May 2010

Remember this summer? The one that hasn’t happened yet? We do, thanks to the new Zoltar fortune-telling machine we’ve just purchased (wishful thinking) for our Portland Magazine headquarters at 165 State Street. With the help of a roll of quarters and the serene and amiable prescience of our scryer-in-a-box, we already know what you did this summer! Consider.

This summer: You returned to the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, stood at the edge of the Atlantic, felt an incredibly cool breeze, and once again ate the best lobster roll you’ve ever had in your life. All around you, the air was so fresh and young it took you by surprise. Travelers from all around the globe began to gather here, too, as if they’d discovered the Eighth Wonder of the World. And they had. Squeamish about lobster? Come here for the gulls alone. They’re a wonderful floor show, as skillful and crafty as Fagan’s pickpockets.

This summer: As though under a spell, you drove to The Goldenrod in York Beach. Standing outside the plate-glass window, you found yourself hypnotized by the taffy machine, which sensuously stretched the saltwater taffy and then chopped and spun it, twisting off the magic finished product in delicious kisses that fell into a box. Plunging indoors from the sidewalk, you entered the timeless knotty pine dining room and ordered the lobster club, finishing with a lime rickey in an icy glass holder in polished nickel. Standing up, you saw your reflection in the deep, luscious coats of new varnish on your table. In mid-departure, you promised yourself you’d only buy the small box of candy kisses, but at the last minute you bought the large. You promised yourself and all your friends back home that you wouldn’t eat all the peanut-butter ones ahead of them–before you even left the parking lot–and then you did.

This summer: You booked a two-hour windjammer ride across Casco Bay on the Wendameen (in Long Island Sound, her former passengers included Eugene O’Neill and Katherine Anne Porter) or the Bagheera (so “yar” she’s sailed to the Galapagos Islands!), both designed by legendary naval architect John Alden. Ducking between shadows and sunshine, you darted between Fort Gorges and Portland Head Light. As evening set the skyline on fire, for just a second, you felt a part of the beauty.

This summer: You dared to follow a sense of adventure everywhere your imagination took you. You grabbed the brass ring and had the time of your life. And after following us on portlandmagazine.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace, you decided to subscribe to Portland Magazine on our attractive-yet-understated web site. Because there’s nothing like a traveling companion who loves the Maine mystique the way you do–something you can actually touch that touches you.