<p>Will be heading to Boston, via Portland, ME, to visit D1 for Spring break (last week of March). I have never been to Portland and would appreciate advice from fellow CC members on things to do/visit while we are there (two days), including sightseeing and places to eat. I am traveling with my wife and two kids.</p>
<p>BUMP (10 Char).</p>
<p>There was a thread on this before. I will look for it. PM me if you want any specific information. This is my backyard.</p>
<p>What type of food do you like?</p>
<p>Be prepared that late March is not Maine at its best. Sorry. But it is a wondeful city and area. Just don’t expect great weather. It is still winter and/or “mud” season.</p>
<p>Here is the earlier thread. Lots of good info there, I think. But feel free to ask more or, as I said, PM.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/343995-suggestions-maine-mini-vacation.html?highlight=Maine[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/343995-suggestions-maine-mini-vacation.html?highlight=Maine</a> Note that the Inn By the Sea, which I mention in that thread, is currently closed for renovations. One of the Old Port hotels or Western Prom B&Bs would be my suggestions. There are also several chain hotels/motels, if budget considerations rule them out.</p>
<p>I spent a week in Brunswick while I was taking a class at Bowdoin. I was most impressed.</p>
<p>If you have a dog, you must go to the Planet Dog Company store!! OK, maybe it not a top tourist spot in Portland, but my dog loves their toys, so when we were in Portland we had to visit.</p>
<p>[Planet</a> Dog](<a href=“http://www.planetdog.com/default.aspx]Planet”>http://www.planetdog.com/default.aspx)</p>
<p>Ages of the two kids, MSMDAD? I hadn’t noticed that part of your post.</p>
<p>Portland Museum of Art.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to the PMA](<a href=“http://www.portlandmuseum.org/]Welcome”>http://www.portlandmuseum.org/)</p>
<p>Hi jmmom, Kids are 13 and 9.</p>
<p>They are very likely to enjoy Ft. Williams Park, which houses Portland Head Light (which the whole family should enjoy seeing) as well as the remains of actual batteries, fort buildings which they can wander through. The entire park is free and you can spend as much or as little time there as you like. </p>
<p>I don’t find any online links which do it justice, but my own son, at about age 9, said it was “the second best place in the world after Disneyworld.” </p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Portland Head Light](<a href=“http://www.portlandheadlight.com/]Welcome”>http://www.portlandheadlight.com/)</p>
<p>Check out tripadvisor.com for some great ideas. We vacationed there a few years ago and there were just so many wonderful places. My family says that the little diner that is mentioned for breakfast is everything and more that they say it is. There was also a great lobster place (though outdoors) maybe it was Reds? We loved the town of Portland and it is the most dog friendly town I have ever seen. Some of the best shopping and plenty to do either right there or within an hour!! Enjoy!!</p>
<p>Check out DownEast magazine. They rate the pizza, breweries, museums, etc.</p>
<p>L.L. Bean in Freeport! About 20 minutes away. Like a pilgrimage to Mecca.</p>
<p>There are some great restaurants in Portland, none of whose names I remember right now. It’s a surprisingly sophisticated foodie place.</p>
<p>Check out this thread in which jmmom was kind enough to provide some detailed information on Portland:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/343995-suggestions-maine-mini-vacation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/343995-suggestions-maine-mini-vacation.html</a></p>
<p>I live ten miles from Portland, and I concur: it’s a great little city. (I would not compare Ft. Williams to Disneyland, though. 
