Jennifer Reck outside Blue in Portland where she was participating in a storytelling event that happens the second Monday of every month. Photo by Jeffrey Milburn
Jennifer Reck is a health policy fellow, writer and storyteller who lives in Portland. She wrote in to tell us how she’d spend her perfect day.
The day starts at one of Portland’s best outdoor spaces, the Eastern Prom, for a dog walk while the morning sun still sparkles on the water, followed by a pop into Forage on Washington Ave. for an open-face lox bagel and coffee.
While I’m on Washington, I visit Root Wild to grab a sampling of kombuchas as a birthday gift for a friend who I meet for a Portland Fog at LB Kitchen on Congress.
A flight of kombucha at Root Wild on Washington Avenue in Portland. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Reck
My friend and I walk over to browse for books at Print and to chat with the friendly staff – and then it’s time to meet my husband for lunch at Nura Hummus and Falafel Bar in Monument Square, where the falafel salad never disappoints.
After lunch, we give a nod to First Parish, where we got married in 2022, and pop into the Longfellow Garden, a secret garden at the Longfellow House, and enjoy a moment of peace on a cool stone bench surrounded by shade and green in this tiny oasis in the heart of the city.
Longfellow Garden at Maine Historical Society. Photo courtesy of Maine Historical Society
After that moment of zen, I meet my daughters for more at Soakology where we’ll settle into throne-like chairs to soak our feet in giant copper bowls filled with sudsy aromatic foot soaks, while sipping on a cup of rooibos tea and nibbling cookies.
Enjoying a foot soak at Soakology. Photo courtesy of Soakology
After soaking it up, we pop into the Portland Museum of Art to check out the rotating exhibit, peruse the gift shop for unique finds, and then catch a film downstairs – Portland’s own little arthouse cinema offering films you won’t see anywhere else.
The dining room at Wayside Tavern in Portland. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
The day will end on a high note, when the entire family will meet up at Wayside Tavern on Congress and settle into the cozy dining room. I’ll order an Old Fashioned and the not-to-be-missed broiled Maine scallop appetizer with hollandaise and caviar, followed by tonnarelli that I’ll be talking about for days.
We drive home through sleepy Deering Oaks park which will wake up the next morning for all the color and bustle of the farmers market – but then that’s another perfect day.
What would your perfect day look like? Send your itinerary, in 500 words or less, with a little about yourself, to go@pressherald.com.
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