Leg 5—Boston to Portland, Maine: April 30, 2006

Amtrak’s Train 683, the Downeaster, leaves Boston’s North Station on Sunday, April 30 at 12:05 p.m. and arrives in Portland, Maine two and one-half hours later at 2:35 p.m. The train travels in three states and through the following cities: in Massachusetts, Boston, Woburn, and Haverhill; in New Hampshire, Exeter, Durham, and Dover; and in Maine, Wells, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Portland. I have never been in Maine, so this trip meets my objective to have traveled in all 50 states.

When I arrive in Portland, Amtrak pulls into the Portland Transportation Center. The Portland Transportation Center is a full service facility home to the Downeaster and Concord Trailways. It is located minutes from downtown Portland. Convenient shuttle services make it easy to visit local attractions and business centers, but a cab is waiting outside the station, so I hail the cab. The driver, a Caucasian, is affable. He drives me to my motel, the Travelodge, and we discuss the high cab fares in Boston. His theory is that the gasoline prices may have caused them to raise their rates. Gasoline prices are playing havoc with the cabbies’ costs, so I tip him big.

The cabbie hands me a free admission to the Platinum Plus, a strip club, which is within walking distance of the motel. I thank him but don’t go.

The Travelodge is located on the outskirts of town. I do not find much to do in Portland. Next door to motel is Denny’s, where I eat dinner. The waitress tells me that, a hopping center is kitty-corner to the restaurant and down-the-hill. I stroll over to the shopping center to shop at a Shaw’s super market and to see if there might be an Internet café to use the next morning. There is an Internet café in the shopping center but it is located in a restaurant, which is not open for breakfast.

I stay in my room, watch a little television and sleep. The next morning, I eat breakfast at Denny’s, call a cab and head for the Portland Train Station. I have become accustomed to waiting at train stations. I would rather be early and wait than to be late and miss my train. Usually, I can strike up a conversation with someone in the waiting area.

Portland is Maine's business, financial and retail capital and the largest city in the state. With a metro population of 230,000, the Greater Portland area is home to almost one quarter of Maine's total population The population of the city is 64,000. It is ranked nationally as one of the ten safest, culturally most fascinating US cities.