The plan was to leave Sunday the 18th for Judith Point, to catch the 4 pm Ferry to Block Island. We had booked a nice Bed & Breakfast on the island, Ferry reservations paid for, plans made, then work happened. Due various mishaps, not the least of which was FedEx was not exactly express, the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute. We did manage to be very lucky up with a quick backup, a trip to Portland Maine. Having been there twice before we new all the places to eat and stay, especially the hotel that allowed cats.
Were able to make all the dinner reservations on Sunday and the hotel reservation actually were made Monday afternoon, minutes before we picked up the care and headed out of town. Portland is a quick 2 ½ hour drive from our new home in Providence. Yes, after seven and half years of living in Manhattan, we escaped to a much cleaner, quieter city. Best part we have a three bedroom with one my office, so I can fully work remotely, just like I was still in Manhattan. The upside of Covid, people learned that many jobs
So, we were on the road by 2 and in Portland by a little before 5. The drive was pretty smooth Interstate 95 the entire way and traffic was light. Only plan for the first night was dinner at Bluefin located in our hotel. We are staying at the Portland Harbor Hotel; it is just on the edge of the Old Port District and easy walking distance to most everything. We checked and then I was off to my first professional haircut since the first lock down back in March of 2020. Jerry stayed in the room and got Tarragon settled and unpacked.
The Mensroom (name of the barber not the actual bathroom) was just up the street from the hotel. Very much designed for men, pool table in the waiting area, massage chairs, beer, bourbon and wine. My stylist, Dee, was running late so I sat in the lounge, had some wine and watched TV, and it wasnt ESPN, they actually had MSNBC on. The haircut was very relaxing, started with a scalp, neck and shoulder massage, would have been even more relaxing
but for the deranged man that came in clearly drunk trying to make an appointment, long story short, cops were called and the shop was literally on lock down the rest of the time I was there. After the drama subsided the haircut continued, including a wash and rinse, hot towel treatment and straight edge neck shave. It was very relaxing. The style is a bit more hipster than I normally would get, but it is nice to have a haircut.
I walked back to the room, typed a quick blog summary of our fall New England trip, then we were off to dinner all the way to the Lobby. The restaurant was very busy considering it was a Monday, during Covid in April. We had to wait a bit for our table to be ready, so we sat in the lounge and had a couple of Martinis, not quite as good as Mills Tavern back home. (it is really nice to say home and know I am not talking about NYC).
After about we were escorted to our table, a nice mafia booth in the corner. We started with Maine Crab Cakes. Very good and favorable,
much better than Maryland crab, but not as good as Oregon Dungeness Crab. Next up, what else but a Caesar Salad, ok, not great. The entres were both good, Jerry had potato crusted cod with a lemon caper sauce. How they got the crust so crisp and the cod so moist was amazing. The sauce was a bit salty, needed about half of the capers. I had lobster scampi over bucatini. The pasta was cooked well, but the lobster was over cooked, which has to be a crime in Maine. It was more of an alfredo than scampi, but it was good. All washed down with a nice French White Burgundy, which was just a bit too cold.
