Thursday we decided to take the Downeaster to Portland, Maine. We thought the train would be more fun than driving, and it was one of the best parts of our trip!
On our trip north we rode in the dome car. We had an almost panoramic view of our ride. When we reached Old Orchard Beach the volunteer conductor began a narrated tour of what we were seeing and the history of the Downeaster. It was super informative and made us look twice at the marsh and other sites as we traveled north.
What we didn’t realize is how far the train station is from downtown Portland. Definitely not walking distance on a hot day. We began by walking to the International Cryptozoology Museum which is near the train station.
Unique is one word I could use to describe the museum. It’s small and cozy. For a trip where we had plans to see several things this was a good stop. It’s not someplace I would drive an hour just to visit. It had quirky displays of unusual animals, aliens, and a replica of bigfoot.
We walked back to the train station, found the ridiculously small display for the local bus, and took the bus into Portland. We had some quick visits into the Children’s Museum and the Portland Museum of Art. The Children’s Museum was smaller than the Boston Children’s Museum, but bigger than the one in Dover. I think we’ve reached the stage in our kid’s lives that they have begun to outgrow Children’s Museums.
Next we walked to the Portland Museum of Art. It’s very nice and we did not have time to visit all of it. Would definitely be worth a return trip now that we know how to navigate our way there from the train. It’s larger then the Currier Gallery and definitely smaller than the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
We were getting worried about the time so we went off in search of dinner. We found Otto’s. We almost didn’t go in as it was labeled on the map as a pizza place. And yes, it was pizza, but it was so, so, much more!
We weren’t too brave starting out so Sophia had her usual salad. John, Jacob & Micaela had pepperoni pizza. Becca and I split a chicken and basil pizza. I wan’t full, felt brave, and ordered 1 slice of their best-selling pizza – mashed potato, bacon & scallion. Oh. My. God. I should have ordered a whole pie of it right when we walked in the door. Now I know WHY it is their best-selling pizza. If we make a return trip we are so eating there again!
Since we had time before our bus back to the train station we wandered around. Browsed in an art supply store, found the Maine College of Art, and the Sock Shack.
They have the widest selection of amazing socks that I have ever seen! Not sure which was better, pizza at Otto’s or buying socks at the Sock Shack. The owner was working and was super nice.
The Portland Metro buses are part of this amazing system that you can go on a website and it will tell you the eta of your bus. Awesome! Kids: “when will the bus be here?” Parents: “3 minutes”. Just absolutely awesome.
No dome car for our ride home. We were all tired and really just zoned out for the ride back. The conductors on both our trip north and our trip south were just great. We’re thinking of taking the Downeaster for a trip to Boston next.
