A Maine Event

 Snowy coastlines, pine and birch forests, L.L. Bean boots, artistic and local tendencies, and lots of charm.  This visit to Maine is proving to be quite enjoyable.

 Little Brother Island reserve near Yarmouth, Maine.

I've been following around my dear friend Justin that I haven't seen in months, reconnecting and leading life the way he does in Maine.  I've missed him a lot so it's been great, even if we're just sitting around as he and his friends jam out on instruments, exploring music, sipping wine and watching The Legend of Korra and Girls until 2 in the morning.

The Old Port of Portland, Maine.  

It's known as the San Francisco of the East Coast and I couldn't agree more, except it's far less overrun by tourists.  We went for lunch at the used-to-be warehouse building on the right side, now a fantastic wood-fired pizza bar and grill called Flatbread Company.  It was actually pretty crowded for a mid-afternoon lunch, but we sat at the bar and were well-attended.  All their ingredients are sourced from Maine, and their rustic interior is adorned with drawings and doodles of child patrons.  We devoured a large Coevolution pizza between the two of us, with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese, tons of rosemary (we nexted the kalamata olives) on top of a well-cooked flat bread crust.  With organic, blueberry soda and local-brewed beer between the two of us, the meal with a tip came to $25.

Today we went to see the Portland Head Light.  

It's still a functional lighthouse with a fog horn, and also a museum during the summer.  The coast line was breathtaking, and the endless skies made this the perfect day for a visit.  We scrambled along the sea grass and rocks, soaking in the sights before taking a few hucks of the frisbee.

We headed back to Portland and had another delicious meal at a talk-of-the-town restaurant called Duck Fat.  Their menu is brief but eclectic: all their french fries are cooked in duck fat (creates a mouth-watering crispiness), their milkshakes are made with gelato, paninis with meatloaf and roast beef and eggplant, and an ever-changing slab of charcuterie.  Like many other eateries, their menu promotes locally brewed and bottled drinks.  This was quite busy for a Monday afternoon as well, though we only waited 10 minutes until we were given a seat on the tall bar stools throughout the small space.  It's sort of an industrial elegance, with brick walls, post modern art, chalkboards and an entertaining wall filled with word magnets.
We took the advice of another Urbanspoon reviewer and shared our meal: the brussel sprout salad, the duck panini, a small order of fries with sweet and spicy mustard mayo and aioli for dipping, a beer for Justin and a Maine burnt-honey milkshake for me.  The bill was a bit more expensive than I would have preferred, but I had a fantastic meal and hey, I probably won't be back in Maine for a while to enjoy all of this.  If you're ever in Portland, you should go to these two restaurants!  And the small joys of Yarmouth (a 20 minute drive north), like Clayton's, Bruce's Burritos and The Royal Bean for coffee.

Maine has been an exquisite adventure of cozy delights.  Tonight's the is my last here; tomorrow I'll be off to New Hampshire with my friend Ally for school.  My friends are fantastic, loving people with marvelous families to host and entertain me so generously-- I'm incredibly fortunate!

Listening: browsing around Justin's Soundcloud network.. who knows! :)