After leaving Albany, we took two days to drive through Vermont and New Hampshire on our way to our next stop, Portland, ME. We were there too early in the season to see much of any fall colors, but it was still a beautiful drive through winding back roads most of the way. In Maine, I chose an RV Park in Old Orchard Beach because it was just a few blocks from the ocean and very reasonably priced. Old Orchard Beach is a good 30 minute drive south from Portland, but it was totally worth the drive to stay here instead of in the city. In fact, this was my favorite place of the entire second loop.
After we arrived in Old Orchard Beach on Thursday evening (Sept 13th), we decided to walk down to the beach for our kids' first ever view of the ocean. Gryffin saw the ocean (and even put his feet in) when he was 5 months old, but that hardly counts. The kids were looking forward to seeing the ocean more than anything on this loop and Old Orchard Beach did not disappoint. I took too many pictures to post here but it was just perfect. Gryffin was a little leery of the water after wading in and not realizing that there were waves and an undercurrent (don't worry, I was standing next to him and caught him as he started to get pulled down; also, the water was literally only 3 inches deep where we were). After that, Gryffin was happy running safely on the sand. We were there for only a few hours but we enjoyed searching for creatures, digging our own tide pool and enjoying the brisk, salty air.
On Friday, I took the kids into Portland, first to the Eastern Promenade for a picnic lunch. It was here that a seagull swooped down and stole my entire peanut butter sandwich while we were moving our plates from a picnic table in the sun to our blanket in the shade. Ophelia claims this is her favorite part of our entire adventure so far and loves to recount the story so be sure to ask her about it.
After lunch we went to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co & Museum. The museum was small but it had actual train cars you could go into which the kids enjoyed. Then we went on a 20 minute train ride on a narrow gauge train. These trains had tracks that were a mere 2 feet apart instead of the standard 4 ft (and some odd inches). These trains were cheaper to build and run and this specific train system brought passengers and freight to and from Canada. The ride went up and down the coast for just a few miles as the rest of the track is no longer in use. When we were halfway through the trip, the train stopped and the kids were able to go blow the whistle and ask the engineer questions.
After we arrived in Old Orchard Beach on Thursday evening (Sept 13th), we decided to walk down to the beach for our kids' first ever view of the ocean. Gryffin saw the ocean (and even put his feet in) when he was 5 months old, but that hardly counts. The kids were looking forward to seeing the ocean more than anything on this loop and Old Orchard Beach did not disappoint. I took too many pictures to post here but it was just perfect. Gryffin was a little leery of the water after wading in and not realizing that there were waves and an undercurrent (don't worry, I was standing next to him and caught him as he started to get pulled down; also, the water was literally only 3 inches deep where we were). After that, Gryffin was happy running safely on the sand. We were there for only a few hours but we enjoyed searching for creatures, digging our own tide pool and enjoying the brisk, salty air.
On Friday, I took the kids into Portland, first to the Eastern Promenade for a picnic lunch. It was here that a seagull swooped down and stole my entire peanut butter sandwich while we were moving our plates from a picnic table in the sun to our blanket in the shade. Ophelia claims this is her favorite part of our entire adventure so far and loves to recount the story so be sure to ask her about it.
The seagull with my sandwich
After lunch we went to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co & Museum. The museum was small but it had actual train cars you could go into which the kids enjoyed. Then we went on a 20 minute train ride on a narrow gauge train. These trains had tracks that were a mere 2 feet apart instead of the standard 4 ft (and some odd inches). These trains were cheaper to build and run and this specific train system brought passengers and freight to and from Canada. The ride went up and down the coast for just a few miles as the rest of the track is no longer in use. When we were halfway through the trip, the train stopped and the kids were able to go blow the whistle and ask the engineer questions.
A wall of fog enveloping an island off the coast
Friday evening, we decided to walk to the beach again after dinner. Unfortunately, there was a car show happening that we were unaware of and the street to the beach was closed! All the cars were running, preparing for a parade through the streets and it was loud and crowded. But the evening wasn't a complete loss. We snagged some fried dough before heading back to the campground for a fire instead.
Our Saturday in Portland was so full of amazing things, it gets its own blog post! Stay tuned for Part Two of our time in Maine!
Can confirm that Ophelia loves to tell this story. :)
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