Lightheaded

 

Saturday September 14, 2013 we participated in the latest Maine Open Lighthouse Day. This year we got a free boat trip out to Whitehead Island to visit Whitehead Island Light. I liked the rough unpainted exterior of the tower and, of course, the green light.

 

 

 Carrie enjoyed the views.

 

We could also see neighboring Two Bush Light across the water.

We popped up to Popham

Seguin Island Light

you can see right through its nostrils

Kemmer wanted to be on a beach for her birthday, so we brought her up to Popham Beach State Park. The overcast Friday crowd was almost nonexistent. The waves were high, the gulls were hungry, and there was a lighthouse a little ways off shore.

Open Lighthouse Day

Pemaquid

Marshall Point

 One Saturday in September every year is Open Lighthouse Day. It was started around the time we moved to Maine, so we've managed to participate every year they've had it. A big list of lighthouses, some of which are otherwise not open, are open free to the public on this day. We choose different ones to go to each time. This year it was Pemaquid and Marshall Point.

We like to make it a fun roadtrip together and usually stop off at a few post offices for me to take their pictures to add to my collection. We also try to find other interesting things along the way, shops or natural points.

Crawling around on the beach, especially when there are nice rocks, is also de rigueur.

And we do go up into the lighthouses and admire the fresnel lenses as well as the scenic views.

nice rocks

scenic view

to enlarge any picture, just click on a wave

How much island would I land on if I could land on Wood Island?

Last weekend on September 17th we celebrated Maine Open Lighthouse day once again. This time we opted to go to one of the island lighthouses, which meant travel by boat.


Wood Island is not very far from shore, so we were quickly there. That's our boat making a quick getaway to gather up more tourists. The only problem was that the boat dropped us off at the point closest to shore rather than closest to the lighthouse.

We had a boardwalk to travel on, so it wasn't a difficult hike, just a long one. But it was pretty much the only option as the shore nearest the lighthouse was not very boat friendly...


...as you can see here.


The lighthouse was pleasant enough looking and it was a fine day to be out and about.


The stairs were quite narrow and steep. Railings had only just been put in. You can see they haven't even been unwrapped yet.


It didn't have the most spectacular fresnel lens we'd ever seen, but they are always interesting to look at. And, it was the first green lighted one we've seen.


We did get to see the lighthouse from sea as the boat did a circuit of the island on our way back in.


To enlarge any photo, find the lighthouse in it and click on its beacon.

Open Lighthouse Day

The second annual Maine Open Lighthouse Day saw us travelling up to Owls Head (see picture to the left) and Rockland (top photo). We, of course, stopped at yard sales and post offices along the way. We'd been to see both of these lighthouses before, but Owls Head is not normally open to the public to actually go inside (with its stunning views) and the Rockland Breakwater Light was too dangerous to travel to, walking over the looooong walkway during a storm. We saw the lightning that day, we weren't planning on feeling it.

Saturday Morning Car Tunes

First, we stopped of at the Greene Post Office so I could mail off the last 10 of my envelopes to get the Sunday Funnies first day postmark. Then we took the long and winding road to Freeport to buy bread (pineapple jalapeno!) and pet food. Afterward we continued on to Portland for a stop at Casablanca comics.

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But we took all day to do this because we were constantly stopping at yard sales. Amongst our purchases are such diverse elements as: a small shelf to hold my plush Bullwinkle villains, a floor lamp for the studio, a side table to put next to Carrie's chair, and a Godzilla puppet.

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On one of the yard sale pursuits, we came across this house. It's not a real lighthouse, and is nowhere near any body of water that would need one.

Open Lighthouse Close Encounters

Saturday was Open Lighthouse Day in Maine. Carrie and I decided to take advantage of it and go see the ones participating along the Kennebec River on Arrowsic Island. Doubling Point Lighthouse is visible from the bridge from Bath, if you know to look. It was also possibly the biggest of the ones we saw today, but not by much.

The Kennebec River Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses that ships coming up the river would line up in their sights to know they were sailing through the deep part of the river. The photo is the view from the back one towards the river where you can kind of see the other, pale against the pale background.

The final light, Squirrel Point Light, isn't off the beaten path, but the half hour hike on the path is how you get to it if you don't have a boat. It is in the process of being renovated but is not yet safe enough to allow people to go inside.

Click on any of the lighthouses to enlarge the picture.




Afterward we continued down route 127 across a few bridges and islands, including Georgetown until we hit the sea.

100th Post!

I hadn't realized how much we'd posted on our blog until I noticed on my "Dashboard" the number of posts. Before that, I was going to title this entry "Lighthouse Keeping" due to the content below. After I mentioned the number to Carrie, she suggested "Post Serial". But I decided to be plain and upfront about it just to blatantly point out this milestone.

Today we had some errands to run down Portland way, so we went a little further and saw the Portland Head Light again, just to check out the giftshop and museum, which were both closed the first time we visited.

Then, since the day was turning nice, we went to the nearby Spring Point Ledge Light, which is normally open to visitors on Saturdays, but wasn't this one. We even took off our shoes and splashed around in the water for a bit.

And finally we went practically next door to the Portland Breakwater Light, also known as the Bug Light, which is Carrie's favorite because of the ornamental work ringing the top. Click on Carrie's hat to enlarge the photo and see these details.

For those of you waiting to hear about our house in Augusta, well, we got the estimate for repairs to the roof, and it was not nice. We put together a brief of the worst things the inspector found, with an approximate cost to repair and sent in a request to the seller to drop that off the price of the house. We're now waiting to see if they'll accept, counter, or decline altogether.

Light of My Life

Carrie's job has her working some saturdays instead of tuesdays. Today, I also have a day off. We decided to go to Ft Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth and see the Portland Head Light. It was a bit cold and overcast, but fun nonetheless. Pandora, as you can see in the photo, certainly agreed.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow often walked from Portland to visit this lighthouse. The Keepers were his friends and it is believed he sat here for inspiration on his poem, "The Lighthouse."

And if you want more history tied in to this place, it was commissioned by George Washington in 1790!