Monday, 12 August 2013

Beginnings of the best Road Trip


Once getting back from Provincetown we knew we wanted to hire a car, but had no idea what we would do or where we would go or even how to go about it. Fate would have it that right near the pier is an Alamo car hire shop where then had the most helpful girl. We originally thought we could drive to Niagra Falls in three days and then catch buses the rest of the time. After getting a quote for $500 we didn’t know if it was worth it, but then for some reason I asked how much it would be for the full 12 days and she said around $700 wtf? So for $200 more we got the car for an extra 9 days! I don’t understand the pricing but I’m ok with that. 

So we ventured to the airport to pick up our car and after a kafuffle with what size car we ended up with a 2014 Toyota Yaris.

We began to roughly plan our two week adventure and our first stop would be Portland, Maine.

Leaving the airport mid afternoon meant that we just went on the interstate because we didn’t want to be driving at night time. We had good intentions… About an hour into the trip, after Sarah got over driving on the wrong side, we both declared we were starving so we pulled of the interstate when we saw a McDonalds sign. Little did we know that the sign was not like the ones back home where they indicate that a McDonalds is right near the road, and we ended up driving a good hour before we gave up on finding one. As we were well off the interstate we ended up driving all these back roads, through countryside, across one way bridges, huge ponds and mansions. It ended up being a very beautiful scenic route.  Then after seeing the sign hours before we found a McDonalds next to a Supermarket, so we ate and got groceries for our car trip.

Excited over the weird food we food we didn’t realize it had gotten so dark. Then my phone started playing up and lost battery and Sarah’s phone couldn’t keep up so it became a recipe for disaster. To add to all that was the fact that we hadn’t even booked a hotel! Now im the planner of us two, where as Sarah is go with the flow, so im sitting there stressing that we have no idea where we are going and its dark, while she is like ‘its all ok’.

So after getting lost a few times, we managed to find a Travelodge not far from the city and decided to spend two nights there so we could see Portland in the morning.

After a sleep in, we ended up shopping at Kohl’s (which we love because they have really good stuff and give you lots of discounts, it has also made us want to get into couponing!) and Dollartree among other suburban stores.  We then took a drive through Portland city and stopped at a few places along the wharf. For dinner we ended up at Applebees as it was only across the road from our hotel. I’d put it on par with Hogs Breath but you get a lot more for less. I had an amazing steak which I had been craving for so long and a berry salad that was weird but good.

We also spent the night tentatively planning the rest of our trip, before an early night ready for the adventures ahead.

 

 

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