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After settling in for a few weeks, one of the big items on our “to find” list was a gym (the other was a church, more on that in a later post). Unsurprisingly for a “large” metropolitan area, Portland offers a mix of franchise fitness centers and small local joints. I am a fairly regular gym-goer, working out 2-3 times per week usually, but She needs some additional motivation to put on the spandex and hit the treadmill. Thus, cost was a large factor in our decision. We’d like for Her to be able to work out when she wants, but paying for a full second membership is not particularly cost effective.

Thus, we selected the Black Card membership at Planet Fitness on Marginal Way in Portland. The location is very convenient at a short 3 mile drive around Back Cove. It’s just down the street from our grocery store, so I’ve been able to work out, shower at the gym, and do the groceries on the way back on a few occasions. The Black Card is nice because it allows me unlimited guest privileges (meaning She works out for free when she wants to go), and I can work out at any other PF in the country without paying a guest fee. There is also PF location in Westbrook, so if I’m ever out that way, I can work out without needing to drive all the way back to Portland (unlikely for someone who works from home, but hey, you never know).
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For a recent “date night” She and I agreed that a hockey game might be fun. Having gone to a college where the hockey team was specifically blessed during our class convocation, I grew into a pretty big hockey fan. She and I had seen a handful of River Rats games while living near Albany, so the Portland Pirates, the AHL affiliate of the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, was right up our alley.

We’d never been to the Cumberland County Civic Center before (having sold our tickets to a concert there when we learned the friends we were to go with couldn’t make it), so we were somewhat unsure of where to sit. She went down to the box office the day of the game and picked up a pair of tickets in Section G for $18 each (a dollar more than if we’d bought them in advance). These turned out to be pretty much perfect seats. We were high enough off the ice to have a great view of the action, the Pirates shot on the goal in front of us for the 1st, 3rd, and 4th (OT) periods, and yet we were close enough to be able to hear the players shouting to each other on the ice. Pretty cool. The game itself was pretty good. After trading pairs goals in regulation, Pirates center Andrew Ebbett scored the game winner on a 2-on-1 break in the first minute of OT, bringing everyone to their feet.

As far as something to do for a date, this was a pretty good one (if your S.O. likes hockey). We were able to park just down the street, across from Brian Baru, for $5. We got there early and had a few slices of pizza at Portland Pie Company before the game. The concession stands at the CCCC were typical stadium prices–we got a few Gritty’s Best Bitters for $5 each. Not bad, but then, who really likes beer in a 12 oz. plastic cup? All told the evening cost us about $60, including the pizza. If you’re a sports fan, especially a hockey fan, I’d highly recommend checking out the Pirates. You’ll be glad you did.

Holy cow. I just looked at the timestamp on my last post and realized that somehow two weeks have snuck by since then; my last post was about the weather, too, so it’s high time I wrote something. After my last post, I headed back to Albany for a get-together with some fraternity brothers I hadn’t seen in quite a while. This was only the second time I’ve left Maine in the two months we’ve lived up here, and it really felt like I was leaving home this time. As I reached the “Now Leaving Maine Wildlife Preserve” sing on 95 S, I actually momentarily contemplated turning around and heading home. It’s interesting how quickly this place has come to feel “like home” for me.
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She and I had a great time at the Sea Dogs game on Friday evening. The section 202 seats offered a great view of the action from behind the Dogs’ dugout, but we were not behind the netting so She got very nervous every time a ball was fouled off. The Friday game was a good one, with lots of baserunners but not many runs. After answering the Thunder’s run in the third inning, the Sea Dogs gave up two in the fourth.

They threatened several times throughout the game, but couldn’t plate another run until they were down to their last out. They got to within one and had the winning run at bat. The crowd was on its feet and cheering to try to help drive in the tying and/or winning run, but it was not to be. A roar rose from the crowd when the catcher, Otness, drove one to very deep center field, but in the end, it only made it to the warning track for the last out–395 feet when he needed 400. I’ve posted some pics from the game on our Flickr account.

Saturday’s contest (which we did not attend) did not go as well as Friday’s. The Dogs’ Chris Smith gave up two two-run doubles and they could not score a run themselves. After the Sea Dogs ended the Thunder’s season the past two years in the playoffs, the Thunder returned the favor by taking the series 3-1. Overall it was another good season for the Sea Dogs, though the last two weeks certainly could have been better. Now we await opening day 2008 at Hadlock–April 11 vs. New Britain. Until next year…

We continue to meet new Mainers up here. She was considering offering tutoring in French and so took a look at Craig’s List to see what might be out there. While perusing the listings, she came across a listing offering tutoring from a woman whose background was surprising similar to hers–a degree from SUNY Albany and time studying in France (Paris vs. Tours). And she’d just moved to Portland to boot. She emailed this other woman to see if we might get together for drinks.

We got a call back Saturday evening and agreed to meet at Wine Bar in Old Port at around 9:00. We got there at just about 9:00 after finding a surprisingly good parking spot on Commercial St. Things really quiet down after Labor Day I guess. We had no idea what our counterparts for the evening looked like (She had neglected to get any kind of details about appearance or apparel), but a quick phone call informed that we’d ended up sitting right behind them.

What followed was a lovely two-hour chat about life in Portland and teaching (it turns out that both of our companions for the evening were teachers). I avoided most of the talk about teaching, but we very much enjoyed discussing our new city. It turns out that this other couple had just moved up here one week ago, and they’d also come for no particular reason other than liking Portland. We had lots of restaurant and pub recommendations for them. She and I were pleased to hear that it sounded like we’d been in Portland for a year. Not quite…but we’ve certainly tried hard to explore our city since we’ve gotten here. Much of that exploration has been chronicled here, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it. Thanks, J & B, for a lovely evening. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

We also have dinner plans to meet with the publisher of The Monocle and his wife for Thursday night. That will make three couples we’ve met up here through the Internet. Pretty good for six weeks I’d say.