It’s no wonder that Portland was just named Bon Appétit Magazine’s Foodiest Town in America, the foo

I spent the bulk of my childhood traveling back and forth to a lake in Maine, where my grandfather car rental durban south africa had purchased land and built three cottages in what felt like the middle of nowhere.  Going to Maine for a long weekend meant packing three sisters and three Setters, along with our parents into the minivan car rental durban south africa and making the 4.5-hour trek during car rental durban south africa what my parents had deemed the off-peak travel times.
Today, things are a little different.  Instead of my sisters and parents, I am traveling car rental durban south africa with my devoted boyfriend of many years, Jay, and our ever so adventurous Pointer Moose in the canine seat of our car.  Together, the three of us drive from Boston to Maine in just under two hours.  Rather than reaching Portland and heading another 30 miles to the Northwest, we usually make Portland's Old Port our final destination.
Portland, Maine is one of the most dog friendly places that we have been to, which is why we love it so much.  We continue to find dog friendly restaurants, shops and places each and every time we visit.  I am excited to highlight for you a few of our favorites.
The Old Port is a fantastic place to explore. The cobblestone streets and brick architecture is magnificent. When walking around, car rental durban south africa you will be surprised at just how many dogs you pass and shops that welcome owners and their canine companions. You are never far from a pan of water outside a shopkeeper s door. Here are just a couple of dog friendly things to do in Portland.
First and foremost, the Old Port is home to cobblestone streets, original brick architecture car rental durban south africa and of course a never ending fleet of stunning ships.  Taking Fido on a walk down Portland's Harborwalk will guarantee some spectacular sites.  Make sure to stop at the beach along the Harborwalk just as long as it is after 5:00 PM, your pooch is allowed to play on the beach and go for a swim.
If your have a few hours to kill and are interested in seeing some of the hundreds of harbor islands that make up Maine's coast, hop aboard the Casco Bay Mailboat .  The Mailboat departs twice daily (10:00 AM and 2:45 PM schedule varies depending on the season), making car rental durban south africa stops at Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Long, Cliff, and Chebeague.  Though passengers do not get off at the stops, this is a fantastic way to see several of the year-round islands from the water.  In case you were wondering, yes, a well-behaved, leashed Fido is allowed on the boat free of charge. You will also find Casco Bay Lines offers sunset cruises and other on the water activities.
Even though we have yet to be turned away from any of the shops with our dog, we still ask at the door if it is ok to browse with Moose. Portland is loaded with Mom and Pop-type shops, which for us is much better than going to the mall. Here are a couple of places you should make sure you check out.
Fetch is hands down Moose's favorite store in the Old Port.  Situated on Commercial Street, right in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everything the Old Port has to offer, Moose knows the building.  There, at the bottom steps waiting for him is always a huge doggie dish full of fresh water perfect after our stroll along the Harborwalk. car rental durban south africa  After rehydrating all 60 pounds of him, Moose knows as soon as he walks through the door, he will be greeted by muzzle-level buckets of balls, frisbees, fleece knots, squeaker toys and of course, bones.
In addition to a friendly and helpful staff, as soon as you become a customer at Fetch, you begin earning Fetch Points for anything you purchase and redeemable for whatever Fido desires down the road. Considering each trip to Portland means a trip to Fetch for Moose, this program is a huge bonus.
Last year during car rental durban south africa one of our trips to Portland, Jay, Moose and I were pulling out of the gorgeous Whole Foods (yes, it is the best one on the east coast), when I screamed for Jay to make an abrupt left.  Right there on the corner was a THE Planet Dog company store!
We actually knew about Planet Dog's Orbee toys before we knew Planet Dog was based out of Portland.  Back when Moose was four months old and entering into what would become several months of teething hell, we picked up one of Planet car rental durban south africa Dog's Orbee teething globes.  These USA-made, eco-friendly toys are similar to Kong-like toys in a sense that you can stuff puppy-size treats car rental durban south africa in the small hole to keep Fido busy for longer than the usual five-minute attention span, though they do not contain some of the harmful chemicals that other rubber car rental durban south africa toys may contain. The mint scent helps with dog breath as well.
The Planet Dog company store has their entire line of eco-friendly toys, a variety of hard to find feeds, specialty treats, grooming, training classes and even puppy socialization hours on the weekend.
Believe it or not, Portland has an incredible art scene. car rental durban south africa  In addition to the amazing Portland Museum car rental durban south africa of Art (sorry, car rental durban south africa Fido is not welcome here), there are countless galleries lining the cobblestone streets.  One of my favorites (not just because car rental durban south africa Moose is welcome) is the Anderson Gallery .  Based out of Rockport, Massachusetts and now with a second studio at 342 Fore Street in Portland, George Anderson's paintings capture what living in a port city truly means.
