In 2020, I (like many others) received flight credits for all of our would be trips. One of those flights was to Asheville on Allegiant. If you know Allegiant, it’s a low cost carrier based out of Las Vegas. I had no idea when I would ever use this credit, but since I ended up in Asheville for this trip, I looked to see where they could take me out of Asheville. And you know what? They had flights to Boston, which was perfect since I was headed there anyway.
TIP: If Ubers/Lyfts aren’t in abundance and you don’t know how to get a taxi, you can schedule your uber/lyft so that it picks you up when you need them. That way you’re guaranteed a ride to the airport and not playing the waiting game. Sometime it saves you money, sometimes not.
Day 17: I scheduled my Lyft for 4:45 AM from my hostel to get to the Asheville airport. It was about a 20 minute ride to the airport and easy to get through security. I probably was there slightly too early, but it’s better than being late! I checked in my bag because it’s slightly cheaper than paying for a carry-on (budget airline life). Small moment of panic when my license wasn’t where it was supposed to be.. turns out you could fly without it, but you would need to go through a more rigorous screening process. Luckily, I found mine! I took a tiny little nap on at the gate until it was time for me to board.
It was a relatively smooth flight from Asheville to Boston. I waited for my rideshare and it turns out they had just gotten the go ahead to start driving again in Boston. It was a pretty penny to get out of the airport for only 2 miles, like almost $30. I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts because that just felt right, as I waited for my Amtrak to get to New Hampshire. My former boss, D, had just moved to Durham, New Hampshire and I had reached out to her in April to see if she was in DC. It had probably been at least three years since I saw her. I didn’t realize she would be on the way to Portland, but am so glad she reached out when she saw where I was headed. I hopped on to my 11:30 AM train to New Hampshire to meet her. She was able to pick me up and we explored the cute little coastal town of Portsmouth, NH. I had my first lobster roll of the trip at Old Ferry Landing.
After lunch, we walked along the water and past all the shops. Then, we grabbed some ice cream in the center. Since I had a good bit of time before my amtrak to Portland, we decided it would be fun to walk on the beach. D drove me to her favorite beach in the northeast. What I didn’t realize was how close New Hampshire and Maine were. We drove for about 25 minutes to get to Ogunquit Beach. It was so fun to just walk along the coast and catch up. It was a wonderful beach and apparently a lot of my friends from the New England area said it was a beach they grew up going to. Great find D and thanks for showing me a bit of NH! Soon enough, it was time to head out and back to the train, which was slightly delayed.
I hopped on the Amtrak and it was about an hour to hour and a half to Portland. When I mentioned in a previous post about asking friends if they knew anyone in a city, my current boss, Max, said he could introduce me to his friend in Portland. Well thank goodness for Max, he was able to introduce me to his friend Sarah. They were gracious enough to allow me (a stranger) into their home.. my very own host family! Sarah’s son, Charlie, was able to pick me up from the train station. There’s something interesting and maybe kinda funny about staying with your boss’ friends in a city you don’t know. I am so thankful to have met this family and hear all about their travels. Portland was for me a time to relax and try to catch up on sleep.
Day 18: I mentioned I had not slept well on this trip and well, it got even worse when I was in Maine. The sunrises before 5 AM and I had forgotten to pull down the blinds. I woke up in a panic thinking it was late because I was going strawberry picking today. Turns out, it was only 5:30 AM and I was like nooooooo. I did my best to go back to sleep, but it’s hard when it looks so sunny out there. Once it was time to get dressed for strawberry picking, I was up and ready to go. Sarah and Charlie had said it was the first day of strawberry picking seaons, which lasts only two weeks. This might’ve been my most random activity of the trip, but I enjoyed it so much! I did this before I needed to hop online to work for the day. We were finished before I even need to work.
I worked for a bit and not even sure what I had for lunch that day. Such a whirlwind of a day. I know I had grabbed a bagel and a muffin from this random bakery, but that’s about it. Eventually, I was able to close up shop and Charlie was on tour guide duty. I didn’t have any thing on my list to see in Portland, except eat a lobster roll. I did ask what is quintissential Portland or Maine and they said the lighthouses.. which duhhh I guess I forgot. We ventured off to one of the lighthouses on this rocky walkway and it was cold.
After our little walk, we went to Highroller Lobster Co for lobster rolls. This might’ve been my favorite lobster roll of my trip! I think it had more to do with the sauce that you could customize, otherwise, I think they are typically topped off with butter? Of course, I had to try a Portland beer. It seemed like the thing to do for a place that is known for their breweries.
Another early night for me because the next day I was headed to my next stop. I leave you here with a picture of my little work buddy, Chelsea. She was the cutest!
Where In The World Was Lisa? 