Romeo Lunch 5-26-10

The Romeo Gang met for lunch at Gritty McDuffs Brew Pub in Portland, ME this month on (Weds. 5-26-10). We took the Downeaster Train from Woburn, MA (Anderson Station) and went to Portland (PTC) on the Amtrak Train.

We found out from the Downeaster Brochure that you could get a half price discount with the code number V543 and needed to purchase your ticket at the automatic ticket machine at the train station with a credit card.

The normal price for a ticket from Woburn to Portland was $44.00 Round Trip. If you used the Discount Code number for Seniors (62+) you could get an approximate half price ticket ($20.85 Round Trip).

Although some Romeos were a little late because of traffic, we all arrived and bought our tickets and boarded the train on time. The Romeos present were Jim Terlizzi, Ed Deschuytner, Paul Girard, Joe Pignatiello, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loducca and Mark Ryan.

The train arrived on time and we boarded at 9:23 AM for a 2 hour trip to Portland. We arrived in Portland shortly after 11:30 AM and took the Metro Bus #5 to the downtown district and then walked a few blocks to the restaurant, Gritty McDuffs on Fore St. This is a brew pub which makes its own beer and has a good selection of meal choices on the lunch menu.

We also met John Mason who worked with Ed Deschuytner at NECC. John is also retired and now lives in Portland. Since he lives here, he gave us some suggestions on what to do after lunch.

The waitress seated us at a long table in the back and gave us menus and quickly brought us our beer choices. She also brought sample glasses of ale, larger and stout for those wanting to try something new. After getting our beer choices, most of the group ordered lobster roll with fries, haddock, meat loaf and a bowl of chowder. The food was served quickly and was just delicious and the conversation was lively.

After lunch we walked down to the wharf and bought some tickets for the trolley tour. The tour was about one and a half hours and took us through the old port city, across Casco Bay to Cape Elizabeth and the light house. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us some of the history of Portland over 400 years and showed us many historic houses and buildings.

After the tour we walked around the historic district and found a little coffee shop (Morning in Paris) and had some espresso, soda or gelato and pastry for a late afternoon treat. After an hour we walked back to the Main Square to catch the #5 Bus back to the train station for our return trip back to Woburn. The PTC (Portland Transportation Center) or Amtrak Train Station is a couple miles outside the downtown area.

We got to the train station at about 6:30PM and planned to take the train back to Woburn at 7:55 PM. However, the hot 90 degree weather affected the speed that the trains could run on tracks that expanded in hot weather. Consequently, our train was delayed about an hour and had to run at reduced speed all the way back to Woburn. We finally boarded the train at about 8:20 PM and arrived in Woburn at 11:00 PM. Since the train also had a Café Car, we ate a late night snack on the way back.

Although there were some glitches and delays, we had a fun time and enjoyed the restaurant, and the trolley tour, and the train ride as we shared the adventure with our Romeo friends.

You can see some photos of the entire trip and will hopefully relate the pictures to the above story. Click the link below to see the photos……..

http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RomeoLunch52610#

Comments Welcome : email markrya82@comcast.net