Portland, Maine
Alison and Mick flew cross-country, from Seattle, Washington, to Portland, Maine, for Alison’s college roommate’s wedding. Having only been as far northeast as Boston (Newburyport, to be exact), we decided to piggyback with a mini family vacation.
Aaron and Jane flew in from Minneapolis. Manohar and I drove the northern route around the Great Lakes along the Trans-Canada Highway from Wisconsin to Maine. The northern route is 1300 miles versus the southern route’s 1500 miles, but the time it takes is the same since many of the smaller, slower northern roads wind through the wilderness.
During our 36 hours together, we sailed around Portland, Maine, figuratively and literally. Known as a “foodie paradise,” we were all too happy to oblige. Meals included: Ocotillo, Scales, Honey Paw, Eventide, BLVL, Double Great Coffee, Bake Maine Pottery Cafe, Bread and Friends, and The Holy Donut.
Additionally, we called ahead and ordered individual charcuterie boxes from a Portland mainstay, Sissle & Daughters Cheesemongers & Grocers. The husband, Will, of the husband and wife-owned shop, packed us the finest cheese, meat, munchies, and chilled wines for our sunset sailing trip.
Nautilus Sailing Company came through hugely for a lovely sailing adventure. Some of the other excursions promised a little kitch here and a little kitch there, but there was nothing cheesy about this outfit! Just the six of us and the husband-wife captains aboard their private vessel. We learned about the rich history of the ports, lighthouses, forts, and other vessels we passed along the way.
Québec City, Quebec, Canada
We had a few days to hang out between family gatherings, so we drove northward, back to Canada. Want to experience a European city without leaving North America? Québec City, a walled city with narrow cobblestone streets, stone buildings, and an interesting blend of French and English architecture, cuisine, and language fits the bill! While the primary language spoken there is French, everyone also speaks English.
Following our time in Québec City, we boarded the 12-minute ferry back across the St. Lawrence River to our Airbnb in Lévis. We loved our quiet, riverfront location on the southern bank of the river, opposite the city. Next time, we will also try to visit nearby Île d’Orléans.
On our drive back to Vermont for a small Shintre family reunion (shout-out to Aparna, Sanjay, Manasee, Salil, Vedant, Siddharth, Pooja, Pradyumna, and Rasika), we made a slight detour. We are big fans of author Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache murder mysteries set in an imaginary Quebec village known as Three Pines. So, we had to visit Louise Penny’s new Three Pines Café. Located beneath a bookstore in Knowlton, Quebec, Canada, we enjoyed wandering around and reading all of the clever wall art. We also indulged in coffee and pastries, and hoped for a celebrity sighting.
At the Canada-US border, we were asked why we had veered an hour off the highway. “After all, what could be more precious than time itself?” Manohar smiled gently and replied, “happiness.”
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