Windows with Eyebrows

For those following along, I’ve logged the adventures of the last three days that’ve taken us from Little Rock, Arkansas to Portland Maine and my wonderful niece’s wedding. You can follow the eastern journey on my previous three posts. Today, we took a break, lounging in Portland and enjoying the actual wedding.

We wandered to town early in the morning, to do a little sight seeing and shopping. Portland has all manner of places to poke one’s head in, from taverns to pottery shops, all wrapped in the gabled roofs and windows with eyebrows that were so favored in the 19^th century. Narrow streets lined with sidewalks help foot traffic. Benches and door stoops abound. It had been a long time since I meandered about the town and it was nice to do so again.

After a bit I got it in my head that Dakota should see the Atlantic. He loves water and boats and fishing, traits he learned from his father. We had already spent some energy seeing Lake Erie and Niagara Falls, so it seemed only fitting. Leaving Kathy to explore pottery shops we headed to the port and began poking around. It proved an impossible task as the Fore River spills into the Portland Harbor and both are shielded from the ocean by a series of islands.

After that realization dawned, we wandered off. We met up with my sister, Nicole (Dakota’s mom), Kathy and found a book store to nest in for a while. Yes Books is a great used book store if you find yourself up here.

As the afternoon turned, we headed back to the hotel, stopped by the airport to pick up Rachel’s baggage that the airline had decided to ship on up from Newark, despite not shipping her and Fin (see previous posts). With that in tow we got some food and headed to the hotel. Kathy doesn’t sit well and we had an hour to kill so we decided to head to Fort Williams Park, just south of Portland. It proved a quick jaunt, but paid tremendous dividends as it overlooks the ocean. Though misty and we could not see far, the waves crashing on rocky shore made up for it. Having added a third water to his site seeing tour, we headed back to prep for the wedding.

We of course got snared in traffic and I had to ride over a few curbs to get us there in time but we managed it and it paid dividends. Not only did Kathy look stunning in the saved dress, but Claire and Zack put on an amazing ceremony, somehow taking the traditions of the past and blending them with a relaxed good sense of humor. It was fantastic. The reception too allowed us all have a good visit and some food, though truthfully the young man cutting portions of beef needed a thinner knife for bigger slices, as portions for beef eaters are more than decoration for other foods.

But no matter, Kat and I slipped out after saying our farewells and she had a lobster roll and I a cheeseburger at a nice little restaurant down the street. They used potato bread, whatever that is, and some kind of cheese I should probably know, on the burger, but it was good nonetheless and I scarfed it down.

Back to the hotel to watch the stream that Scxrlet64 put on for the Kickstarter. Today, we are off again. This time headed south to Newark to pick up the two lost travelers and take them home to Arkansas. The back again begins.