Portland, Maine

The blue/sea foam/white/gray/green views of the ‘rocky coast of Maine’ made my heart go pitter-patter in a way that only travel and adventure to new places can do. I love that feeling.

We visited the state’s oldest lighthouse, Portland Headlight, on a day more picturesque than I could have ever imagined.

This was my first time using Airbnb, and I'm afraid the bar may have been set so high that I'll forever be nostalgic over our home for the first couple of nights of our trip in Maine. This was the kind of place to make you want to start your life over again. And never ever step foot in a Pottery Barn or HomeGoods again.

We had an incredible dinner at Fore Street. The offerings change on a daily basis depending on what’s in season locally and what’s delicious. The atmosphere is cozy but upscale, with a lot of wood finishes (including its wood-fire oven, grill, and spit), earthy accents like wild flowers in huge vases, and golden lighting. I’d highly recommend going with the intention of ordering several dishes to share, and don’t shy away from all the great sea food!

This place also has a very extensive wine list, although my Manhattan-drinking cronies didn’t take advantage, and I was the only one who had wine. The rustic-style bread that’s served first is made in its bakery next door—Standard Baking Co.—and that passed all my tests as well (right down to being served with flaky sea salt for sprinkling).

The grilled squid with sweet corn stood out for me, as did the perfectly dressed and seasoned field greens, simple as they were. My seared scallops with mushrooms were incredible, the wood oven roasted halibut was incredible... everything. was. incredible.

This place shouldn’t be missed for a special dinner in Old Port.

As lovely as these schooner ship sailing pictures seem, I need to be up front. I came really close to falling off the boat on several occasions. Do you know the scene in Titanic when the ship is sinking and people are sliding down the deck if they’re not holding onto a railing? On a smaller scale, I was living this, with my gladiator sandals failing me and offering literally no grip on the deck during extreme tipping. I don’t want to sound dramatic but I was being held onto by my shoulders to keep me from falling into the water—and I was also dying laughing, half out of fear and hearing Jack’s voice in my head... “water that cold? It hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body” and half out of the absurdity of the fact that I was somehow the only person who couldn’t just freaking hold on. There were like 5-year-olds on the boat with us.

So anyway, while we planned to have cocktails and cheese during our relaxing sunset sail, this was not entirely accurate, although it was beautiful nonetheless.

After coffee and bagels at a spunky little shop called Omi's right near our house, we headed up the coast to Bar Harbor.