It’s a scenic place, and great for kite-flying, but there aren’t any rides. There is a ruin to explore, though.)</p>
<p>In Portland itself there are various historic places to visit, including the Longfellow House and the Victoria Mansion. Wandering around the Old Port area on foot is essential. There are lots of nice little shops and restaurants and galleries, and a working waterfront to explore. (Something you could consider is taking a ferry ride out into Casco Bay. You could get off on one of the islands to visit, or just ride around and look.) You might want to take your kids into Harbor Fish, which is located on one of the piers. (Big tanks of lobsters, lots of whole fish and shellfish on ice, guys in aprons cutting fish, great atmosphere. Also a great place to buy fish, although I doubt you’ll want to do that on a trip! ) Becky’s Diner is probably the one referred to above. It’s an institution, but don’t expect anything other than good diner food. The best places for lobster, IMHO, are lobster pounds on the water, most of which are closed at that time of year, but you might want to try Gilbert’s Chowder House on Commercial Street. I recommend their seafood chowder and clam cakes. They also have lobster and non-fish options. A good place for 13 and 9 yr olds. If you want something more upscale in the Old Port there are various choices on Wharf Street, and Walter’s on Exchange is excellent for a nice lunch, while having things on their menu that kids would like also. The list of good restaurants is long, but some highlights might include Bresca, Fore Street, Street and Company, and Cinqueterre. Another lunch place might be Aurora Provisions, a gourmet cafe and take-out shop in the Western Prom area, which you could visit if taking a quick drive through that very scenic part of town. (And, as a plus, they sell my truffles and toffee. <g>) The Children’s Museum is probably too young for your kids, but they have a camera obscura that is very cool. The Children’s Museum is next to the Museum of Art, if that would interest them. There is a very good Thai restaurant on Congress Street called Pom’s. If your kids like books, Portland is replete with used and antiquarian booksellers. (I loved them at that age, but maybe I was weird! <g>)</g></g></p>
<p>North of Portland, there is of course the LL Bean mothership in Freeport. Open 24 hrs, 365 days, and fun to visit even for non-shoppers. (There’s a trout pond indoors, set-up tents to crawl around in, ample opportunity to indulge a weakness for camping gadgetry.) North of that, if they have any interest in shipbuilding, there’s Bath, which has not only Bath Iron Works (which might be launching a destroyer or something if you’re lucky), and the Maine Maritime Museum, which is a former shipyard where schooners were built, and contains workshops and displays of all kinds.</p>
<p>I have to put in a plug for a non-Portand attraction: Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth. If your kids have any interest in history, it can’t be beat. It has historic houses with interiors reflecting various periods from the seventeenth century to the 1940s, and often has reenactors in costume. I don’t know what’s going on in March, and it is too much for me to describe here, but check out their web site. I love that place. It’s about halfway between Portland and Boston.</p>
<p>
The diner was probably Becky’s, on Commercial Street just at the edge of the Old Port. Iconic.</p>
<p>Red’s is a soft-serve ice cream place, very popular, may or may not be open (in South Portland on the way to the Portland Head Light.). Not a place for lobster. Outdoor Lobster Shacks are wonderful; there are several, including a fabulous location at Two Lights hanging over the rocky coast in Cape Elizabeth. However, I don’t expect them to be open in March - they are seasonal as are most ice cream places, although Red’s may open in February. It’s more for little kids to love.</p>
<p>I’ll recommend food places if you give me an idea of your preferences. I do NOT recommend DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant - it <em>is</em> kind of neat because it is on a ship moored in the harbor, but it is touristy and the food is a few grades below mediocre. If you must, stick with steamed clams, lobster club sandwich… simple things.</p>
<p>Didn’t read Consolation’s post before I posted. We are on the same sheet of music 
(even if my son as a 9-year old was on a different one; and, yes, it is the ruins that the kids love exploring).</p>
<p>Agree that LL Bean is a very worthwhile trip, for the kids and the adults.</p>
<p>A BIG and belated thank you to all CCers who responded to this thread, especially to jmmom, consolation, and snowball. We returned from Portland on Monday and absolutely loved the town. We ate at Walter’s and the food was excellent. Planet Dog was wonderful and the outlet stores in Freeport were wonderful, especially LL Bean. Two comments regarding Maine: I got the impression that people are really calm, courteous and collected drivers - kind of reminded me of the way people drive in Oregon - in stern contrast to the aggressive, dog-eat-dog drivers in Massachusetts; I was pleasantly surprised at the number of URMs in Portland - there seems to be a thriving community of people from East Africa (Somalis, Eritreans, and/or Ethiopians).</p>
<p>I can not believe you went to Planet Dog!! Why I did mention it half joking, my husband still talks about our visit there. We found a glow in the dark frisbee that I have yet to see online or in our local stores, as well as a different version of my dog’s favorite ball.</p>
<p>I am glad your visit to Portland was a success!!</p>
<p>Snowball, My daughter actually bought a frosted cookie for our dog, and an assortment of “greenies”.</p>
<p>MSDAD: If your dog likes “greenies”, he/she will LOVE “lambies”!!</p>
<p>DIL of a Mainiac-in-exile</p>