Lord Jim of Dilling - Diplomat Magazine

Maine|DESTINATIONSat vastly marked-down prices. However,when we made our reservation, all wecould specify is how many kilometers wewere willing to go from the city centre andthe minimum star-rating we wanted. Thename of the hotel wasn’t provided untilwe’d signed the dotted line.We crossed our fingers, hoped for thebest, and it worked. We ended up at thelovely Wyndham Hotel, which is lessthan a 10-minute drive from the centre ofPortland. From the outside, it looked likea forgotten relic from the 1960s. Inside, therooms were luxurious. If one measuresluxury by the number of non-functionalpillows on the bed, it should be noted thatthe Wyndham boasted a seven-pillow bed.The food was delicious and the servicefriendly and prompt. We had free Internetaccess, together with the kind of toiletriesguests want to take home, to sit unused intheir guest bathroom.Portland itself offered a wonderfulselection of shopping, restaurants, parks,architecture and, tucked into every cobblestonebrick and every artfully-designedwooden sign, the inescapable feeling thatwe were in the beating heart of New England.It was the combination of fresh saltyair, welcoming locals, unbelievable lobsterrolls, beautiful scenery and great shoppingin a well-established and active port town.We spent our first afternoon on theMainely Tours trolley with Bramps (“mygranddaughter can’t pronounce the ‘G’”),the guide who would lean in to the megaphoneand offer personal anecdotesthroughout the three-hour journey. Thetrip took us from the docks, through thecity, highlighting Victoria Mansion, modernart galleries, the birthplace home of thepoet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Evangeline,Song of Hiawatha), several shoppingdistricts and views of the Fore River. Onebuilding to note was Franklin Towers, thetallest building (at 16 stories) in Maine.Portland passed a law that no buildingcould be taller, thereby helping preservethe beauty and history of the city and itswaterfront. Crossing the river on the wayto Cape Elizabeth, we took in the views ofthe Portland Head Light, the most photographedlighthouse in North America.As Bramps’ fascinating stories and thesalt-water taffy we had smuggled ontothe trolley ran out, we headed to Becky’son Hobson’s Wharf. This bustling dinerrewarded the very patience it demandedfrom us. The line-up of people outsideassured we’d picked the right place, butthe turnover was faster than we expected.The all-day breakfast was peerless, the coffeedelicious and the blueberry pancakes,a guilty pleasure we suggest not goingwithout. As it’s in a place centred on thefishing industry, Becky’s pays tribute tothe fisherman who helped build the city.To this day, whenever a fisherman is lostat sea, Becky’s stays open 24 hours and allthe proceeds go to the fisherman’s family.After a day of strolling through the city,we ended up at Dry Dock Restaurant &Tavern, which offered the most extraordinaryEast Coast meal we enjoyed on ourtrip: fried clam cakes, a gourmet hamburgerand a lobster roll. The latter is alocal favourite for good reason.An East Coast meal wouldn’t be completewithout some local beer – we suggestAllagash, Geary’s or Shipyard BrewingCo. After enjoying the scenery off the second-floorpatio of the restaurant, a busydock-side bar filled with the city’s 20- and30-something crowd, we went huntingfor an ice-cream shop. Beals Ice Cream iswonderful and homemade, a confectionwhich, in the rest of our vacation, we wereunable to equal. We suggest chocolate and– in case you stop by – one scoop is plenty.We returned happily to the bed of pillowsat the Wyndham and rested for theadventure we had planned for the nextday: Old Orchard Beach. We found thefamous beach more expansive than wehad imagined – it extends for miles – andmuch more family-friendly than manyof its sister beaches further south. At OldOrchard Beach, the ocean is at its warmestin late July and early August.We left Old Orchard Beach a little moretanned and much more relaxed. The beachis half an hour from Portland. Were welocal residents, we would be there everyweekend in the summer – either for theswimming or for the picturesque ConeyIsland-type carnival which runs along thebeach.The convertible and the gorgeous highwayroute made it easier to tear ourselvesaway from the beach. There really is nobetter way to travel. Highway 95 runsstraight up from Portland to Kittery. Perhapsone of the most famous shoppingtowns in the U.S., Kittery comes right outof an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue. Ithas an endless selection of retail and outletPortland offers great shopping, restaurants, parks and architecture, together with the feeling that youare in the “beating heart of New England.”stores (J. Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren, LizClaiborne, Jones New York and TommyHilfiger). After resisting temptation in theinterest of trunk-space and self-restraint,we stopped by Bob’s Clam Hut (wherethe ice cream gave Beals a good run forits money) and the Starbucks across thestreet, where we did do some shopping,leaving with two five-pound bags of Gazeboblend. (Starbucks coffee in the U.S.is almost half the price of Starbucks coffeein Canada.) The service was extraordinary– as it was everywhere we went in Kittery.You can’t go to Kittery and not go toKennebunk and Kennebunkport. Bothprosperous towns (which got their namesfrom the Abenaki people’s term for “thelong cut bank”), they are a great tourismdestination for people who enjoy seeingthe homes of some of America’s most af-istockdiplomat and international canada 57