After some amount of work with locations in the downtown Portland area, the Portland Regional details are now set.

The Portland Maine Harbour Lights Regional Event will be
Saturday, October 7, 2006.

This Regional will be a two part, starting with a lighthouse viewing cruise around Casco Bay. We will depart from the long Wharf at 3:45 PM for a 90 minute cruise aboard the M/V Islander. The highlight will not only be viewing most of Portland’s lights from the water, but doing so with your collector friends. The boat will return at 5:15 PM. The cruise will be limited to the first 95 paid registrations.

The Regional dinner will be just a couple of blocks down the way at the Harbour’s Edge banquet facility located on the Custom House Wharf. The newly remodeled facility overlooks Casco Bay. A cash bar / reception will begin at 6 PM with time to continue socializing with Bill Younger, folks from Harbour Lights and lots of your collector family. Dinner will be a buffet featuring Chicken Marsala and Beef Tips, with service starting at about 7.

Cost for the Regional Event is $36 per person. Cost includes the cruise and the dinner. You may register either by sending me an email with the subject line of “Maine Regional Dinner” or you may call me at (765) 452-1602 from 9 AM to 8 PM Eastern time. In your email please include names of those you are registering. Payment may be made by check or credit card. For those wishing to use a credit card you may either call me with the card information or I will be glad to send you a PayPal ‘bill’ for the amount. Reservations must be made and paid for by September 25th. There will be no “walk up” registrations available as I must provide a count for the caterer.

There is a block of rooms set aside at a Portland hotel for us. Information will be sent to you with your registration confirmation.

For those interested in some additional lighthousing centered around the Regional, we will be touring lights between Portland and Acadia National Park from Saturday, October 7 thru Wednesday, October 11. There will probably be a few extra seats on our cruise of Penobscot Bay on Sunday (10/8) and of the Kennebec River and Boothbay Harbor on Tuesday (10/10). If you are interested in any of these, please contact me.

If you are planning to attend this Regional Event, you should be considering getting registered fairly soon. The spots for the cruise portion are filling up. Plenty of room if you just want to attend the dinner, but if you would like to see the local lights from the water this is a great time to do so.

We will be seeing Spring Point Ledge, the Bug Light, Portland Head and Ram Island Ledge. We should be able to see the Cape Elizabeth lights in the distance and may have a long shot of the Halfway Rock light. Depends on weather / sea conditions and what we can talk the captain into.

Dave, we got some great talkers in the group, so I sure we can get the captain to go out of the way a bit.

The boat ride portion of the regional event is now FULL. There is still plenty of room at the regional dinner (this is where the gold will be given away as well as any other give-aways). Anyone else signing up for the regional that would like to go on the Casco Bay boat tour will be put on a waiting list should any spots open up.

Do remember that to be eligible to win the gold plated Admiralty Head piece you must be have an entry for a qualifying purchase from a regional supporting dealer and be present at the dinner.

There is still space available on the Sunday boat trip around Penobscot Bay (viewig 17 or so lights). Contact me for additional info if you are interested.

Dave,

I have no idea where my receipt is. Will this be a problem. (If necessary, I'll grab a Bible and swear on it.)

Will that be sufficient?

bobo

OK, Bob, you are OUT and I am IN!

Nasty John. Real Nasty.

Bob, I wrote your receipt on the back of that 'C' note I sent to you last month. Just bring it with you to Portland and I'll verify it at that time. . . .

Cute Dave.

Minor update for the Saturday afternoon Casco Bay cruise:

We will depart at 3:30 PM (instead of 3:45). Please plan to be ready to board by 3:15.

Cruise will depart from Eagle Island Tours located on Long Wharf. For those that have not been to the regional page on the HL page lately, here is a link to a map of downtown Portland and the waterfront .

Dinner will be on the Custom House Wharf a couple of blocks down the way. Please plan on being at the dinner on time, but not way early (have to have a little bit of time to finish set up.) I am told that the best place to park is at a garage near the Custom House Wharf.

I have been able to work things out to accomodate the people that were on the waiting list for the Casco Bay cruise. See you next week in Portland.

You all have a great time. What a terrific trip in store for you all. Maine's lighthouses are fabulous and Dave's tours are the best!
Judy

If there is anyone out there who is "fence sitting" about joining us next weekend, there may be a few openings that will be available on the Casco Bay cruise. Won't know for a couple of days, but if you fit this category now is the time to act.

Have a great time and be asure of our envy

Sue and I got on the road today to Portland... No pictures to post yet, it rained all day!

I will start a new thread tomorrow with some trip images hpefully with a break in the weather but I would rather it rain now and not when we get there..

Well we're off to supper and a long drive tomorrow about 670 miles tomorrow..

Most of our travelers are probably in Portland, or close to it, by now. I'm sincerely jealous that Lorna and I could not make the trip. Unfortunately, that ride would be a source of great discomfort for Lorna. Her hip replacement surgery is scheduled for the 26th and she is at the point that it can't come soon enough.

I hope everyone has a wonderful time and enjoys the great weather they are predicting for this Columbus Day Weekend. It's not often you get three great weather days in a row on a holiday weekend.

Bob

Your not alone Bob.
I wish I could have gone also. Just too much going on and too far away.
I hope we have a regional in the south next year.
I told Tony that we need one but we got side tracked and started talking about the next reunion. I am not sure what the plans are for the south are for when it comes to a regional. Rich and I and other southerns need to start insisting on a southern Regional.
And I don’t mean Virginia or Maryland.

Amen to that Daniel! I'm still selling Daytona Beach as a perfect getaway during the last of October-1st of November time frame. The new Hilton in Daytona has more then ample hotel rooms and the convention center is just across the street. Dave - Are you listening???????

Bob...tell Lorna she'll feel like a new woman as soon as her hip replacement surgery is over and done with. John had his hip replaced in 2002...says it's the best thing he ever did...his only regret was that he should have done it sooner. He does anything he wants to do...snow ski, hike, work out on machines or lift weights, or haul my luggage around on trips.

I too wish I could have been there. In fact, I had my tickets booked to be there but after being out of the country for 17 days, I ended up cancelling. John said it was too much to try and do when we just arrived home on Sept. 30.

I think a southern reunion would be great too, but where would you have it? Only place in the south that wasn't busted up by Katrina is Florida. It looks like it will be at least a few years before things are in shape to handle something like this. I go to Florida every year and 2 yeas ago was going to go south to the Gulf around Louisiana and head heast aound to Tampa area. I won't be doing that for a few years now because of the slow recovery of the areas to say nothing of the damage to the lights is the area like New Canal all be being distroyed. Maybe the south Georgia area would be better.

How about South Carolina or Georgia? Charleston, Savannah?

I've been hearing lots of good words from people about the Fall Regional in Portland. Tony Constantino sends along his thanks:

It was fantastic with gorgeous, gorgeous weather! Wish all of you could have been there; that would have made it even more special! We had a wonderful time. Thanks to Dave for another great event - and for keeping my photography from being a total loss! Yeah, I left my charger with a battery in it at the hotel in Portland. Have you noticed how difficult it is to find outlets in hotel rooms? This one was kind of hidden away so that I totally overlooked it when I checked the room before leaving. As soon as my one battery died, I was able to use Dave's extra one and, from then on, he charged one for me every night. A royal pain in the behind and he didn't even give me too hard a time about it!! Thanks, Dave - I know; I owe you big time AGAIN!