Embassy Suites Portland: Review

Pros:

Free Booze
Free Snack Food
Free full Breakfast
Quiet
Free WI-Fi
Near Airport walking distance

Cons:
A little too far from Downtown Portland

Getting Sarah home...

We all know Sarah is leaving out of Portland to relax a few days in NYC. We had plenty of time, as we said our heartfelt goodbyes to Jack and Julie. I stopped up to the Thursday Farmer's market to say goodbye to the wonderful Heather. I am always sad leaving the Pentagoet. Sad that I did not stay longer and having to part from the wonderful, gracious friendship of Jack and Julie. Heather seems to be part of that mix as well. They really took care of Dad. They fed him breakfast long after breakfast was finished for the morning. They delivered him coffee throughout the day even when the Inn had no table service. Dad wanted a Pentagoet coffee mug and loved the home made granola. Jack and Julie gave them to him as a parting gift. And you wonder why I am sad to leave?

Sarah wanted to take Route 1 the road that passes through all the town on the coast. Slower going for sure but prettier than the interstate. We thought we would get lunch in Camden. However, the going was slower than usual and what looked like plenty of time to get to the airport at 5:30 was turning into a struggle. We decided to go all the way to Portland and eat in the old town. Sarah was getting hypoglycemic and feeling annoyed that we were taking so long. If you ever had your sugar drop and are hungry you know the feeling. After a wrong turn, then finding out the restaurant we wanted would not be serving dinner for another hour, needless to say Sarah was getting further annoyed and since I was closest i could feel the daggers. Finally, we we directed to a nice seafood place where we ate, had a drink and got directions to the airport.

Portland Me, is a lively walkable city center near the waterfront with lots of bars, food places and music venues. The hotels are not large and could see why it was hard to secure a room on a summer weekend. I am hoping Sarah and I in September or early October can hop a quick 1 hour flight here and enjoy the city for a long weekend.

We dropped Sarah at the airport said goodbye as I was happy she would get some alone time but sad to see her go. Bill and I continued to the hotel. I waited on line and checked into the hotel as Bill relaxed. Since I am a Hilton Honors member, they gave us free wonderful snacks, free booze, yes, free booze and free full breakfast the next day. First Stop------The Bar. When i told Bill our good fortune, he said "It just would not seem right if we turned down their offer for free alcohol. We each had a drink, some snacks and retired to the room.

Health Roundup & We leave the Pentagoet....

We are leaving the Pentagoet. There has been a change in plans, Sarah will be taking a flight out of Portland to NYC so she can have a few days to herself. Ot has been a stressful summer for her as it has and will be on all the sisters. Bill and I will continue down the coast.

We relax a bit on the porch and off we will be going.

A photo below of the place that makes fresh the most awesome cakes, cookings, muffins and buns in the morning. I bring one to Sarah every morning to start her day.

Bill has been doing great, no dizziness, no back pain. He has been up early and for the most part running around every day. He has had his moment of where he ordered too much wine or scotch which has annoyed and upset Sarah but overall he has been fine. Bill has at times shown a petulant, defiant side of himself when someone tries toe curb his alcohol content. He does have some disorientation that increases with drinking but again for the most part he is fine. The only issue is with his unwillingness at times to control his consumption of alcohol.

Sarah started out having a difficult time. The stress of trying to take care of dad and keep him healthy and not drinking so much has worn on her. She has gotten angry at dad for acting defiant towards her trying to get him to drink less. Dad likes $25 a glass scotch that when mentioned to him he "seems" act oblivious to the cost. Hence he has been named, Oblivious Bill. However, she seems to have found her way. We spent a lot of time dialoging the stresses of caregiving and what what in her control and what needed to be let go. She has become more forceful with dad to make sure he grooms himself and keeps his drinking to a reasonable amount.

The Handleizer ankle problems seem to gone the way they came. I woke up one morning and was fine again. Due to Sarah Difficulties and stress, I have felt the effect as well. This was not the normal Maine trip we take every year. It is possible I was naive to think it would be easy. I try to balance giving advice with allowing Sarah to make her own mistakes thereby figuring out caregiving on her own but it is difficult to witness someone you love stressed. I like to believe I have done my best to help with the caregiving with dad. I took her shopping for some pretty clothes in Castine at Sara Sara's and then in Bar Harbor at Macey's when I noticed her particularly down/stressed. Other than that, my emotional and physical health has been good.

