The start of a new tradition.

A few months ago I was reading an article in Yankee Magazine about a daughter who decided to take her mother away on a mother-daughter weekend, and I instantly thought that my mother, my sister, and I should do one of those, too. My mother was turning 65 in March, my sister is turning 40 in June, and I turned 30 last year. In addition to these milestones to celebrate, we are all busy doing our own things in life (my sister with three young children, numerous pets, and semesters spent in nursing school, me with a very busy job, and my mother with a job, a house, a dog, and gandchildren), so we could use a weekend away to unwind, relax, and spend some time together. So I told them that we were going away, to find a weekend that would work with their schedules, and that was that. Our weekend was planned, and we all looked forward to it. That weekend has come and gone now. Our mother-daughters weekend was last weekend, and I think it will be a new tradition for us. And someday maybe my nieces will join us, too. We had a great time in Portland, Maine, doing nothing but what we wanted to do, and it was nice to reconnect over meals, shopping, and taking in the local culture. It was nice to treat my mother and sister to the hotel, too - this may have been the first time that we went away together, just the three of us, since I have been gainfully employed. It felt nice to give back, and it was the least I could do for them - I can't wait to do it again!

What do I remember most of the weekend? Well, quite a few things, but what stands out is the food. What great food we ate! Our lunch at The Farmer's Table was a vegetarian's dream (not a vegetarian restaurant, but we got soups and salads made with the freshest local vegetables - my mother's and sister's soup even had fiddleheads in it), and our dinner at Old Port Sea Grill was a fisherman's (and foodie’s) delight. I actually got fish there. Looks good, doesn't it? One of these days I'm going to move past whitefish, but for now, bring on the cod! And bring on the breakfast, please. I absolutely love breakfast foods, and the breakfast that we had at the Portland Regency restaurant was really outstanding. My sister got bananas foster french toast on an actual baguette, my mother got apple walnut pancakes almost as big as her plate, and I opted for the Belgian waffle. You can't go wrong with a Belgian waffle, and this one was very good.

But we didn't just eat while we were in Portland (though we could have. So much good food! I may have forgotten to mention that.). We went to the Victoria Mansion, a really great Italianate mansion built during the Civil War (pre-dating the Newport mansion craze of the Gilded Age, but a house that is very worthy of being among The Breakers or the Marble House), and we also went to the Portland Museum of Art. I admired the N.C. Wyeth exhibit and the sculpture gallery (so did my sister) and had a wonderful time in the McLellan House, attached to the Portland Museum of Art. I'm a big fan of colonial architecture, and this pre-Revolutionary house did not disappoint. Look at the staircase! Not too bad for little Portland, Maine.

And, of course, we just enjoyed hanging out in the city, because Portland's a cool place. There is this neat wall of graffiti and numerous streets with little shops and things to look at. Things to look at like the Lobsterman. You can't go to Portland without paying a visit to the Lobsterman.

It was a good weekend, indeed. On the way back I said to my mother and sister that we should do this every year, or at least every other year. We don't get a whole lot of time to be together, and to be together without distractions. I think it was good for us to get away, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. I know I did. Thank you, ma soeur, for these great wine glasses by which we can remember our trip and thank you, Valet Man, for taking a photo of me, my mom, and my sister, right before we left for home. What a nice way to remember the trip - I'll have to have that one framed for us. (And if you want more photos of the trip, see here. And don't forget to check out a new picture of the day upload here. My camera's been busy these days!)