Did you know that there are actually 65 lighthouses still in existence in Maine? Only 57 are still active, which is pretty cool in and of itself.
We did NOT go to 57 lighthouses today, but we did see 9 of them. We didn't get to climb up 9 nor stand on the same land as some were on islands and some weren't open to be climbed! But we had a great day!
We started the day with the lighthouse in York, Maine, the Cape Neddick Light. It is on its own little island, Nubble Island, about 100 yards off the point. It has been active since 1879! The water was amazingly blue this morning, and really all day. It is a shade of blue hard to describe, sort of a deep gunmetal blue? Absolutely gorgeous.
Driving along the coast offers such views, of the ocean, of mudflats due to low tide, houses of varying hues, trees, moose crossing signs (!), little shops attempting to lure a person to stop, small and large towns, and quirky things that warrant a picture. We especially loved the giant lobster and shrink-wrapped boats. :)
Our 2nd stop for houses today were in Cape Elizabeth. We could see three but only walk up to one and couldn't find one. The first was the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. This was an amazing area! The lighthouse was only one awesome thing offered! Picnic areas, a children's area, an arboretum, vendor areas, and more. The entire area was clean and inviting! We also saw two others on their own land spits.
We drove just a little further down the coast, still in Cape Elizabeth to look for the Cape Elizabeth Lights, but could only see one! And parking was hard to get and we couldn't actually walk up to it. Only the eastern tower of the two that made up the light station until 1924 is active. The western tower is deactivated, but it is still standing and is privately owned. We could not see that 2nd one anywhere!!
South Portland had two lighthouse, plus a really neat "ship" sculpture in the park as a memorial to shipbuilding. Maine was prominent in the shipbuilding industry early because of easy access to lumber. In fact, lumber would be exported to England to build ships there! While we were driving on one o the many small back roads the GPS took us on, there was a sign, "JParker, Shipbuilder" and sure enough there was a wooden boat in his yard, with scaffolding around it! Personalized shipbuilding!
These two lighthouses were short ones, and we could not access inside them. Portland Breakwater Lighthouse was built in 1875 and is one of Maine's most elegant lighthouses. It was modeled on an ancient Greek monument is dubbed "Bug Light" due to its small size.
The Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse is literally a very short distance away and easily visible from the Bug Light. It was built in 1897 and sticks up at the mouth of the harbor. It is a short one, and to reach it you have to play hopscotch via a large stone breakwater.
The Pemaquid Point Light is located in Bristol, Maine, at the tip of the Pemaquid Neck. The first one was built in 1827 but had to be replaced in 1835! Why? Apparently they used salt water in the mortar mix and it began to crumble. That isn't good for a lighthouse! This particular lighthouse was chosen by Maine inhabitants to be featured on the Maine quarter! We did get to go up this one, all 33 steps and one ladder. The steps toward the top got pretty narrow though, yikes! There wasn't a lot of room at the top so they limited how many could go up. They actually let us up there with a Fresnel lens and no official lighthouse person! It was a beautiful view. This particular lighthouse sits on exposed bedrock that is unique and millions of year old! We wandered around the grounds a bit and used the restroom (TMI but it needs to be mentioned as we were away from the edge.). Andrew heads back to the edge and Cheryl meanders back. Andrew waves and Cheryl ASSUMES he is just letting her know where he is BUT it turns out a whale happened by. By the time Cheryl gets there it had rounded the corner. Cheryl loves whales. Hopefully we'll get to see one since they are migrating in May and June. Positive thinking!
Tenants Harbor was our next goal, and we get there and Andrew runs down the ramp towards the lighthouse. He wants Cheryl to run too, but klutziness prevents her from running in unfamiliar places, especially with rocky water so close at hand. We were running/walking towards Marshall Point Lighthouse, a lighthouse setting at the end of a wooden walkway and also prominently featured in the movie "Forest Gump." This light house is where he concludes his long run. The keeper's house was closed so we didn't get to see anything historical about the area. Earlier in the day, the "Forest Gump" lighthouse WAS mentioned in conversation, but Cheryl hasn't seen that movie in a very very long time so she didn't quite understand until later why Andrew ran down the plank and wanted her to run to this particular lighthouse. Smile.
Our last lighthouse of the day was the Owls Head Lighthouse located in Owls Head State Park. It was built in 1852. This required walking up a ramp and then 53 steps! The lighthouse itself is only 30 feet tall and has 10 steps and a 7-rung ladder on the inside. The 53 steps lead up to it. It's also open to the public some days but not today while we were there. The view was nearly a 360 one! Lovely!!
We stopped by The Pearl for a bowl of clam chowder and a crab roll. And, since we are in Maine, some blueberry swirled cheesecake.
We are heading to Bar Harbor to an AirBnB to spend a few days exploring the area, a sort of vacation from our driving vacation.
We have arrived and have a nice room in a big house. No cell service here though we know we had some while driving. WiFi though so at least the blog can get pushed out yet tonight!
Nighty night!
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