Out on the town, we hit up Vagabond coffee and then the Portland Museum of Art, who had an excellent paper bird making room set up adjacent to the restaurant downstairs.

I tooled around Casco Bay with a friend. We checked out Eagle Island and the home of arctic explorer Admiral Robert Peary, a national historic site. We also quenched our thirst on the sprawling veranda of the Chabeague Island Inn.

We stole away to Quebec City for a few days this summer. The city is charmingly more old world than most in North America. The topology of the city is both monastic and militaristic. And, the city is perched on a rocky promontory so there are elaborate erosion control methods everywhere.

As the weather warms, there is not better place to cool out than the side deck of Flatbread's.

Every year, Portland has Walk the Working Waterfront day. It's great, you get to see all the maritime things that aren't normally visible or open to the public (fish processors, the fire boat, the coast guard cutter, etc).