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Experience the landmarks and museums, focused on the local connections to the Civil War, with your private tour driver guide. Tour starts in Portland and travels to Brunswick.

by Boyd Lemon, Writer; Boomers and Seniors Travel Blog (permission by author)

Most travelers think only of Los Angeles (or maybe San Diego or Santa Barbara) when Southern California comes to mind, but you get a different view of Southern California if you spend some time 70 miles north of Los Angeles in Ventura.  Downtown Ventura is two blocks from the beach. It provides a peaceful, relaxing weekend for those who live in the metropolis to the south and a different view for tourists who see Southern California as Los Angeles.  I recommend staying two nights.  If you're coming from the Los Angeles area, leave late the first morning and have lunch in Malibu, unless you live in L.A. and have seen enough of Malibu.

Getting There--Lunch on the Way If You Drive.

There are two ways to get to Ventura from Los Angeles that offer different pleasures--train (believe it or not) and car.  I recommend car, but the train is a viable alternative and cheaper than renting a car.  You won't need a car to do what I'm recommending in Ventura,with one exception, for which you can take a short taxi ride.  It's all downtown.

The main reason I recommend a car is that you can drive up Pacific Coast Highway (the famed California State Highway 1) and enjoy the ocean views through Santa Monica, Malibu, Zuma Beach and points north.  You can get there faster (sometimes) on the 101 Freeway, but you miss the lovely views.

I suggest you leave close to lunch time and stop for lunch in Malibu at a Malibu institution that has been on the far north end forever, called Neptune's Net.  It's inexpensive.  The inside has no ambiance at all, just excellent fish and seafood.  Outdoors, you are treated to an ocean view.   Address: 42505 Pacific Coast Highway (on the land side).

If you want to splurge and dine in an elegant restaurant with an ocean view and pay $20 plus per person, I recommend Geoffrey's also on the north end of Malibu, ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway at 27400.   Somebody has to be looking for it; it is difficult to see from the Highway, and driving north you have to make a u-turn after you've passed it.  Or consider Geoffrey's on the way back to Los Angeles.  The drive to Ventura, excluding lunch, if you leave during late morning, takes about an hour and a half or so, depending on where in L.A. you leave from.

If you live in Southern California and have enjoyed that ocean scenery many times, you should consider the train for a pleasant change.  You get a different view from the train, and you can relax, instead of driving.

Go online, www.AMTRAK.com, or call 1-800-AMTRAK and find out where the nearest station is and the schedule.  It will take an hour and a half to two hours on the train, depending on where you get on.  The cost is 30 to 50 dollars round trip per person (depending on season, time of day and where you get on). The Ventura station is about 6 blocks from downtown and the hotel I recommend.

Driving to Pacific Coast Highway is one of the easier trips in the Los Angeles area.  Wherever you are, get to Interstate 10 West toward Santa Monica (locals call it the Santa Monica Freeway), and the freeway dumps you off on Pacific Coast highway through the McClure Tunnel.  You don't have to do anything but follow the road.  You may need a map to get you to Interstate 10, and you will need a map to get you to Ventura when you exit Highway 1.  You will end up on another freeway, U.S. Highway 101, sometimes called the Ventura Freeway.  Get off at California Street, and turn right.  You're in the center of downtown Ventura, and if you stay at the Bella Maggiore (as I suggest below), it is a block and a half on your left, 67 So. California Street.

If Malibu represents the Southern California glitz, Ventura represents small town Southern California, but still with most of the good things that people enjoy in Southern California, like the beach and good restaurants and wine tasting. It is one of southern California's least glitzy beach towns, even though it is only 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles and half that from the San Fernando Valley, and it isn't nearly as crowded as other beach towns.  It isn't set off from the urban sprawl, but it feels like it is.

Where To Stay

I recommend the Bella Maggiore Inn, a funky, good value bed and breakfast with a lovely restaurant downstairs that serves fabulous breakfasts, included in the rates.  The rates vary from $75 to $150 per night depending on the room, the season and days of the week.  If it turns out too pricey for you, it is difficult to find an alternative in or near the downtown area.  The only other possibility is the Vagabond (756 East Thompson Street), a low end chain, and you get what you pay for--about $70 a night, not that much less than the Bella Maggiori on week days, off season.  I would avoid the Crown Plaza.  It has gorgeous ocean views, but nothing else can be recommended, including the rates.

What To Do.

