My property in Maine is in a pretty rural location there is no Uber or public transportation or even any rental car office where I could do a one-way rental. So, my real only option was to look for a place to store the car near either where I would board the cruise, or somewhere where I could get transportation to it. Amtrak only goes as far as Brunswick Maine, with connecting bus service to Bangor. I looked at a few different places, but finally opted for a rather high-end storage place in Portland, the Portland Motor Club. Their indoor storage facility is packed with incredible automobiles, ranging from meticulously restored antiques to brand new Lamborghinis and everything else in between. My 10-year-old Ford didn't quite merit that treatment, but they had some outdoor storage was reasonably priced and very secure. I drove down there, stuck a harbor freight solar charger on the dashboard and headed off to the Marriott in downtown Portland.
I walked around for a little bit. I've been to Portland before, but it's always nice to wander through some new areas.
I'll have to keep this place in mind for future visits. While I certainly wouldn't leave my car there for three months like I did at the PMC, if I needed some cheap daily parking, this might be the spot.
My A'mtrak' ride to Boston where I would connect to the train to Manhattan. I actually did know that I was going to be on a bus for the first leg. I booked it that way on purpose. There is a train from Portland to Boston, but it arrives at North Station, and the Amtrak train to Manhattan departs from South Station and you've got to do a taxi or Uber or public transportation between the two. I much preferred to just take the nonstop bus to Boston and it arrives at South station where it's just a few minutes walk to the train.
Amtrak Acela arriving in Boston. I have to say, I took the Acela not long after the service first started, and I remembered it being a lot better. If you're not in first class, I actually found it to be less comfortable than the regular train. And I booked that going back.
A quick glance at Manhattan on my way to catch the PATH train to Jersey City.
I've always said that NYC is best appreciated from about 2 miles away. 😂
I hadn't been to Jersey City before, but I didn't have a really positive impression from what I had read about it previously. I was shocked at how nice it was. It looks like a really beautiful place to live, at least where I was near the river.
My room at the Westin Jersey City
Nice view from the room!
The next morning I decided to walk around and see more of the area around the hotel. Plus I had a little pre-cruise shopping to do. I couldn't get over how lovely the area was along the river in Jersey City.
The Holland Tunnel. I certainly had never seen this view of it before.
I headed back to the room as the forecast was for severe thunderstorms. It was quite the storm, with a lot of lightning and a lot of wind, but a really beautiful sunset.
