MY VISIT

When I arrived in Maine, the Pine Tree state, it was dark and cold. I stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown in Portland. When we checked into the hotel the lady at the front desk was really kind and gave me a stuffed animal lobster I named Tomato. I took him everywhere with me! For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant and I ate a huge plate of vegetables and pita bread with hummus. The next day was still cold, but it was a nice and sunny day. For breakfast I had delicious chocolate chip pancakes with potatoes on the side. 

We drove up to the state capital in August to visit the Maine State House and find the Liberty Bell Replica. I was given a private tour of the state house and was able to go on the floor of the Senate Chamber. On the tour I discovered so much about Maine. In 2014 the dome of the State House was replaced with a new copper dome. On top of the dome is a statue of the Lady of Wisdom covered in gold leaf. Maine was once part of Massachusetts, but wanted independence because the militia in Boston couldn’t protect the people in the North (Maine). They formed their own militia and separated from Massachusetts. Maine wanted to preserve the forests so they replaced all the trees they had cut down and now Maine has the most densely populated forests in America (by square foot). But, the most interesting thing I learned was that one of the governors of Maine, P. Baxter had brought attention to animal welfare by lowering the flags to half staff when his dog Garry died. People were upset that the dog received this honor, but Governor Baxter cared so much for his animals he didn’t care. He made people realize animals are family and deserve to be treated well. 

On the grounds of the State House was the Liberty Bell and I rang it twice. It was really fun but the clapper was very cold. Sadly, on the outside of the Liberty Bell someone graffiti-ed “KIRBY” on the side. Across the street was the Governor’s Mansion.

The tour guide recommended that we go to Mackworth Island near Portland, so we did. When we got there it was very beautiful with the colorful fall leaves and the blue ocean. On the island was Governor Baxter’s Pet Cemetery. He had 16 dogs and 3 horses buried here. There were also fairy homes by the trees made of twigs, stones and bark. 

We got back to Portland and then went to explore the city. I bought a necklace of a real cut pine cone covered in resin. I also purchased a lobster ornament for my Christmas tree. For dinner I went to a restaurant called Eventide Oyster Co. I ordered an amazing buttery lobster roll, hot green tea and a rich chocolate brownie. The food was so good we ate there 2 days in a row! Did you know that 90% of the lobster we eat comes from Maine and that Maine produces the most blueberries in the United States.

The next day my mom ran a half marathon in Portland. We cheered her on at the finish line and she got her personal best. We had a relaxing breakfast after at the hotel and I ate fluffy Maine blueberry pancakes. We walked around by the water and saw a small working train. I’m not sure where it goes, but it looked fun and I ran alongside it. Later that day, we went to Shipyard Brewery. I had a soft pretzel and my parents tried the beer flight. We went back to the hotel and waited for our reservation at Eventide for dinner. It was a quick long weekend trip but we did a lot! The next day we left, bye Maine!