Day 5 – Maine 2 footers

A little bit more leisurely getting up this morning with cold Otto’s pizza for breakfast.

I went shopping for presents and tat this morning. I also did a duck ride around Portland, learnt loads of useless facts, and had a fun water trip on the duck. It’s late 20s centigrade and feels warm.

Me and my duck

Row houses:

Row houses

We went out into the bay:

Splash

There are loads of ferries to the islands and this one just runs up to a ramp and loads up lorries:

Lorry ferry

I had ice cream and a Maine potato donut for lunch. They’re made with mashed potato and are delightfully light and fluffy.

Chocolate and sea salt potato donut from the holy donut

After lunch, I met up with Nigel for a trip on the Maine Narrow Gauge railroad.

Behind the loco

Maine Narrow Gauge driver

We ran along to the end of the Eastern Promenade and looked out over the old railroad bridge.

Maine Narrow Gauge loco

Maine Narrow Gauge loco

Old bridge

The driver let me in the cab and I not only rang the bell but also blew the horn.

Blowing the horn

Portland has some amazing buildings and alleys which are ripe for modelling:

Alleyway

Fish harbour market

And loads of modelling inspiration for waterfronts:

Waterfront Portland

Tide's out

We had a lovely chat with our hosts, Amy and Mike, who rent through AirBnB. The house we are staying in is 1840s. That’s old in any country!

Our house

We went to the Fore Street Restaurant for supper with Peter McKenney. They are friends of a fellow Director, Pete Magoun, and kindly agreed to meet up with us. It was a wonderful meal (I had raw clams followed by scallops and then chocolate torte – divine).

Clams

Peter McKenney

Peter was a great host and we’re looking forward to seeing him again at the Convention.