… Just returned from an excellent adventure to Portland, Maine. A friend invited me to skip (some) work on Friday afternoon, and drive up with him up north for a vernisage of an artist in a local wine tasters' cafe, Meritage.
Portland is such an incredible city… While my friend drove around the Meritage attempting to find a parking spot, I had plenty of time to curiously look around and have revealed to me some incredible deposits of urban energy and spirit emitting from the venerable walls, little quaint stores, cafes or beautifully decorated trees…
Despite the city being somewhat burred underneath the snow, and an overall coldness of the evening air in anticipation of an upcoming snow blizzard, the warm smiles of fellow-sidewalk-walkers, and millions of inviting little places to disappear into and thaw for a minute, together with some awesome stories and enthusiasm shown by my friend and a guide, Michael made it a night to remember.
The reception at the Meritage of Kwabena Chan AnsaPilsqeSis was an additional treat as I was slowly intoxicating myself with various samples of wines and the incredible art of (now) my friend, the artist himself. As it would not have been enough, the evening ended with a scrumptious meal at a local sea-food restaurant, accompanied by Mr. AnsaPilsqeSis himself, who did an incredible thing, revealed to me some of the creative process involved in the genesis of two of his most breathtaking drawings…
The following morning continued bringing me fun and joy… Just before the afternoon blizzard Michael and I drove to the nearby Cape Elizabeth to witness hundreds if not thousands of Common Iders (as a local granny explained to us) floating in the sea, circling, frolicking, diving, hunting, chatting and socializing despite the obvious cold… We looked at this peculiar spectacle from above, the top of the shore-cliff…
The thoughts of the shore all covered in snow and a crisp breeze of the ocean mist in the air were something to hold on to while driving through white hell of a blinding snow blizzard on our way home … Luckily as we were approaching Connecticut, the temperature was rising and snow eventually changed to rain, granting us a safe though somewhat depressing passage back home…
PS.
NEVER ORDER A CHICKEN SANDWICH #6 AT A BURGER KING AT THE REST STOP CLOSE TO PORTLAND… that place should be shut down, locked up and the people guilty of food poisoning of my friend should pay DEARLY… I'm serious…