New England Clam Chowder

What’s the password? Never mind. Few people will read this and fewer people will get the reference.

Phil put his foot down earlier in the year and demanded the family make a trip to New England before the upcoming move. To sweeten the pot for the naysayers, the Grandparents were asked to come along which they obliged. The week-long trip was split between the a cabin in the White Mountains (Jackson, NH) and a converted warehouse in the heart of Portland, ME.

Our cabin in Jackson couldn’t have been a better beginning to the week. Up in the hills, it was a wonderful refuge from basically everything. It came with plenty of things to occupy our time and a big enough kitchen to keep us full. It was also close enough to the coffee shop, bakery, and grocery store down in Glen so we were never far from anything we didn’t have.

After a few days in the mountains, we all drove to Portland where we had booked an awesome place in the Old Port district. While the food (and drink) of the town were fantastic, perhaps the coolest thing we did was take a picnic basket (and a couple of drinks) on the Casco Bay Mail Run boat. Rather than a high speed ferry to a specific island, the Casco Bay Mail Run boat is basically a pickup truck of the sea that carries anything from USPS mail to large items (including golf carts!) out to the small islands just east of Portland. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

In addition to wicked awesome NorEast boat rides, we made a trek out to see the ubiquitous Portland Head Lighthouse that marks a quarter of all Portland postcards. We also spent some time strolling the streets and enjoying things unique to the area that go almost unnoticed by the residents. Among our favorites were the fresh seafood at Harbor Fish Market and the awesome beer bags at Sea Bags.

At the end of the week, we were all thankful to have made the trip and were eagerly awaiting the next time the six of us could vacation together again!