Wednesday, October 19, 2005
So, hopefully everyone is doing good! Me, I'm in Portland, Maine. So, far, so good, even after a little bit of drama checking into the hotel today. Everything eventually was taken care of so it all turned out ok.
My flight left out of Indy at 8:30am, which has to be about the perfect time to leave. You avoid the early rush, and don't have to get up at the crack of dawn...it can't get any better than that! Well, it turned interesting when I go to check in and show my photo ID when I realized that I had left my wallet in the car! It was later than I liked, about an hour and fifteen minutes until my flight so I had to go and take the shuttle to the long term lot. I then had to take the shuttle back to the airport and check in for real. I walked right up and into the airplane after I got to my gate. So, all in all it was ok.
I had a transfer in DC, and I just have to say that the view going into that airport was amazing! I was hoping for a glimpse of one of the sights, I wasn't expecting what I saw. I have never been to DC as sadly as that sounds, me being the Political Scientist and all...but wow. Coming into the airport you see the Washington Memorial, the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial. WWII Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. It really brought chills to me and it made my eyes tear up it was so beautiful. I really didn't want to leave, and I wish that I had some time to go explore.
Well, we were only there at the airport for a little bit and we were off to Portland. The flight to Portland was pleasant. I just wish that I could use my iPod for the whole thing and not have to shut if off during takeoff and landing. We flew just to the east of New York City (another place that I've never been) and that sight was really cool. The sheer size of Manhattan and the other Burroughs is crazy! It's block after block after block after block of nothing but cement, asphalt, and buildings. The statue of Liberty was nothing but a thimble sized spec.
Coming into Portland we flew in from the east over the harbor. There were a ton of lighthouses, so that was pretty neat. We landed at Portland, got a taxi and came to the hotel. The hotel is this old hotel, build in the 20's and is showing it's age, but it's still pretty neat. My room has a sitting room with a sofa (pull out bed) two chairs and a desk. The bedroom area has a king size bed. Both rooms have a TV. It's pretty nice, and I feel guilty having this room all by myself and not having Amanda here. Too bad she is busy at rotations, it would have been fun to spend a couple days up here with her.
Well, after checking in and relaxing for a few minutes I left for lunch. The lady from work and myself walked around the city looking for someplace to eat. We walked for like 15 minutes or so until we found something. It wasn't too bad. We then walked back, she went to the room to take a nap and I walked around some more.
This city is pretty old, most of it build in the early nineteenth century. The streets are kind of crazy with lots of strange intersections, but it appears that the drivers are pretty pedestrian friendly. The people are really a strange lot...I think that Portland is the San Francisco of the east coast...a sort of magnet for the artsy/hippy/earthy type of people. I really enjoyed walking around...me, my iPod and a cool fall drizzle. The architecture is so different than what I'm used to, it was a refreshing change.
The downtown area has a lot of unique shops, a lot of bars, and even more cafes. These people have to like their coffee! There is at least 3 Dunkin Donuts within 10 blocks of each other! Wow, it's amazing everyone is not terminally obese!
I had debated about getting a rental car and I'm glad that I didn't. It will be fun to explore the downtown the next few days.
I had some drama with the WIFI in the hotel room. I couldn't get it to work, and eventually just tucked tail and came down to the lobby, where I connected with nary a problem. I even went as far as to go to a local Kinkos and pay $.20 a minute to download new WIFI card drivers. Luckily I was only on for 6 minutes. Well, I came back and couldn't get it to work...bastard! I really think this wireless card is going bad, since it is having trouble picking up a signal at home even. Oh well...they are dirt cheap now.
Well...that about sums it up...below are some pictures that I've taken on my cell phone!
Some of the old buildings along a narrow side street.
A street looking past some old buildings that look like they could be out of Moby Dick. In the background is the bay.
The wharf
The hotel at night, it was probably something else in the 20's.
My flight left out of Indy at 8:30am, which has to be about the perfect time to leave. You avoid the early rush, and don't have to get up at the crack of dawn...it can't get any better than that! Well, it turned interesting when I go to check in and show my photo ID when I realized that I had left my wallet in the car! It was later than I liked, about an hour and fifteen minutes until my flight so I had to go and take the shuttle to the long term lot. I then had to take the shuttle back to the airport and check in for real. I walked right up and into the airplane after I got to my gate. So, all in all it was ok.
I had a transfer in DC, and I just have to say that the view going into that airport was amazing! I was hoping for a glimpse of one of the sights, I wasn't expecting what I saw. I have never been to DC as sadly as that sounds, me being the Political Scientist and all...but wow. Coming into the airport you see the Washington Memorial, the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial. WWII Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. It really brought chills to me and it made my eyes tear up it was so beautiful. I really didn't want to leave, and I wish that I had some time to go explore.
Well, we were only there at the airport for a little bit and we were off to Portland. The flight to Portland was pleasant. I just wish that I could use my iPod for the whole thing and not have to shut if off during takeoff and landing. We flew just to the east of New York City (another place that I've never been) and that sight was really cool. The sheer size of Manhattan and the other Burroughs is crazy! It's block after block after block after block of nothing but cement, asphalt, and buildings. The statue of Liberty was nothing but a thimble sized spec.
Coming into Portland we flew in from the east over the harbor. There were a ton of lighthouses, so that was pretty neat. We landed at Portland, got a taxi and came to the hotel. The hotel is this old hotel, build in the 20's and is showing it's age, but it's still pretty neat. My room has a sitting room with a sofa (pull out bed) two chairs and a desk. The bedroom area has a king size bed. Both rooms have a TV. It's pretty nice, and I feel guilty having this room all by myself and not having Amanda here. Too bad she is busy at rotations, it would have been fun to spend a couple days up here with her.
Well, after checking in and relaxing for a few minutes I left for lunch. The lady from work and myself walked around the city looking for someplace to eat. We walked for like 15 minutes or so until we found something. It wasn't too bad. We then walked back, she went to the room to take a nap and I walked around some more.
This city is pretty old, most of it build in the early nineteenth century. The streets are kind of crazy with lots of strange intersections, but it appears that the drivers are pretty pedestrian friendly. The people are really a strange lot...I think that Portland is the San Francisco of the east coast...a sort of magnet for the artsy/hippy/earthy type of people. I really enjoyed walking around...me, my iPod and a cool fall drizzle. The architecture is so different than what I'm used to, it was a refreshing change.
The downtown area has a lot of unique shops, a lot of bars, and even more cafes. These people have to like their coffee! There is at least 3 Dunkin Donuts within 10 blocks of each other! Wow, it's amazing everyone is not terminally obese!
I had debated about getting a rental car and I'm glad that I didn't. It will be fun to explore the downtown the next few days.
I had some drama with the WIFI in the hotel room. I couldn't get it to work, and eventually just tucked tail and came down to the lobby, where I connected with nary a problem. I even went as far as to go to a local Kinkos and pay $.20 a minute to download new WIFI card drivers. Luckily I was only on for 6 minutes. Well, I came back and couldn't get it to work...bastard! I really think this wireless card is going bad, since it is having trouble picking up a signal at home even. Oh well...they are dirt cheap now.
Well...that about sums it up...below are some pictures that I've taken on my cell phone!
Some of the old buildings along a narrow side street.
A street looking past some old buildings that look like they could be out of Moby Dick. In the background is the bay.
The wharf
The hotel at night, it was probably something else in the 20's.
