Portland, Maine – East Coast Road Trip Part One

Hi friends, happy November! I am back from my week and a half East Coast Road Trip and I’m feeling so refreshed! We had originally planned a fall trip to California, but we decided we weren’t comfortable flying, so that’s how this trip came to fruition. I picked a few destinations that I really wanted to go, and then planned our route accordingly. Our first stop was in Portland, Maine about a five-hour drive from NYC. We had an incredibly smooth rental car pick up and enjoyed all of the fall foliage on our drive north.

We arrived in Portland a little before check-in, so we decided to visit Spring Point Ledge Light lighthouse. The weather was quite foggy, but we didn’t let that deter us.

We had to walk across these massive rocks and it was not for the faint of heart! It was a bit drizzly that day, so I was worried the rocks would be slippery and I’d be like Humpty Dumpty 😉

How cool is this lighthouse!

Afterwards we headed back to downtown Portland to check into our Airbnb. How cute is this studio apartment!! The location was excellent with a short walk to town, and there were so many personalized touches like chocolate in the fridge, sanitizing wipes, and a welcome card. I would highly recommend this Airbnb if you are in Portland, you can check it out here. If you have not used Airbnb, you can use this link to get up to $50 off your first rental.

After settling in, it was time to find the coveted lobster roll! Our host left recommendations of places, and she said Highroller Lobster Company had the best roll in Portland, so off we went. It was a Wednesday and was rainy all day, so we were able to walk right in. Quite a few people mentioned last year it was extremely difficult to get a table there.

Maine has indoor/outdoor seating, but we chose to eat outside, and it was a very chill atmosphere. I would say that is typical of all the restaurants in Portland we went to. It is definitely a foodie city!  It was still happy hour, so we started with a $2 beer because vacation – and then the waitress brought out two more ha!

We split the lobster grilled cheese and the famous lobster roll. I had never had a lobster roll before so I wasn’t sure how I would like it, but it was delicious! Half a roll was perfect for me, but Jon could’ve easily eaten a whole roll himself. I prefer crab still, but the lobster was very tasty. 

The grilled cheese came smoking hot and it was the perfect colder/dreary day meal. There wasn’t the largest amount of lobster in it, so I would not advise getting this as your main entrée if you are looking for a lobster experience.

Jon and I had a little room leftover, so we headed to Gorgeous Gelato for dessert. It was the perfect way to end our first day in Portland! Anyone else think ice cream tastes better on vacation?

Stay tuned for tons more – this was day one of our twelve day trip!

30 thoughts on “Portland, Maine – East Coast Road Trip Part One

  1. Love the photo of the “rock walk” approach to the lighthouse – frame that one on your wall. There must be tons more rocks underneath the water holding up that path. Also, your comment about your rental car reminds me big-city living makes owning a car often more trouble than it’s worth. We’re pretty spread out here in Colorado. Wheels are essential.

    1. Thank you – I would love to frame them all, great idea! I didn’t even think of all the rocks under there, I would not want to job of creating the path. I am terrified to drive in the city, we are getting a car soon so we can get out of the city on weekends and hike or drive to see our families.

  2. I agree, ice-creams are good all the time, and even better on holiday. New England in the fall is a feast for the eyes, I’m looking forward to what’s next.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.