Planes, Trains, and Running Shoes

If you're wondering where I've been for the last few days, I was in Maine. Oops. The Pilot and I had been toying around with the idea of going somewhere for our anniversary but couldn't really decide on anything. On Wednesday afternoon, he sent me a text that said "Ok, we're all set for tomorrow." "Where are we going," I asked. "Portland, Maine."

So I set packed a bag and set my alarm for bright and early the next morning and met The Pilot at Newark airport where we boarded a flight to Portland.

As soon as we landed and checked into our hotel, we made our way downtown to start exploring. Neither of us had ever been to Portland and it was my first time in Maine at all. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crappy, but we still had fun! As soon as he told me we were going to Maine, I typed in "Portland" into my Google reader and came across a ton of posts that some of the bloggers I follow have written about Portland so I had a small list of places I wanted to check out!

First up, the Coastal Maine Popcorn Company.

Lots and LOTS of popcorn!

This place was fantastic! We sampled so many different amazing popcorns like Buffalo Wing, Apple Pie a la Mode, Maine Maple and Oatmeal Raisin. I came home with some Toffee for myself, Maine maple for my Mom and The Pilot brought home some French Toast (Maine Maple & Cinnamon Toast mixed). I love supporting local businesses and we loved chatting it up with the store owner and learning all about how their popcorn is made and how they're expanding their business! If you're looking for stocking stuffers this season, I highly recommend some Maine popcorn!

After exploring a bit more and dipping in and out of the shops, we went for lunch and beer at a local brewpub called Gritty McDuff's which was pretty good. We were planning to get some ice cream for dessert but it was so cold, we decided to duck into a quaint little coffee shop called Mornings in Paris for some hot chocolate! I couldn't not help myself to a few several nutella macaroons that were absolute heaven!

via

After our hot chocolate and macaroons, we headed over to the Shipyard Brewing Company for a tasting.

The Brewery!

How awesome is this place?

Surprisingly, I didn't mind this place all decked out for the holidays.

Ahh! A moose! After spending far too much not nearly enough time at all (!) at LL Bean, we headed back to our hotel to call it a night. The next morning, we had a flight to catch...except we didn't get on it because, as you all know, The Pilot and I fly stand by. Since we couldn't get on our flight and the next one wasn't until 7, we decided to rent a car and go where else? To LL Bean. Well, kind of. We headed to Freeport, ME to explore the outlet shops (and of course go back to LL Bean) for a few hours before heading back to the airport and flying home where we showed up and surprised the heck out of my mom at her birthday party. (Yup, my mom's birthday was on 11/11/11...because she's even more awesome than a date with all 1's) And if all that wasn't enough for you, The Pilot and I spent our Saturday on a morning run around town and then we took my mom and his parents bowling and to the ice cream shop to wrap up a perfect weekend.  I loved Maine and I'll absolutely go back...but maybe not until the summer when it gets a bit warmer! Have you ever taken a spontaneous vacation?  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!