Day 7: Portland Rest Day

 Day 7: Portland, ME

June 19, 2016

Miles: 0 (we rested)


Its Father's Day, so I had the day off.  Instead of riding, I got to do some of the other things that I really enjoy.  First, I got to sleep in.  We didn't get up until 9am, which is not as late as I would normally consider sleeping in, but late compared to the time we typically arise on our bike trips.  Then we headed downstairs for breakfast, which was the usual Hampton Inn fare - good, but not great.  But  they do have coffee!  By 10am I had already done three of my favorite things: sleeping, eating and drinking coffee.

Breakfast at the Hampton Inn lacks pancakes

After breakfast, we decided to do some laundry.  This is not one of my favorite things, so Di offered to do the laundry this time.  Actually, she does the laundry every time.  I'd like to say that I perform other tasks for her in return, but nothing is coming to mind right now.  I probably should have made something up that I do in return, but probably no one would believe me.  Anyway, this is really another one of my favorite things, which is having such a wonderful person in my life.

Thanks Di!

At least I strung up the line and helped hang the clothes to dry. 

Di makes laundry look like fun.

I called my Mom to say hello.  Its always enjoyable to talk with my Mom because she is so upbeat and funny.  We talked for a while and then Andy came on the phone to wish me Happy Father's Day!  He was at my Mom's to do some work and he filled me in on what he's been up to.  I always enjoy talking with Andy and even though I've only been gone a week I already miss our conversations.  He is coming with Jen and Ben to visit Di and me in Nova Scotia in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see them.  It makes me very happy just to see my children.  We talked for a while and then my Dad came on the phone and we wished each other a happy Father's Day.  Every time I talk with my Dad I am reminded how funny he can be; he really knows how to deliver a zinger.  Well, there is another favorite thing of mine: family.

We then went walking around Portland.  We came to a small park with a musician with a folk guitar and I asked Di to pose for me.  This is another of my favorite things: taking pictures.  Di used to be reluctant to pose, but now she is a natural and readily gets in position for the shot.  I think she just wants to get it over with quickly.

One of the many thousands of pictures I have taken of Di

Now it was time for more coffee.   As I said earlier,  coffee is one of my favorite things and corollary to that enjoyment is:  coffee good, more coffee better.  We went into Bard Coffee and we both got the Nitro Iced Coffee.  This is an iced coffee that is infused with nitrogen and served from a beer tap.  It is advertised as being much smoother than your typical iced coffee.  I found that it was smoother, but for me, it wasn't worth the additional money.  I'd rather save that money and use it to by more regualar coffee.  Also, do I really want to ingest nitrogen?  Anyway, there I was, happy with more coffee.  We went back to the park to listen to more music.  Listening to music is definitely one of my more favorite things to do.  As a bonus, the musician played some Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel!  He also sang Let It Go from the movie Frozen and instead of being annoyed, I was shocked to find myself singing along.  I didn't even know I knew the words, but I guess that's what happens when the world gets saturated with a song.

What, me, worry?

We finished our coffees and it was on to another favorite thing: a bookstore!  I love going in bookstores and feeling all the potential great stories I can read.  Today I knew I needed to find a certain book recommended by Bethany.  She said I had to read this if I was going to Prince Edward Island.  Bethany has never steered me wrong before, so I had to follow up on her recommendation to read Anne of Green Gables. I probably should have read this book by now, but hey, so many books, so little time.  The bookstore had two different copies of the story, so naturally I made my selection by lowest weight.  It also had the benefit of the nicest cover.

This is the cover of the book now in my possession

It was now time for another favorite thing: eating.  I know I listed this activity before, but the truth is, I don't really have that many favorite things.  Its just that I deeply enjoy those things that are my favorites.  And, I'm not giving you a comprehensive list of my favorite things either.  Some parts of me must remain a mystery. (That's another of my favorite things - thinking I'm mysterious.  Please don't burst my bubble.)

Di and I went to Duck Fat restaurant.  I thought it a strange name for a restaurant because it might give the impression that they cook everything in duck fat.  But that is not the case, they just cook some things in duck fat.  Di and I started our meal off with an order of Belgian Fries cooked in, what else, duck fat!  Despite their obsession with duck fat, the fries were awesome!

Those fries were made with genuine duck fat!

Di ordered haddock and I the pulled pork panini.  I don't know if duck fat was used in the making of either of these meals, but odds are it was.

Ready to eat (notice the fries have been consumed)

We finished eating and went back to the hotel to take a nap (more sleep!).  I napped for about an hour and shortly after I woke Jen called to wish me Happy Father's Day!  Jen had sent me a Happy Father's Day! text early this morning instead of calling because she didn't want to wake me in case I was sleeping (smart!).  I knew she would call later in the day and it was great to hear her voice.  Now that Jen is living in Providence I get to spend a lot more time with her than when she was in Philly and I love that.  Ironically, it makes me miss her more when I'm away, so I was glad to talk with her.

Di and I then decided to go to the outdoor showing of the film Manhatten.  Going to the movies is another of my favorite things and I particularly like Woody Allen.  We knew the showing was on Congress Street, so we started at the downtown end of Congress and started walking.  After 20 minutes of walking we hadn't yet found the outdoor theater and the street appeared to stretch on for quite a distance.  We decided to abandon our search and go to a bar to watch the finals of the NBA championship.  We were looking forward to seeing the movie, but we ended up having a lot of fun in the bar.  I was rrooting for Cleveland, the underdog, and they won in a very exciting game.  So, I was able to experience another favorite thing of mine: having things go my way. 

Veggie burger, Lake Trout Stout, NBA finals

I had a great Father's Day and I hope everybody's day was as much fun as mine.

Tomorrow, we are off to Damariscotta, where we will learn how to pronounce Damariscotta.  It is around 55 miles from Portland, so we'll have a full day of riding.