Sarah and I had a discussion. I mentioned if she would like to fly home to be by herself in her home for a few days without us around. I would drive around and spend an extra 4 days on the coast with dad and she would fly home from Portland on Jet Blue. She loved the idea once we talked about that a caregiver and/or wife/husband should not feel guilty if the person finds she/he is in need of alone time. It is important to emotionally recharge. On thursday, we leave the Pentagoet and take Sarah down to Portland Maine for an evening flight to NYC. I secured a hotel room need the airport so she could relax a few hours before her flight. On the way down, we will spot in one of the villages and have a nice lunch.

Since this is not France...

I got no cheese with my whine the other day about nobody reading the blog. People from the four corners of the globe wrote, emailed, telephoned, sent smoke signals saying "Handleizer don't pull the plug on the blog, we would be devastated if we could not read the exploits of the Sun and his faithful companion and chronicler TheHandleizer." "Handleizer, you are a giant among men." So under immense pressure to please the masses, I relented and the blog will continue.

I always say everybody is entitled to a day of whining and/or self pity but then the next day it's time to get back in the game.

Jazz Night

Tonight we get a special treat. Jack has instituted Jazz night on the porch from 5-8 pm. A trio of musicians lead by an attractive female saxophone player. They played some wonderful old tunes from the Mose Allison days of jazz. Bill was in heaven having a good time. Some say, like Sara too good a time as he was in a wine zone and kept ordering glasses of wine and not listening to anyone to pace himself. Bill can at times be like a mule in the middle of the road and no amount of pushing, from front and read is going to get him to the other side. This is how he gets when he acts recalcitrant and keeps drinking without regard for the feelings  or concerns of others. This leads him to become disoriented even more so than normal where he did not remember the pub where we eat every night. Not to mentioned his vomiting which is another issue. I am hoping when i print this blog into a book and he reads this, he will realize how much stress his self centered, stubborn behavior has cause Sarah on this trip and the rest of his daughters when he is with them.

Back to the fun night of Jazz, which afterwards we had dinner in the pub and met some interesting people including write for Hill Street Blues, a well known CNN correspondent and other couple who were writes and journalists with over 30 books to her name. A wonderful night of music, good food and conversation.

Thunder Hole!

After our lunch, we drove to Acadia National Park. The second most visited part in the country. You can google the first. The place where we wanted to take Bill was Thunder hole. We knew he would enjoy the cagey coastline, rock formations and waves crashing against those rocks. The only problem was it had been nice weather for a few days and the coast was not its usual tumultuous self. We parked our car on the side of the road and walked down to the ocean.

Thunder Hole is the place in Acadia National Park to experience the thunder of the sea against the rocky shores of Maine! On calm days you may wonder what the fuss is all about. But wait until the waves kick up a few notches. Thunder Hole is a small inlet, naturally carved out of the rocks, where the waves roll into. At the end of this inlet, down low, is a small cavern where, when the rush of the wave arrives, air and water is forced out like a clap of distant thunder. Water may spout as high as 40 feet with a thunderous roar! Hence the name: Thunder Hole.

Bar Harbor....

Time to take Bill to Thunder Hole! Our morning start off all the same as we sit on the porch for coffee and breakfast. We decide today we will go to Bar Harbor to visit the shops and get Sarah something pretty and then lunch at a place we always stop in that overlooks the water with great drinks.

The drive took us about an hour and a half. As yo get closer to Bar Harbor you begin the bumper-to-bumper traffic in order to get into the town. I find Bar Harbor too developed with too man people. You feel like you are in NYC. We got Lucky
and found a quick parking spot. We walked down Bar Harbor's Main Street looking in store windows until we came across a women's store called Macey's. Macey's carries very summer, colorful dresses, tops and skirts. Bill and I sat on the comfortable padded bench outside as Sarah shopped. After about 20 minutes, Sarah came out empty handed. I was surprised and ask how come? She mentioned that their were only things in there that i would not have liked. Having been this store in the past, I found that hard to believe so i said you want me to come in with you. So we went back in and lo and behold $400 dollars later we found a few things.

We gather up Bill and went up the street all the way down to the waterfront for a nice, relaxing lunch overlooking the harbor. Bill loved the numerous sail boats and other craft in the water. We had some wonderful drinks and a seafood lunch.

The perfect drink!

Bill with a far away gaze or tipsy into the harbor

My Sarah enjoying a drink...