After you check in, walk up California Street, away from the beach and take a look at the old courthouse at the top of California.  It's now the City Hall and is a beautiful, old California building.  Then just walk through the downtown area and look around.  The corner of California and Main Streets is the center of downtown, and it extends about a half mile on either side of California and just a block or two on either side of Main.  As you will find out, Ventura is a very old town by California standards, having been settled by the Spanish in the late 1700's.  The Chumash Native Americans lived there for thousands of years before that.

If you feel like walking some more, turn right at the city hall, walk down Poli Street for a few blocks and ascend into the hills as far as you want to go.  You'll get some panoramic views of the Pacific up there.

There are often art and music events in town.  Ask at your hotel, or probably you'll see posters around town.

Among the most pleasurable activities in downtown Ventura are eating and drinking wine.  There are three nice venues for wine tasting.  My favorite is The Wine Rack on California a few doors toward the ocean from Main Street (14 So. California).  West Side Cellars is at 222 East Main Street (turn left from California when coming from Bella Maggiore).  Walking there you pass a number of interesting shops.  West Side Cellars also has excellent food.  The third wine tasting venue, less fancy, but still nice and with some excellent cheeses to sample is Paradise Wine Pantry (677 East Main, about six blocks down).  You'll pass The Truffle Hound, if you can, a superb purveyor of homemade chocolate truffles.

Near West Side Cellars is Jonathan's (204 East Main), a Mediterranean restaurant in a 150 year-old building that housed the town grocery store.  It's adjacent to a fountain and patio, where they offer outdoor dinning in the summer.  I would recommend Jonathan's for dinner or lunch.  The bar (called J's) is next door, offers tasty specialty drinks and good wines and hosts live music some nights.

Another restaurant I wouldn't miss is the Watermark, 598 West Main, a block east of California.  But be forewarned:  it is on the pricey side, and I know you can't go to all the restaurants I'm suggesting.

But, just in case, Tuttties, 35 No. Palm, around the corner from Main, a sister restaurant to a Santa Barbara institution, is another excellent restaurant.  I recommend their outdoor patio.

The best restaurant in Ventura, in my opinion, The Side Car, requires a ten minute drive.  It's too far to walk from your hotel (25 blocks), unless you're an ambitious walker.  If you arrived on the train, taxis are available.  The ambiance at The Side Car is unique.  It is at 3029 East Main Street.  Chef Tim, who cooks primarily using the best local ingredients, will take good care of you.  And they have live music some nights.

Visit the San Buena Ventura Mission, and its gardens a few blocks down Main from California (211 East Main), but you may want to save that for the second day.

On your second day, after visiting the Mission, I suggest you walk back to California Street, turn right and head for the beach.  There is a long, paved walkway along the beach, if you don't want to walk on the sand.  I recommend that you walk south, more scenic than the walk north.  Just hang out, and enjoy the sea and fresh air.

A walk to the end of the pier is worthwhile, as is a drink, but not the food, at Eric Erikssons, the restaurant you'll see at the end of the pier.  There are benches on the pier and on the walk to sit and relax.  Sometimes people watching is excellent on the benches in the square in front of the Crown Plaza Hotel, especially if the weather is warm.

Either before or upon your return from the beach walk, a visit to the Ventura Museum, 100 East Main Street, is worthwhile for a look at some California history.

I usually don't recommend places to shop, because I am not a shopper, but for nice gifts, check out Palermo and The Wine Rack.  Many of the shops along Main Street are worth a look.

If that isn't enough to do, and you have a car, for more beautiful ocean views drive up the coast on Highway 101 to or toward Santa Barbara.  But go in the middle of the day--traffic any other time may ruin the ambiance.  If you came on the train, the train schedule will limit your time.

Or if landscapes beckon while you're in Ventura, and you have a car, check out Highway 33 on your map, drive up to Ojai, 20 minutes away, and you'll think you're in the mountains.

Enjoy San Buena Ventura!

 

Fall In Love With Maine's Annual Autumn Spectacular
by Norm Forgey, DayTripNation.com,September 17, 2010

Summer is just about over.  Fall is about to be in the evening air.  It has been a hot summer everywhere.  Where should we go to see some of the great New England fall colors that everyone talks about?

Vermont's Green Mountains?  New Hampshire's White Mountains?  Why not consider the coast of Maine - mix in a little ocean blue, glaciated coastal browns, pine tree greens - and you have an explosion of color that sets off the yellows, reds, and oranges.  And just to make sure that there is enough shoreline to make it worthwhile, consider this:  If you were to walk the entire shore of Maine it would be about a 3,500 mile walk!  There must be a few trees along the way.  In fact, Maine is still 90% forested - the most of any state.

