all a blur to me. The sky was a beautiful, clear blue, I wasn't having to send furtive looks at my GPS and scour street signs. I could trust to fate and hope he didn't lead us directly down a boat ramp to christen the bikes in Maine salt baths.

A short jaunt and we were pulling up in front of the house. As always occurs when riding buddies meet up, we began to eye each others bikes. Have you ever noticed it's like a slow dance meeting someone else's bike? First you stand and take furtive glances at it while talking with the owner. Then you begin to stare a little more openly. Feeling more confident, you begin the cross-over step around the bike. Until you are hunkered down, lifting the skirts to see how that farkle (functional sparkle) is connected, is that why bikes a girls? So men can feel comfortable with touching and feeling?? :)

Anyhow...stepping into Mike and BRW's home was like walking into my own: big, comfy sofa and chairs, beautiful rugs, bookcases bursting at the seams. Oh yeah. (I'm intrigued by Tom's place where he says he has created something similar to a nautilus spiral of bookcases into his "man cave". I want to see that.)

Tom, Oilburner, and I sit down at the table (in front of the fans since the mercury is already climbing) while Mike and BRW whip us this phenomenal breakfast. I can't tell you what half of this stuff is, just that it was GOOD! I didn't get pics of the toast and fruit bowl. You will just have to imagine those. Needless to say we were stuffed. Good thing we sat around and discussed books, geography, Sea Dogs, and the like.

After a couple hours of bs'ing we suited up to hit the road. Our first stop was a mere 6.4 miles down the road, and that was the long, scenic way. Believe me when Mike brags everything is so "close", he isn't lying. As Mike has showboated, we went to the Portland Head Light first with Tom leading the charge. I could sit there all day! The only drawback is not being able to reach the water. Tom says the average water temperature is 54F. That's doable, right?

Heard tell that this old light house was possibly being purchased for private use.  Nice!

The arrow points to the Observatory from the last post.

Nearby forts on islands.  I would love to be able to walk around these.

Portland Head Light is located within Fort Williams Park. Though we didn't take the time to tour the park itself it contains the ruins of military fortifications and the walls of the Goddard family mansion. This is a perfect setting for any running, walking, cycling, photography, outdoor activities. Tom also informs me the winter storms are particularly enjoyable. We have already started coming up with ways to invite ourselves back in January.

We saddled back up and headed south. We made it another 20 miles down the road Tom's Landing (no relation) and the Pine Point restaurant. These are lovely roads through marshes and wonderful neighborhoods. They beg for a slow ride to look around and see everything.

Being a bit peckish, we ordered a couple calamari appetizers. Though Tom went for the full meal and allowed me to steal a few fries that I was eyeing. Again, the conversation was great. Did we have more fun wagging our jaws or riding??

Yep. Tide was way out.

Cormorants

Look closely to see the crab

I have to laugh now looking at the GPS track. We've managed about 50 miles in 5 hours, but geez it was fun and beautiful. We continue making our way south and we get to ride through Kennebunkport, land of the summer wealthy. The houses, if you can call some of them that, are beautiful. Everything is so clean and well kept. Want I am coming to think of as typical New England coastal town. No pictures, didn't stop.

Continuing our tour, we started stepping our way back towards Portland. One place we discussed going for dinner is a well known biker bar near Kennebunk called Bentley's Saloon. The pictures on the web look a little wild and crazy and I had my concerns of a scooter and two BMW's showing up at a leather and patches type of place. (Not really, but it sounds good.) Mike and BRW would fit right in with their leather chaps. Until they removed them to reveal white knees.

Ultimately, Oilburner was slowing down and we opted to go to a local joint in Portland. As I've said before, we like to go where the locals eat, not the tourist chains. I don't think you can get much more local than Ruski's. Mike describes it properly as a 5 star dive. The food wasn't bad, the beer was good (though the waitress never brought me mine after the sample glass), but the companionship still won out. Conversation ultimately turned to where Oilburner and I were headed next. Since we didn't have much of an idea they offered up a couple of great ideas.

 This was waiting outside Ruski's for its owner.

Time was closing in... We jumped on the bikes and toured around downtown for a few minutes. Oh the joy of cobblestone streets! (It wasn't that bad.). We only rode a block or two on the "new" cobblestone streets (stopping in a downhill, thanks Mike!) but he did lead us over the original cobblestone/trolley tracks we went over yesterday. Check that one of my list. My tires dared tread where peoples of the past centuries had walked, stepped onto the trolley, and driven the first automobiles.

Then we were lead back to our lodgings...boo!! :(

Tearful hugs, wishes of good journeys, no ideas on what the future might hold.