PORTLAND
While living in Barnstable, MA (Cape Cod) for the Spring of 2019, we were only a 3.5 hour trip to Portland and it definitely seemed worth making the trip up (it was). We found a place to legally park the van at night, we had plenty of restaurants to try, and of course as Red Sox fans, we made sure to catch a Sea Dogs game.
NIGHT 1 05.03.2019
We were able to get on the road by about 330pm and expected some traffic through Boston. We only had a couple things planned for Friday night and here's what they were...
Docks Seafood: We came here for the twin lobster, however, everything on the menu looked good (lots & lots of seafood). We arrived just after 7pm and by the time we got our food it was about 730 (they close at 8) and because of this, we felt a little rushed, even though no one was rushing us to leave. Other than that, it was awesome. The food was delicious. We each got 2 lobsters, a baked potato, & cole slaw! Price varies per night. It was $28.99 for the twin when we went.
Sea Dog Brewing Co.: I have had their beer before so it was nice to visit the brewery while in Portland. They do have a full restaurant as well!
Once we left there, we headed to the Cabelas in Scarborough. We confirmed with them that overnight parking is allowed and they even have a designated RV/truck parking area. We felt very safe parking here for the night and slept well!
SATURDAY 05.04.2019
We had a fairly busy day and we did everything we planned to do in Portland on this day. Because of that, we ended up leaving Portland in the evening after dinner! Here's what we did...
Portland Farmers Market
Tandem Coffee Roasters
Bam Bam Bakery
Cabot Cheese Farmers Annex
Allagash Brewing
Sea Dogs Game [1pm]
Duckfat
Portland Head Light
Portland Farmers Market: We didn't end up buying anything and it was a rainy and cold morning but there were several vendors and plenty of fresh produce and plants (hence, it being a farmers market). The farmers market is located at Deering Oak's Park. Open from 7a - 1p.
Tandem Coffee Roasters: They have 2 locations in Portland and we first went to the bakery location, only because it was closer to the farmers market. They happened to have a power outage and had no espresso or chai so we went over to the roastery, which was only about 5 minutes away, more toward downtown Portland.
Bam Bam Bakery: As we walked around, we decided to stop in here for a pastry. We had not planned to come here. It is a gluten-free bakery. We ended up getting a "chocolate peanut butter delight" and it was quite tasty!
Cabot Farmers Annex: We were waiting for this place to open at 10am and when it did, we were ready to sample some cheese! It's a small shop with plenty of cheese samples and would be a perfect place to buy a gift!
Allagash Brewing: This was one of the must-visit places we had in mind in Portland and it even exceeded expectations. It was a fun brewery to be at. The beer is very good. We were surprised with free donut holes, coffee, & hot chocolate as well (not sure how often they do that). They also have the delicious food-truck Bite Into Maine here and that's where we had lunch. Les got the lobster roll and I went with the lobster grilled cheese!
Sea Dogs Game: We bought the tickets about 3 weeks before and we lucked out (no offense, Dustin) that Pedroia re-injured his knee and was rehabbing with Portland. We got to see him play most of the game and go 3-4. Front row seats were only about $15 a piece. It was a pretty cool experience to see the future stars of the Red Sox working their way toward the big leagues.