Things to do in and around Portland

In Portland:

Old Port: The historic district downtown (think brick sidewalks); fun for walking around, shopping, and full of great restaurants. The Old Port is very near (includes?) the restaurant where Sunday's brunch will be held.

Portland Observatory: A historic lookout tower with great views of the city and the bay. It's just blocks from the park where the ceremony will take place.

Eastern Prom Trail & East End Beach: The Eastern Prom is where the ceremony will be held (a big park overlooking Casco Bay) and there is a beautiful 2 or 3 mile trail that runs between the park and bay (including East End Beach). The beach is great for walking on, but not great for swimming due to the adjacent marina...although people do swim there all the time.

Peaks Island: One of the more populated islands in Casco Bay, Peaks is a 20 min. ferry ride from downtown. It's much quieter than Portland and a pleasant area to walk around. There are a few restaurants and shops within walking distance from the ferry dock.

Near Portland:

Portland Headlight: Probably the most famous headlight in Maine, Portland Headlight is in South Portland (only 15 minutes from downtown Portland). There's a huge park and an old fort (Fort Williams) to see as well.

Two Lights & The Lobster Shack: Beautiful scenery and tasty lobster. It's pricey and you won't be the only one there, but I think it's worth it.

Further Away:

If you're going to be in Maine for a few days, I'd recommend driving up the coast on Route 1: Freeport, Bath, Boothbay, Bar Harbor, Camden...but be warned, you may see a few more cars. Weekdays are better than weekends.

Traveling to Portland

For those of you flying into Boston Logan airport, here are a few options for getting to/from Portland:

Bus: Concord Trailways goes directly between Logan and Portland; 2/2.5 hrs; $26 one-way or $44 round-trip. The buses are clean, have a restroom, offer water and show a movie. Unfortunately the Portland bus station is not downtown, so you would need to take a taxi to your hotel, or to the downtown Enterprise car rental branch (Forest Ave and Marginal Way).
http://www.concordtrailways.com/portland-to-boston.html

Train: The Amtrak Downeaster goes between Portland and Boston's North Station (not the airport); 2.5 hrs; $24 one-way (discounts avail). It stops in towns along the way and I here it's very nice, but I've never taken it. In Portland, it stops at the same location as Concord Trailways.
http://www.amtrakdowneaster.com/schedules_fares/full_schedule/

Car: Obviously, car rental is another option. From Logan to Portland, you don't have to go though Boston, but the traffic can still be hectic. Definitely doable though.

And, as I mentioned above, there is an Enterprise branch in downtown Portland.

If anyone has questions about transportation or accommodation, just let me know: ashleigharledge@gmail.com.

The Keenes

On April 8 Nicholas legally changed his last name to Keene, his mother's family name. When they get married, Ashleigh will adopt this name. Nicholas saved his "maiden" name as a second middle name, and Ashleigh will do the same with hers.

Preliminary Details

For Ashleigh and Nicholas, more difficult than deciding to get married is deciding how to get married. With each of them having very different notions of ideal wedding scenarios, negotiation of the basic wedding details was an early lesson in rigorous marital compromise. Through all of that, the following has emerged:

When: Sunday morning, July 18, 2010
Where: Eastern Promenade, Portland, Maine

Following the ceremony, we will walk to Restaurant Grace in downtown Portland for brunch and festivities before seeing the bride and groom off to their honeymoon.

The evening before the ceremony we will host an informal dinner at Saltwater Grill and we will invite our family and friends to give advice and tell stories about marriage.

Background & Engagement

Nicholas Rinard and Ashleigh Arledge met in 2005 in Indianapolis, when Nicholas was living in Las Vegas, Nevada and Ashleigh was living in Portland, Maine. They courted through a series of cross-country trips, then in summer 2006 Nicholas moved to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, and Ashleigh joined him. After traveling all around Alaska that summer, they moved together to Juneau and took jobs. Their relationship blossomed there in the rain forest, and they invested energy in their careers at prominent local companies. They traveled the region together and developed many friendships. In 2009 they embarked on an epic 11,000-mile road trip around North America, finishing safely in Madison, Wisconsin in August, in time for Ashleigh to start graduate school in Economics. Nicholas started a job in October.

In January of 2010, Nicholas and Ashleigh decided to get married, and sealed the deal by getting each other rings.