Daytrip around Portland
We’ve spent the past year exploring the surrounding Portland area as part of this Daytrip series. You’ve really seemed to love it — from the candid real time stories along the way to the blog writeup a week later to reference when planning a trip of your own, it has been awesome to see how engaged you are with this type of content. While we have loved sharing the many great sites and bites within an hour of our home here in Portland, we thought it would be fun for our final excursion of the year to focus on the launchpad we often leap from.
Although it would be easy to spend a day brewery hoping or eating our way through the restaurants, we decided to weave in some opportunities to digest and enjoy other aspects of this town — like museums and shops.
Our day started off at Rwanda Bean where we savored some fine espresso along with a delightfully simple breakfast. Aromas from the roasting beans wafted through the space as we discussed the day ahead. While we were in the Thompson’s Point area (and had an extra hour on the parking meter), we thought it would be fun to visit the Cryptozoology Museum — a place we had eyed for years but never stepped inside. Being our first time, we had no idea what to expect when we hung our coats on the hook. We wound our way through the collection of paraphernalia — from renderings to skeletons, historical references and imaginary recollections — all teetering on the line between science and pseudoscience. It was a trip and certainly worth crossing off your bucket list if it’s on there… but perhaps not worth adding to the bucket list if Bigfoot isn’t your thing.
Making our way down the Fore River, we parked on Commercial St in the heart of the Old Port for some lunch, then shopping. We walked down the Portland Pier to Luke’s Lobster. Their beautiful location overlooks our working waterfront and, from our table, we saw osprey, seals, Eider ducks, and lots more. It was a great reminder of the connection between humans and nature, something we find so special here in Maine. I tried their soup special, lobster corn chowder, and Cam enjoyed the haddock sandwich. Fueled up and ready to stroll, we headed to the streets and popped into shops.
Our first visit was to Fitz and Bennet, a lovingly curated selection of home goods and gifts. The sign outside their door says it all, “See it here, buy it here, keep it here.” This was our mission for the day, to highlight local businesses and to inspire you to check them out on your next visit to Portland. From there, we cruised up to Portland Trading Co, a loyal stockiest of Maine the Way and dear friend in the community. Kazeem’s collection of beautifully designed garments paired with gorgeous jewelry, pottery, and more makes this a must stop on a trip through town. We continued on down to Sherman’s, where we picked up some books for loved ones and always enjoy their selection of cookbooks, novels, and non fiction to please everyone. Ember, a collaboration between Campfire Pottery and Mulxiply, was our last stop. The combining of their crafts, from textile designs, to jewelry, ceramics, and beyond, shows so much talent and impressive synergy!
By this time, many hours since lunch, we had burned through our shopping quota and were ready for some respite. We made our way to East Bayside for a beer at our favorite local watering hole — Austin Street. They often have a nice assortment of styles, satisfying the light and dark beer drinkers alike. To finish our Daytrip around Portland, we managed to get a table at the highly coveted and insanely delicious Izakaya Minato. Their menu of Japanese small plates are great for sharing and trying new things, like cod shoulder, or sticking with the classics, like the JFC, shichimi tuna, and okonomiyaki.
After the delicious meal and fulfilling day, we made our way back home to the West End. There’s so much to do, see, and eat in this small city. So, whether you’re from here and already know and love these spots or will be making a trip to Portland this holiday season, be sure to check out the many great and delicious businesses that make this town so special. We love calling this seaside city home and hope you feel a connection that compels you to shop small, eat locally, and support those in the community working to enhance your experience — wherever you are!