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07-06-04, 09:08 AM
Hi,
this is a short, and pleasant, trip we have done a couple times now. You leave your car in Portland (the real Portland. Not many years after the pretender in Oregon was incorporated; we celebrated our bicentennial). Take the ferry over to Bailey Island (binoculars are handy to get a better look at the wildlife). Once there, there are a number of places to stay. We always stay at the Driftwood Inn. It's a place from an older era. The location is very nice, and it has a certain charm. With all that old fashioned charm also comes lumpy mattresses and almost ineffectual showers.There are other places to stay, both plain and fancy.
I wouldn't mind trying them; but the girls really like the Driftwood. It is lovely watching the sun go down from a rocker on the porch. There are two restaurants near the ferry dock. The one right at the dock is pleasant and expensive. The Estes 2 you can see from the dock; and it's just plain bad. The Driftwood Inn serves dinner and breakfast (don't plan on riding immediately after breakfast). There is a nice little take out place called Giant Steps; and a small restaurant next to the general store that is ok.
It's about 45 miles back to Portland. Bridges allow you to island hop to the peninsula, and then you follow the peninsula up to Brunswick. Either road to Brunswick is fine; I like the one on the west side a little better. There are several places to eat in Brunswick. The only one that really stands out in my mind is Richard's. But they serve German food, and it would be all you could do to crawl to your bike after eating there. Cycling would an act of self flagellation.
There is a nice back road to freeport called Pleasant Hill Road. You can easily get directions in brunswick, or get a map. Freeport is a nice place for lunch. You can stop and eat with a choice of almost anything from Sushi to McDonalds. For a cheap lunch go to Sam's which is on the way out of town, you can get a spaghetti dinner for under $5. There is a very nice place next to Beans with a fancy name like Aqua. I've eaten there, and like it. The Chinese place is pretty good. After lunch, let the food settle while you shop. Along with beans there is North face, Patagonia, book stores, and about 30 other places. There is a gourmet place with a name like Harry and David; and I like to visit there to get a soda, and maybe a snack. Nice fruit, if expensive.
From freeport you have 3 choices. Rte 1 from here to Portland is smooth, fast, and mostly has great lanes to ride in. The Mr Bagel in Yarmouth (and the Thai place across the street) are both quite good places to stop. But it's not exactly scenic. You can, however, get onto Rte 88 in Yarmouth and that is a very pretty road that is almost ideal for cycling.Or turn North from Freeport and ride to Pownal Center, and get up on Rte 9 and you can take that into Portland. Once in Portland find the bay,and follow it all the way around until you come to Franklin Arterial. The bay is called Back Bay. The Arterial will take you straight into the ferry terminal.
This is a great ride, the scenery is lovely, the hills give it a somewhat epic feel, and there are plenty of places to stop and eat. I like that part :D You get a mix of seahore, farmland, rugged New England countryside, and one of the world's great tourist traps. What's not to like?
this is a short, and pleasant, trip we have done a couple times now. You leave your car in Portland (the real Portland. Not many years after the pretender in Oregon was incorporated; we celebrated our bicentennial). Take the ferry over to Bailey Island (binoculars are handy to get a better look at the wildlife). Once there, there are a number of places to stay. We always stay at the Driftwood Inn. It's a place from an older era. The location is very nice, and it has a certain charm. With all that old fashioned charm also comes lumpy mattresses and almost ineffectual showers.There are other places to stay, both plain and fancy.
I wouldn't mind trying them; but the girls really like the Driftwood. It is lovely watching the sun go down from a rocker on the porch. There are two restaurants near the ferry dock. The one right at the dock is pleasant and expensive. The Estes 2 you can see from the dock; and it's just plain bad. The Driftwood Inn serves dinner and breakfast (don't plan on riding immediately after breakfast). There is a nice little take out place called Giant Steps; and a small restaurant next to the general store that is ok.
It's about 45 miles back to Portland. Bridges allow you to island hop to the peninsula, and then you follow the peninsula up to Brunswick. Either road to Brunswick is fine; I like the one on the west side a little better. There are several places to eat in Brunswick. The only one that really stands out in my mind is Richard's. But they serve German food, and it would be all you could do to crawl to your bike after eating there. Cycling would an act of self flagellation.
There is a nice back road to freeport called Pleasant Hill Road. You can easily get directions in brunswick, or get a map. Freeport is a nice place for lunch. You can stop and eat with a choice of almost anything from Sushi to McDonalds. For a cheap lunch go to Sam's which is on the way out of town, you can get a spaghetti dinner for under $5. There is a very nice place next to Beans with a fancy name like Aqua. I've eaten there, and like it. The Chinese place is pretty good. After lunch, let the food settle while you shop. Along with beans there is North face, Patagonia, book stores, and about 30 other places. There is a gourmet place with a name like Harry and David; and I like to visit there to get a soda, and maybe a snack. Nice fruit, if expensive.
From freeport you have 3 choices. Rte 1 from here to Portland is smooth, fast, and mostly has great lanes to ride in. The Mr Bagel in Yarmouth (and the Thai place across the street) are both quite good places to stop. But it's not exactly scenic. You can, however, get onto Rte 88 in Yarmouth and that is a very pretty road that is almost ideal for cycling.Or turn North from Freeport and ride to Pownal Center, and get up on Rte 9 and you can take that into Portland. Once in Portland find the bay,and follow it all the way around until you come to Franklin Arterial. The bay is called Back Bay. The Arterial will take you straight into the ferry terminal.
This is a great ride, the scenery is lovely, the hills give it a somewhat epic feel, and there are plenty of places to stop and eat. I like that part :D You get a mix of seahore, farmland, rugged New England countryside, and one of the world's great tourist traps. What's not to like?