August 1 – I can’t believe it’s
August already! We only have another
month here before our unplanned as yet road trip and then home!
Neither of us slept very well but
it was good to have some rest! I was up
quite a while before Bill. I finally had
to wake him so we could get a decent start on the day. As it turned out the lighthouse didn’t open
til 10. We had our “complimentary”
breakfast and it was OK. We each had a
waffle but they didn’t have any protein but eggs, yuck! We loaded up and were ready to go just after
9 but then we really didn’t know where we were in relation to the lighthouse
and which one to head to first.
 |
| Portland Head |
 |
| Ram Island |
We started with the Portland
Headlight at Cape
Elizabeth. They were setting up for a 10k event for
tomorrow so there were a lot of people about.
We were early for the museum but got all of our outside shots while we waited. It was the most beautiful and
best kept lighthouse and keeper quarters that we have seen so far. The grounds were beautiful as well as the
setting. From there you can see out to
Ram Island Lighthouse which is on an island that is currently for sale by the
Coast Guard. It’s a sealed bit process
and Bill asked if I was going to place a bid.
That would mean I’d have to buy a boat to get to it, so I passed. The little museum in the keepers’ quarters
was very well done with a nice timeline of the lighthouse as well as the fort
that was built on the peninsula where the lighthouse is. Only a few of the buildings remain and some
of the bunkers. I got stamps for both
lighthouses and we picked up a few things in the gift shop, no surprise there.
 |
| Spring Point |
From there we could see another
lighthouse but found as we were driving that there was one between us and there
that we could not see. The lighthouses
in this area are jutted in and out along the land and pretty close
together. Some were added because
captains would aim towards a light and not know that land jutted out and would
crash or get stuck so they added some to prevent that.
Just a few minutes down the road
was Spring Point Lighthouse. The
lighthouse is accessible across a stone breakwater. We arrived just in time for me to get on the
only tour of the day at 11. I headed on
out and Bill followed as he was going to video me. This lighthouse was a stag location which
means only built to accommodate single keepers.
It was originally just out in the water accessible only by rowboat. Now the breakwater makes it easy to get
to. We toured the main
 |
| Fort Gorges |
room which housed
the sink, stove, table and food storage.
The next level was the head keeper’s room with minimal furniture and a
closet. Next up was the assistant
keeper’s room, a bit smaller and was passed through to get to the light so he
had to sleep heavy. The room above was
the office and that’s as far as they would let us go. The last was the light and since it is still
in use they are afraid people will bump something. We walked out on the catwalk and they have the
original bell cast in Boston
in the late 1800’s. We all had a turn in
tapping it with a rubber mallet. We
noticed there was no bathroom. That was
not part of the cylindrical lighthouse but on the bottom catwalk they cut a 6-7
inch hole and built a wooden outhouse to sit over it and the waste fell through
and went out with the tide. Water was
collected in cisterns in the base. It
rolled off the roof into pipes that went to the cistern and hand pumps in the
kitchens brought the water up for use to cook or bathe. I really enjoyed the lighthouse. Out behind the lighthouse on an island is the
declining Fort Gorges.
 |
| Portland Breakwater |
Just a little further down the
road was the Portland Breakwater or Bug Light as it became known. It’s in a small park with a beautiful view of
the inlet. The keeper’s house was
removed in 1934 when the light was electrified and no longer needed a
keeper. The Coast Guard is responsible
for all the lights that are currently in use but various organizations maintain
the grounds and provide tours to the public.
On the way out of the park I stopped at the historical society where I
got my stamps for here and Two Lights.
Two Lights was a bit tricky. It’s two lighthouses about ¼ mile apart
 |
| Pretty Two Lights |
that
could be seen from the water. Well now
they are both on private property. One
is on a point where there is a lobster shack and small parking area with nice
cliffs to climb on for a good photo. The
other no one really tells you where it is and once I climbed on the
 |
| Not pretty Two Lights |
cliffs I
saw a tower to the left that was the same as the one I could see but not nearly
as pretty. The parking was a cluster and
Bill stayed in the car and kept moving as people were trying to get out of the
small congested lot. I got a couple of
photos and we left as it was a traffic disaster.
It was lunch time and we headed
south. We stopped in the town of Scarborough to see Lenny,
of Len Libby Candies. He’s a 1700
 |
| Lenny and Bill |
pound
life size chocolate moose. He is now
accompanied by some little bears. The
candy was overly pricy and would melt in the car anyway. A little further down the street we stopped
for lunch at “Blast From the Past Too”.
It was a silver retro diner. We
splurged and shared an order of poutine.
It was so good and sinful. Poutine
here was homemade thick cut fries, covered with brown gravy and cheese curds
that melted. Ooey gooey delicious! I had a lobster roll as my last meal in Maine!
 |
| Wood Island |
We were now watching the clock to
make sure we left in time to get back to CT for dinner with Ron and
Barbara. We stopped in Biddleford Pool,
which is a bit off the main road. Suri’s
directions took us on a Do Not Trespass road across a golf course while golfers
were golfing. We did not get hit by a
ball. There was a church on the other
side where the “public” road ended so Bill parked and stayed with the car. I walked along the private residence street
of really nice homes looking through the trees for an island with a lighthouse
on it. I thought I saw one and crept
down a driveway but it was a smokestack!
I continued to the end of the street and walked about 6 feet onto more
No Trespassing land and got my photo of Wood Island Lighthouse. A golfer waved to us as we drove off the
course and into Biddleford Pool to a gift shop designated as the keeper of the
stamp. Success!
We decided we had time for one
more stop in Cape Porpoise just off from Kennebunk and
 |
| Goat Island |
Kennebunkport. The road ended in the harbor and again there
was little to no parking so I jumped out and scaled the small rock mound and
got my photo of Goat Island Light. To
get the stamp we had to locate the Preservation Society building on a tiny road
off into the woods. It was a nice
facility and was set up to host a wedding tomorrow. Once I got that stamp we headed to I-95 for what
we thought was a 90 minute drive home.
NOT! At first the lanes headed
north out of Boston
were packed and moving at a snail’s pace.
That was to be expected on Friday afternoon. Then it hit our side of the road. Ugh!
We thought once we got on I-495 things would get better, but no they did
not. Finally we called to let Ron and
Barbara know that there was no way we could meet them and we left the highway
for dinner in a Chinese restaurant. The
theory was that you always get enough Chinese for 2 meals and we could have it
again tomorrow night at work for dinner.
I guess things are different here!
We did get some leftovers but not what we expected.
The good thing was the traffic
was totally gone in an hour’s time. We
had no further issues and managed to pull in to Charlie Brown Campground at
8:30 and dead tired!
No comments:
Post a Comment