Minneapolis

While I was at Magic Kingdom and Fort Wilderness, Susan and Jennifer flew to Minneapolis. They stayed Friday and Saturday night at the Sheraton Downtown, next to the Convention Center. Friday night they set up for a book convention. 

On Saturday they signed and sold books, and Saturday night they went out to dinner with friends. 

Yesterday morning they went to a local bookstore to sign some books, then spent a few hours at the Mall of America. They flew home last night.

Big Thunder Mountain

This morning I got up early to take Susan and Jennifer to the airport to fly to another book event, then went to Magic Kingdom to ride Big Thunder Mountain. It reopened last month after being closed for over a year for refurbishment. It was much smoother than it used to be and the theming elements all looked refreshed, but it’s mostly the same as it was before. 

The queue provided so decent views into the old Tom Sawyer Island work area, where Disney is constructing a new ride based on the Cars movies. After Big Thunder I rode Haunted Mansion. I wouldn’t have minded watching Hall of Presidents, but the first show didn’t start until 10:30 and it was already getting hot, so I headed out. 

I decided to head out to Fort Wilderness to get some lunch at Trail’s End. They are continuing to make progress on Lakeshore Lodge’s new boat dock. I get to see the workers adding stuff while at work, but can’t take photos. A couple months ago they cleared the “shoe tree”.

The cabins are coming along as well, and recently they planted palm trees around the future pool area. I was planning on having a beer with lunch, but when I got to the Fort I was disappointed to learn Crockett’s Tavern now doesn’t open until 3 pm. I ate then headed home. 

Portland

While in Portland, we stayed at the Westin Harborview. We picked it because we thought it had a concierge lounge we could visit, and that we might get upgraded. It didn’t, and we didn’t, so the room was a little cramped for three of us. 

Monday morning we went on a trolley tour of Portland. We drove around downtown and some of the nicer neighborhoods nearby while the driver gave us some history of the city.

It then took us out to Fort Williams park and the Portland Head lighthouse, where we got off and walked around a bit. 

After the tour we walked back to our room, and stopped to get some lunch and look at some stores. Yesterday morning we walked down to the bookstore that had sponsored the event in Bangor, and Jenn signed some stock and visited with the owner. 

Last night we flew home. We had a layover in Detroit, and had dinner at the Delta Lounge there. We got bumped up to first class on the flight from there, which was nice, but the flight was delayed leaving Detroit, so we got in pretty late. 

Bangor to Portland

Saturday morning, while Jennifer and Susan signed and sold books, I visited the Cole Land Transportation Museum. The Cole family started a trucking company in Maine more than a century ago and after they sold it in the early 90’s created the museum. I stayed about an hour and a half, seeing all the vehicles and reading about them and the Cole family.

After that I drove about a half hour south to visit Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory State Park. Fort Knox was constructed in the 1800’s to guard the Penobscot River against incursions by the British or other nations, but never saw any combat. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge opened in 2006 to replace an earlier over the river and included a an elevator that goes up 40 floors for views of the river. 

I spent about two hours wandering around the fort and going up the elevator for the views of the river and the town of Bucksport across the river, then headed back to Bangor. 

Yesterday morning I dropped off Susan and Jenn at the book event then went back to the hotel to check out. The event ended at noon, and after we packed up we headed south on I-95 to Augusta, where we stopped so I could take a photo of the Capitol. 

I also visited Old Fort Western. It’s $15 for a guided tour that lasts about an hour, but I had a guide to myself so went through in about half the time. The fort was built in 1754 by the English to defend against the French and Indians, and became a private home and store in 1767. It remained occupied until 1919, when the Gannett family restored it and turned it over to the city as a museum. 

We continued another hour south to Portland, and after checking into our hotel, walked down to the harbor and had dinner at the Ri Ra Irish Pub. The food was delicious and the upstairs dining room had a nice view of the harbor. A storm came in while we were eating, so we took a Lyft back to the hotel.