5/22/23 Free day in Portland, Maine

Of course our internal clocks still got us up and going by 6:00, but it felt very different knowing we had the flexibility to just lounge a little.  A list of “to do’s” to complete before exploring the town… with the priority being to pack up the bikes. 

It almost feels surreal that we started this journey on April 5th, peddled our bikes through 15 states, was blessed everyday with rideable weather conditions and saw so much along the way. We had 5 different home stays, only one being with someone we knew before the ride - Tim’s HS buddy that now lives in NY, one night  was Tim’s coworker’s sister in Miami and three were friends/ relatives of our Angels Camp friend - Bud.  Thanks Bud! 

This Gaia map shows each daily ride in a different color. (There are a couple spots the app didn’t work properly) 

After a nice, complementary hotel breakfast, we began the process of packing up… namely, locating our bike boxes and breaking down our bikes to box up. We were super lucky to use the hotel conference room for the task. Unfortunately, on both of our bikes the pedals were on so tight that our travel tools weren’t enough leverage to remove them. We jump on our bikes and road to the nearest open bike shop. 

At 11:11 we were finishing up the process. 

Once the boxes were taped up with appropriate shipping labels and our shuttle to the airport tomorrow morning at 4:15 AM was arranged,  we were ready to explore Portland by foot. 

We arrived at Austin Street Brewery where they had a farm to table food truck. We shared the special of the day.. and 2 small beers. 

Next we walked across the parking lot to Rising Tide Brewing Company. 

We saw a lot of diversity in the small section of Portland we explored. Seems there were homeless areas steps away from the Whole Foods market. 

We headed to Shipyard Brewery. By micro brewery standards. It’s an old one… established in 1994, almost 30 years ago! 

While there we also learned that Whoopie pies originated in Maine… so we had to try one! 

After wandering some more, in and out of shops and checking out the harbor we decided to have some New England seafood “chowdah”. To accompany the  delicious chowder bowl we also shared a short rib  poutine … very filling!  At that point… water was the perfect drink! 

6.8 miles of wandering and full bellies… it was time to call it a day.  Tomorrow’s alarm is set for 3:45 AM!  We’re excited to be homeward bound.