Start your fall adventure at Portland, the largest city in the state with 64,000 people.  Portland has changed little since the late 1800's when it was a bustling northern seaport giving merchant's access to Canada.  As the northern most deep water port, which does not freeze over in winter, it remains an important port today receiving over 70 cruise ships, 200 oil tankers, fishing fleets, and of course lobstermen.  Take a day or two and decompress before your leaf-peeping takes on a life of its own.  See America's only Maritime Observatory on Munjoy Hill.  Visit Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's boyhood home.  Revel in the luxury of Victoria Mansion.  See great American artist's paintings at the Portland Museum of Art.

Are you ready for your immersion into fall colors?  Start your road trip by going north past the town of Bath.  Turn onto Route 144 just south of Wiscasset.  You will find yourself navigating on the islands of Westport and Georgetown.  Don't worry, there are bridges to cross - and these create some of the best color shows around.  Continue to the town of Five Islands on Sheepscot Bay and have a lobster while taking pictures - many pictures!  Travel on to Reid State Park at the end of Georgetown Island.  Walk on the sand beach or the rocky coast - your choice.  What are the blazing red plants covering some of the small islands just off the beach?  Wild blueberry bushes!

Need a break to rest your eyes for a bit?  Try Boothbay Harbor.  You better plan on going into McSeagull's or some other nice restaurant because the harbor is beautiful.  Need just a little more rural scenery?  Drive on down to the tip of Southport Island and visit Newagen.  Did I mention lighthouses?
 

 

Food, fine design, easy access - part of the charm of Portland, Maine
by Christine Tibbetts/The Tifton Gazette August 22, 2010 (permission by author)
tibbetts1@bellsouth.net

What! No lobster?

  Lobster didn't dominate my dinner tables in Portland, Maine, three nights in June.  Certainly is a famous local food, and plentiful, but chefs and cooks and eating-out neighborhood people were serving up all sorts of other specialties too and that's what I wanted to try.

  Chunky chowder with seafood from Casco Bay at Eve's Garden in the Harbor Hotel.  Asparagus bisque there too.  Wild Maine mussels in star anise cream.

  Baked beans and brown bread topped with a basted egg at the locals-gather-here Front Room on Congress Street.  Ginger mint tea at the foot sanctuary.

  Maine blueberries in muffins and pancakes and handfuls.  So many chefs and food artisans, brewers and spirit makers tha Portland devotes an October festival to Maine food and wine.

  For a culinary holiday, consider "Harvest on the Harbor" Oct. 21-23.

  Small markets downtown with breads and bakery goodies, fresh fruit, cheeses and wines nestled in among the houses, shops, museums, and gardens along easy-to-walk streets.

  Easy city I think Portland is to plan a picnic, especially if you like to relax in beautiful gardens.

  Summer flowers are everywhere, gigantic lush peonies and pansies in every hue.  These folks rejoice in the light and warmth of their short warm-weather season.
 
  Practical, right-to-the-point pleasant people:  that's who I found in Portland plus two small Maine towns.

  A windjammer sailing adventure triggered the trip north so discovering Rockland, Camden and the Maine gateway city Portland became a bonus.

  Portland propelled me to Europe on an easy afternoon walk with architecture reminiscent of a British countryside city center.

  Modern buildings too and volunteer Bob King in the Observatory Museum urged me to visit the just-renovated public library, including the Maine sculptors exhibit.

  Can't say that's advice I hear often but his info about the last maritime signal tower in America was so interesting I trusted him.

  Makes sense that cities with deep ports but no view of the open ocean needed a way to signal the ships and Portland's 1807 tower survived.

  Privately owned until given to the city in 1937 and renovated in 1939 as a WPA project, the Observatory Museum it is today gives visitors with good stair-climbing legs a view all the way to the White Mountains.

  Water matters in Portland and Casco Bay to the east, the deep-water estuary to the Fore River on the west and the bustling Portland Harbor anchoring the south.

  This is the real deal, a working harbor.  Sure, shops and eating places too, but the mood is productive and that can mean hearty coffee and fresh seafood.

  I stayed in the handsome Harbor Hotel with easy waterfront access and launching points for a variety of walking tours - my own or the guided kind.

  My travel buddy Syd Blackmarr and I strolled a lot, starting with breakfast at the Casco Bay end of Congress Street, wanting to poke our noses in every interesting spot.

  Second day we discovered Norm Forgey with Maine Day Trip and hopped in his comfy car to learn more about what we had seen and what we missed and absorb some of his abundant "Maine is so interesting" knowledge.

  That works in Portland and all around the state because Forgey likes day trips and likes personalizing them to particular interests.

  A favorite day journey of his connects the Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper paintings in the Portland Museum of Art with houses on the rocky Maine coast where the artists actually lived and painted.

