It’s been two weeks since our first anniversary – yay for 54 weeks of marriage!
Earlier this year, we started talking about how we wanted to celebrate our first year of marriage. We tossed around a few ideas, and ultimately decided to visit Portland, Maine! Neither of us had been to Portland before and we both enjoy exploring new places, so with Maine’s cooler summertime temperatures and a variety of things to do, Maine was a relatively easy decision!
While we didn’t create a strict schedule before we went, we did make a list of a few things we wanted to do, booked our hotel – The Inn at St. John, scheduled a car rental for one day, and even found a blog {Map & Menu} that served as a great resource!
Portland in some ways reminds me of Charleston, South Carolina {which can you really go wrong with Charleston?}… beautiful buildings, coastal vibe, walkable {important if you’re not renting a car}, and has a variety of unique things to do and restaurants to try.
We flew out of Atlanta on Thursday and returned the following Tuesday, so we had four full days to explore the area.
While we were there, we walked everywhere we went {which made me not feel quite as guilty with about all the delicious food we experienced} and used the car rental for Sunday – the day we went hiking at Mount Major in New Hampshire, which was about an hour and a half away.
On our way back, we stopped by the beach and thanks to a parking meter, had thirteen minutes to experience the FRIGID ocean. I still don’t understand how people were in the water!
Our last stop before returning the rental car was Portland Head Light. Like the top of Mount Major, it almost seemed to beautiful to be real.
So if you’re ever in Portland, Maine, here are most of the places we visited and loved!
Coffee: Coffee By Design, Tandem Coffee, Speckled Ax, the cutest Starbucks in the America
Eat: Otto Pizza, Salvage BBQ, Local 188, Eventide, Nosh, Portland Lobster Company, Duckfat, The Grill Room
Shop: Sawyer & Company, Papier
Treat: Gelato Fiasco, Old Port Candy Company
Visit: Longfellow Garden, Eastern Promenade, Portland Head Light, Mount Major
Thanks for a wonderful anniversary trip, G!
Oh and speaking of anniversaries – today is my Mom and Dad’s 41st! Happy, happy anni to you two!
atwelladventures.com 
My parents met abroad and have been married 30+ years, it’s not always easy, but I’m convinced that if you can travel together you can make a life together a lot easier.
We travel really well, but my husband is also super laid back and we enjoy a lot of the same things:) and I even left out the part about the second leg of our flight getting cancelled, making us drive the last 8 hours of the trip, lol. congrats to your parents on 30+!
Wow, lucky you and best wishes!
Happy anniversary!!! I love the idea of traveling to Portland – and the fact that that it reminded you of Charleston makes me think I’ll need to check it out 🙂
They’re both unique in their own ways but have some of the same characteristics. I think you’d love it! The biggest difference? Portland is a lot less prep, and a lot more hipster. 😉
Just found our way to this wonderful post. Thank you for the mention! It looks like you visited all the great spots – what a perfect anniversary celebration!