It's no wonder that Portland was just named Bon Appétit Magazine's Foodiest Town in America, the food in this city of less than 250,000 people is spectacular.  Below are some of our favorites and yes, they include Moose's favorites.
It is an understatement to say that I was spoiled growing up in my mom's kitchen.  Sundays in our house meant my mom was making bread from scratch, yes, scratch.  The idea of a bread machine car rental durban south africa in my mom's kitchen was a sin still is today.  I say this and laugh as before Jay and I were together, the only baking he had experienced was out of a box.  You can only imagine car rental durban south africa what he thought of me.  My sisters still remind him that as a kid over at a friend's car rental durban south africa house for the day, I refused to eat lunch because the sandwich was made on "duck bread" duck bread in our house was any bread bought from the grocery car rental durban south africa store.  As you can imagine, finding something that compared car rental durban south africa to my mom's homemade cakes, cookies, breads, cupcakes, shortcakes, scones, gingerbreads and brownies would prove to be difficult.  Then came the Standard car rental durban south africa Baking Company find . . .
Walking into the Standard Baking Company, you are immediately greeted by the pleasant aroma of fresh baked treats and coffee.  There, standing before you in a space that holds 15 people car rental durban south africa max is the daily display.  The walls behind the friendly bakers are lined with the breads baked fresh that day . . . the bread at Standard Baking Company  is not duck bread!  My top five picks from Standard Baking Company include:  the blueberry scones, the granola bars, the rosemary focaccia (the first purchase my mom and I ever made at Standard Baking car rental durban south africa Company), the chocolate cork and the country white bread (perfect for french toast).
During one of our last visits, we stopped at Standard Baking Company on our way up to Bar Harbor. car rental durban south africa  I bought Jay his usual morning bun and two blueberry scones.  I figured I would have one scone for my breakfast and save the other in case we were in need of a snack somewhere on our journey.  Let us just say neither Jay nor I had a taste of that second blueberry scone as Moose decided car rental durban south africa the antioxidant-filled treat was his and his only.  I guess we know his Standard Baking Company favorite!
I have to admit that when Jay first suggested we have lunch at the Portland Lobster Company , I was a little skeptical.  From the outside, the legendary car rental durban south africa joint looks like a typical fried clam and french fry shack my stomach cringed.  At the same time, we were in search of a place that would allow Moose to sit outside with us on what shaped up to be one of the brightest days in early summer.
When we passed through the main gate, I immediately realized that the fried clam shack had totally fooled me.  On the way to our bright red painted picnic table overlooking the harbor, we passed an outdoor bar and live music stage.  We quickly found an open table, tied Moose's leash to the leg, where shortly thereafter he decided he would clean up after the other guests Moose fell in love with french fries.
I have to say, in all of my summers of having lobster rolls, I have never seen a lobster roll more stuffed with scrumptious, meaty lobster.  If you love mayo-filled lobster rolls, car rental durban south africa this lobster roll is NOT for you, thank god.
By far my favorite restaurant of all (and I mean of ALL the restaurants we have visited) is located in Portland.  Yes, Fore Street , located at 288 Fore Street knocks all other dinner spots out of the water. Although you cannot bring your dog into the restaurant there is parking directly across the street at the furniture store for $5.
Ed, the parking car rental durban south africa attendant of 10 years, keeps a watchful eye over the cars especially if you let him know your dog is in there taking a nap. The adjacent building blocks the setting sun, but do not make the mistake of leaving your dog in a hot car as Ed will speak up loudly. He genuinely cares about how people treat their dogs. Ed also asked us to remind people if they are going to clean trash from their cars, he has a garbage can for you. Do not throw it in the parking lot. Seriously this is a great place to park a car with a sleeping dog as long as the temperature is below 70 degrees.
car rental durban south africa Fore Street Restaurant sits above Standard Baking Company (go figure two of our three favorites are literally right on top of one another).  The kitchen is smack in the middle of the restaurant, so you get to watch all of the food from when your greens come out of the wood and glass walk-in, to your piece of meat, game or fish entering the wood-fired car rental durban south africa oven.  Each course is guaranteed spectacular as the chef creates the menu each day based on what is available locally talk about fresh.  The desserts are made by Fore Street's own dessert chef; however, all the bread served comes from Standard Baking Company they are not serving up duck bread either!
Ge