  Maine artists are abundant in this museum, famous as Hopper; Homer, the Wyeth family, Robert Indiana, Mary Cassatt and Louise Nevelson plus some not-known-to-me Mainers with interesting works.

  The Portland Museum of Art recently acquired Winslow Homer's studio at Prouts Neck, 12 miles south of the city, and they're restoring it as it was during his life, 1836-1910.

  What a pleasure to actually see those crashing waves on the rocky Maine coast and see his paintings of them.  Homer is credited with transforming American coastal painting.

  I travel to transform myself.

  Ulysses S. Grant is in this museum too, a taller-than-life sculpture intended for the U. S. Capitol but rejected saying he looked too battle wary.

  How could he not?

  Lots of people were in the Museum of Art, just like in the library.  Local people I think, appreciating community.  For me, that makes travel better, being in the places that reflect and intrigue the ones who live there.

  Right next door is the Children's Museum, bursting with energy and happy families.  Syd and I high-tailed it to the top floor for the Camera Obscura, a popular 15th century device that actually dates back to 500 B.C.

  Louisa Donelson, Children's Museum visitor guide, says it's one of only a handful in the U.S. and certainly my first.

  I'd read about Camera Obscura in "Girl with the Pearl Earring", a tale about artist Jan Vermeer but never thought I'd use one.  Portland's distinctive that way.

  Here's the deal: best panorama view of the city in a room without windows.  A real image appears through a small hole or lens into a darkened chamber.

  Vermeer used one to paint his portraits.  Portland Children's Museum uses it to show the city scenes outside and teach all kinds of architecture, photography, optics, city planning and other lessons.

  I simply liked it.

  Wish I'd gotten in the Museum of African Culture on Brown Street, but showed up too late - intriguing art in the windows indicating feminine spirit traditions: mothers and grandmothers, queens and queen mothers, princesses, the feminine ocean.

  Much of what I found and admired is on Congress and Free Streets, basically parallel, and only two blocks north of my Harbor Hotel.  Portland is a sensible walking city.

  Soakology, however, my wonderful walking-by-it discovery, isn't on any street.  Number 30 City Center is the address and it's a pedestrian walkway, no cars on this short stretch.

  Who doesn't need a foot sanctuary, even without knowing such a place exists?  Hope I stumble across another one in my journeys.

  Teahouse on the first floor, familiar and exotic brews, chilled, steamed and steeped.  Soups and cheeses too, plus chocolates and cookies so stay awhile upstairs.

  Downstairs, the lights dim, and in front of every overstuffed chair and sofa are enormous ceramic pots, generous for my size tens.  Some comfy chairs are tucked away in curtained corners for those shy about their feet.  Men and women.

  Healing massage at Soakology, not nail polish.  Omega 3 and flax seed.  Seaweed and spirulina mud.  Neem and date seed.  Deep lavender.  Maine woods remedy.

  Ayurvedic assessment and massage too, the ancient art of India.

  Longfellow Book Store is next door; one of many bookstores in this lively city with its popular library.

  Longfellow himself is in evidence too with tours of his childhood home on, you guessed it, Congress Street.  Fantastic gardens out back, another good Portland picnic spot with comfortable benches.  Even if history tours aren't your cup of tea, I'd recommend a Portland visit for the gardens adjoining so many historic churches, museums and homes.

  Might take a book of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poems to read in the garden.  "Evangeline" I remembered and tour guide James Horrigan taught me something new.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne had the idea for the epic poem about the Acadian people in Nova Scotia moving to New France, now Louisiana, and he told his friend Longfellow."

  "Longfellow wrote it himself and gained almost-instant fame," Horrigan said.

  Some friend, I grumbled to myself.

  The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is decorated with original furnishings and family memorabilia, not always the norm on historic home tours.

  Victoria Mansion, also walkable in the opposite direction from Harbor Hotel, is filled with 90 percent of its original contents.

  That means 1860 in an Italian Villa style for multi-millionaires Ruggles Sylvester and Olive Morse.  Lavish just begins to describe this place.

  Follow Portland's curves and angles, wide streets, promenades and water overlooks and stop often to taste the local cuisine.

  Talk to people too.  Mainers respond happily, sharing information and acting interested in their visitors.

  Don't really know what I expected on my first visit to Maine but it felt just right, like Maine should.

When you go:

www.VisitPortland.com 207-772-4994

www.MaineDayTrip.com 207-838-5275

www.PortlandHarborHotel.com 888-798-9090

www.soakology.com 207-879-7625

www.HarvestontheHarbor.com 207-772-4994