Lord Jim of Dilling - Diplomat Magazine

DESTINATIONS|MaineAn often-overlooked Maine attractionBy Jessie Reynolds and Matt Renshawmatt renshawPortland Head Light: “The most photographed lighthouse in North America.”Departing in our bright-white,newly-minted 2009 Mustang convertiblerental from Toronto’sPearson International Airport at 11:00 p.m.might have seemed reasonable when wewere in the planning our economy-classtrip to Maine. When we finally pulled intoPortland, Maine’s largest city, seven cupsof coffee and roughly 10 hours later, werealized that perhaps sleeping throughthe night might have been a good ideabefore starting out on our two-week openairdriving vacation.The route was pretty simple and, forwhatever parts of it weren’t, our borrowed(and quickly mastered) GPS saved the day.It turns out that all we needed for a memorabledriving holiday is a convertible, coffee-cupholders, a GPS and one statewidepull-out map (which was in shreds by theend of Week One). Driving from Torontoto Portland was purely an exercise ineconomy – we could have rented the carin Portland. We had convinced ourselves,though, that the journey was as importantas the destination. Luckily, we were right.From Toronto, we headed through NewYork State and Massachusetts before cuttingacross a small corner of New Hampshireand pulling into Portland early thenext morning. By then we had experiencedall Highway 90’s rest stops had to offer:Welcome centres which provide free coffeeand tour books as well as the only cleanwashrooms we found anywhere in Maineoutside of our hotel rooms. In the middleof the night, America’s eastern seaboardrest stops are closed, with no concern thatdrivers are running out of gas, beef jerkyand coffee.Portland conveys a sense of relaxationand efficiency, all at once. Once we enteredthe city, crossing basket-weave highwaysand bridges, we quickly sensed this moderncity is also an old city, full of historywith unique architecture, narrow cobblestoneroads and street-side coffee shops.Here, a jazz quartet performed on thesidewalk. There, a fisherman carried hiscatch off tug-boats. These days, though,the traditional or “hey-day” scenes takeplace in front of Internet cafés and fairtradeboutique import stores.Portland offers a variety of chain hotels,small family-run historical hotels andconventional B&Bs. Many such rooms costbetween US$130 and $200 per night. Weopted for – what else? – a deal we foundon the Internet. The website, www.hotwire.com,offers flights, hotels or packages56 SPRING 09 | APR–JUN