Wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico changed our original plans last minute.  So, Janet and I found ourselves heading East to Portland, Maine instead of West for our summer vacation.

Neither of us had ever been to Portland, and didn't know exactly what to expect.  But there was lots to do inside and outside the city.

Our first day there locals were complaining about the heat, which was in the upper 80s.  Janet and I had just left temperatures of 100+ in Austin, so we just politely smiled and nodded.  We spent the first afternoon indoors at the Portland Museum of Art . 

The museum was even better than we had anticipated. And tempertatures from the next day on were absolutely perfect!

Evening activities involved finding great places to eat in Portland.  While we were there we ate at Fore Street, Five Fifty-Five,  and Bresca. All were great.  Bresca won out as our favorite.

Victoria Mansion was the home of Ruggles Morse (1814-1893), a native of Portland who struck out as a young man and worked his way through the blossoming hotel industry.  He ended up in New Orleans, but returned to Portland to build a summer home.  The Civil War prevented him from using the house until after 1864.  It's now open to the public, and boasts its original decorations, interior design, and furnishings.

The Shakers are a religious sect founded by Ann Lee in the 1770s.  Persecuted in England, Lee and several followers came to the Colonies to practice their faith. 

Over the course of their existence, the Shakers established 19 communities throughout the Eastern and Mid-western states.  Sabbathday Lake, outside of Portland, is the last community where practicing Shakers live. 

The Shakers are known for their architecture, furniture, and crafts.  They believe in creating heaven on earth, and demonstrate their commitment to God through personal industry. 

Men and women are equals.  They live together in the Dwelling House (the brick building) in separate parts of the building.  The white building was built in 1796 as their place of worship, and continues to be used every week.  The original Shaker blue paint from 1796 is still on the walls.  

Children introduced into the community either through families who joined, or by children being left at the community by parents who couldn't care for them, or by children being left as orphans, used this school house, as did children from surrounding local communities.  Today it is the official Shaker library.

A beautiful landscape within which to practice a very unique belief of the world. 

You will probably recognize the following Shaker hymn: 

Tis a Gift to be Simple

And here's an odd connection to the Shaker community!  In the 1840s the Shakers at Sabbathday Lake traded land with a businessman from Alfred, Maine so that they could start another community, which eventually died out. 

However, the businessman, Hiram Richter, went on the establish what was to become one of the most famous resorts in the US during the 1800s and early 1900s! 

Considered a mecca for those intending to "take the waters", the Spring at Poland, Maine became the center of a posh resort. The original spring house remains, alongside the first bottled water factory, which shipped water out as early as 1907. While the original resort suffered from major fire damage in the 1960s, there's still a resort on the property.

We wanted to get out into Casco Bay while we were in Portland, and the Portland Schooner Company helped us out. 

After all, any city looks more interesting from the water.

Our schooner was named the Bagheera, and was built in 1927.  Our captian told us that she's sailed the world in her lifetime, and was brought to Portland eleven years ago.

Portland from the harbor.

One of the seven lighthouses in the harbor, Spring Point Ledge Light was constructed in 1897 to warn approaching ships of shallow waters on that side of the bay.

The crew let passengers help with the sails.  Here's Janet learning the ropes, literally.

Fort Gorges sits prominently in the bay, not far from the wharves of Portland.  Proposed after the war of 1812, construction for the fort wasn't funded until 1857, and completed in 1865 during the Civil War.  However, war technology advanced so quickly during the Civil War that the fort was obolete by the time it was finished.

During our tour, we passed a huge oil tanker docked in the harbor.  This picture really doesn't do justice to the size of the ship.

We had a great time, of course.  No engine, no gas smells.  The way to go, for certain.

Here it is.  The landscape for which Maine is most noted.  This is the Portland Head Light.

I think you have to actually set out to take a bad picture in this perfectly photographic corner of Maine. Every turn you take establishes a new setting for a photo.

Hard to argue the beauty of the place.  In the picutre with the sailing boat you can see Ram Island Lege Lighthouse.

Janet and I had a fantastically relaxing and enjoyable time in Portland.  Just a great vacation.


But there was more...

On our return flight to Austin, we had a twelve hour lay-over in New York City, and if you think we were going to sit around JFK for a day, forget that!

Our first stop was the Frick Museum.  Janet and I enjoyed a summer vaction in NYC several years ago, but never made it to the Frick. Absolutely amazing collection of art work!    

We walked through Central Park from the Frick to go the American Folk Art Museum, which we had visited the last time we were in NYC.  However, we sadly found out that the museum had lost much of its funding (sign of the times), and was reduced to nothing but a large storage room with some quilts on the wall!

So, instead we hung out at Lincoln Center, shopped at the Julliard music book store, and ate an absolutely amazing pizza across the street from the Met at Cafe Fiorello on Broadway. 

Perfect ending to a perfect vacation!