Portland, Maine Lighthouses

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Today we traveled along the coast from Boston to Portland, Maine. Maine has 65 lighthouses along 5,000 miles of coastline. That number seems big but all the lighthouses felt somewhat close together. The coastline was beautiful and ever since visiting the Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon a few years ago - I find lighthouses very intriguing. I think few people really understand how they work; on our tour of the Heceta Head, the park ranger told us that all lighthouses have a different beacon, that's how you know where you are at - by the light pattern. So when you think about the number of lighthouses there are along a single coastline, that is pretty awesome.

Our first stop was the Cape Neddick Lighthouse, or "Nubble Lighthouse" as it is often referred to.

The lighthouse was built in 1879 and is so picturesque; the weather was perfect for visiting it, sunny and warm, which made it all the better for visiting!
FACTS (from Wikipedia):
-Nubble Lighthouse is 41 feet tall and 88 feet above sea level.
-Nubble Light is a famous American icon and a classic example of a lighthouse. The Voyager spacecraft, which carries photographs of Earth’s most prominent man made structures and natural features should it fall into the hands of intelligent extraterrestrials, includes a photo of Nubble Light with images of the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.
-The Nubble Light's unique light pattern is Isophase Red 6s. Lighted throughout 24 hours. The fog horn will blast every 10 seconds when needed.

The lighthouse and keeper's home is actually on a little island, so you can't walk right up to it. But in this picture (below) there is a small white cart looking thing. That contraption is what we figure gets people from the main land to the Island. I would love to ride in that and visit the island and lighthouse one day. They say that the lighthouse is inaccessible to public; I did see a raffle going on where one group of six people could win a picnic on the island and a tour of the buildings. That takes place at the end of the year, so chances must be slim but how awesome would that be!

More views of York, Maine as we drove back from the lighthouse. I love seeing houses along the water. There is just something so pretty about the scene.

York is a very quaint town with lots of character. Driving through we decided that we needed to stop for a quick drink.

 And maybe a quick visit to the candy store.... ;)

Next we stopped in Portland and visited the Portland Breakwater Light or "Bug Light." Isn't this an amazing view of the city from the Bug Light Park?

Bug Light is so small. It was first built in 1855, and its design was inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens.

The Bug Light's unique light pattern is flashing white 4 s.

We headed into Portland and got ourselves some famous Main Lobsters at the Portland Lobster Company. Neither of us are fans of Lobster, but I figured if we are going to like it anywhere, we would like it in Maine. So I gave it another shot. (I ordered Lobster, Mike ordered Fried Clams.)

Needless to say, I am still not a fan of Lobster. I don't mind the meat in the claws but the meat in the tail and body are too thick for me. At least now I know for sure right?

The restaurant sits right along the water, so you can eat while looking at the ships. It's called Long Wharf.

As we walked out of the restaurant, I noticed a fence labeled "Fences of Love" with lots of abandoned locks on it. Our best guess is that couples in love come down to the wharf, place their lock on the fence, and then throw the key out into the ocean. That's our best guess, we couldn't find any information on it, but I loved the idea of it.

Next up, the Portland Head Lighthouse. It's a beautiful lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It is the oldest lighthouse in Maine, construction began in 1787 by orders of George Washington and it was completed in 1970 and first lit on January 10, 1791.

The lighthouse is 80 feet tall and 101 feet above water. Its beacon can be seen from 24 miles away and its unique light pattern is a flashing white 4s lighted continuously. The fog horn will blast every 15 seconds.

 The coast line looking out from the Portland Head Light:

Rocks to the side of the Portland Head Light:

Annie C. Maguire was a British three-masted bark, sailing from Buenos Aires on 24 December 1886, when she struck the ledge at Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Lighthouse Keeper Joshua Strout, his son, wife, and volunteers rigged an ordinary ladder as a gangplank between the shore and the ledge the ship was heeled against. Captain O'Neil, the ship's master, his wife, two mates and the nine-man crew clambered onto the ledge and then, one by one, crossed the ladder to safety.

The cause of the wreck is puzzling since visibility was not a problem. Members of the crew reported they "plainly saw Portland Light before the disaster and are unable to account for same."

Today, letters painted on the rocks below the lighthouse commemorate the wreck and the Christmas Eve rescue. (Wikipedia)

A small tribute to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at the Portland Head Lighthouse site:

"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 for his poem "The Lighthouse."

"Sail on; Sail on ye stately ships;

And with your floating bridge

the ocean span;

Be mine to guard this light

from all eclipse

Be yours to bring man near

unto man."

Not sure what light house this is, but we were able to see it from the Portland Head Lighthouse:

As we were driving around, trying to find the Wood Island Light house, we stumbled upon some spectacular views of the water.

And a beach! A little bit rocky, but a beach none the less.

 Mike decided to see how far he could throw rocks and if they would skip from so far back.

We also decided to do a little house shopping while we were in the area. Too bad none of these were for sale and also too bad that if they were, we wouldn't be able to afford them. LoL. They sure are beautiful though; we loved looking at the characteristics of the houses and noticing how different they are from the houses we so often see in Utah.

 I love the look of this one:

 Our final lighthouse of the day: "The Wood Island Lighthouse"

Yet again, another lighthouse on an island, so this is as close as we could get to it. Can you see it way oh way out there? We took a small little walk through some beautiful, lush green, east coast trees to get to this look out point. It was fun all except the mist of rain that started falling as we walked.

The lighthouse is 47 feet tall and is 71 feet above water. The lighthouse is still active and its unique light pattern is an alternating white and green light 10s. The fog horn, when needed, will sound twice every 30 seconds. This lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse in Maine (11th oldest in the US) and was built in 1808 under the orders of President Thomas Jefferson. The wood in the original lighthouse rotted out by the 1830's, and they had to renovate it with granite in 1858.

After returning to Boston, Mike stayed up to watch Zoolander and I crashed stat.