Esther and I just got back from a short trip to the Portland, ME area. The main reason for the trip was a Bridal Shower but we also combined it with celebrating our 34th Wedding Anniversary and going to see some new and some old lighthouses for us.

We flew into Portland on Friday 10-10 around 10 AM and proceeded to take a drive down the coast to see Nubble Light (Cape Neddick).

The weather was beautiful- and would stay that way the entire weekend except for a bit os showers on Monday morning.

We had lunch overlooking the lighthouse at the Lobster Pen about 500 yards from the lighthouse. The food was OK- the prices were a bit steep, though.

Here are some photos of Cape Nedick LH-









We didn't get to any more lighthouses on Friday- we just went and meet the family and had dinner.

Saturday was the day of the Shower- I wasn't invited and I didn't want to go anyway. Luckily the timing of the shower and place were very fortutious as Bill was doing a signing at the Lighthouse Depot that day.

I drove down to Wells and got to talk to some old friends from NELL- tom Pregman and Lee Hall (lucky Lee- won 6 prizes including the gold) and had a nice conversation with tony and some other HL collectors as well.

Bill was his usual witty and funny self. Here's a photo of Bill and I at the signing. We sure lool like we're having a wonderful time- don't we?



The signing went well. I'd say that about 100 people came during the signing and about 30 or so were there for the drawing. I won a HL Denim shirt but no gold.

Saturday night it was back to the new relatives house for a Lobster / Beef / Scallops Bake. Great food and great people.

Sunday was Esther & I's Wedding Anniversary and we celebrated by sleeping late and getting on the road for some lighthouse visits- some we'd been to already and a few new ones as well.

Our first stop was at Pemaquid Point LH. We had been here in 1995 or 1997 before we were actually lighthouse Wackos. We visited Maine and went to see 5-6 lighthouses since that's just one of the things you have to do when you go to Maine.

Here's several different views of Pemaquid Point. these were taken from the rocks below the lighthouse.

Here are some more views of Pemaquid Point LH

The Oil house



Some reflection shots

















Here's a butterfly that Esther pointed out while at Pemaquid Point.



We took our leave of Pemaquid Point and went on our way.

We had reservations for a 2 hour cruise out of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath and we intended to stop at saeveral lighthouses on the way but we had to skip them since we slept in.

We got to the Museum with little time to look around before the cruise left at 2 PM. We had seen the museum on an earlier trip to Maine, though.

We passed by the Bath Ship Building Facility on our way down the Kennebec River to see 6 Lighthouses.

Here's one of the ships being worked on currently-



We continued down the river and came upon our first LH- Doubling Point LH.











We shortly came upon the Fog Horn for the Kennebec River Range Lights which is currently under renovations .

The next LH was actually a twofer- the Kennebec River Range Lights.

Keeper's house and the Front Range Light



Front Range Light



Front & Rear Range lights



Front & Rear Range Lights



We continued down the river to the next LH- Squirrel Point.


Keeper's House and slightly bent Boat House- there is a window on the other side that was built straight as opposed to slanted like the Boat house.








You can easily see the red panes of glass which are used to indicate where you should not go in the river.

This one shows part of the clear pane to let you know that is the part of the river to be in.



Squirrell Point got it's name from a ship called the HMS Squirrell which ran aground at this point in the Kennebec River while transporting the royal Governor of Massachucetts to a meeting with the local Indians to negotiate a treaty. Maine was part of MA at this time- the treaty meeting went as well as the trip up river- it ran aground as well.

The next LH we came across was Perkins Island LH. It's owned by the State Of Maine and is in much worse shape than Doubling Point which has a volunteer group doing upkeep at it.

Here's a closeup of the Perkins Island Fogbell house that shows the condition it is in compared to the Doubling Point Fog Bell.



We went past fort Popham next. It was built prior to the Civil War- but never actually finished- and was used to protect the Bath shipyards which was one of the largest US shipyards at the time. It was also used during the Spainish-American War but as was the case with almost all the forts built on the East and West coasts it never fired a shot in defense of the US.

Fort Popham




We also went past the Popham LSS which was built in the late 1800's.

Popham Light Saving Station



We continued on and next came upon Pond Island LH.

Pond Island LH






The last LH we were scheduled to see was next- Sequin Island LH.



Tramway and Stairs up to the LH

Here's some more views of Seguin Island LH. We were told the story of the Lighthkeeper who was stationed here and grew lonely and decided to marry a lady from Bath. It was boring for her so he bought her a piano- since she said she knew how to play- and had it brought out to the island.

The lady failed to mention that she knew only one tune and she continually played it. the keeper took leave of his senses and attacked the piano with an axe and then his wife and finally killed himself as well. It is said you can still hear piano keys tinkling and see him tending to his duties on certain nights on the island.













The day was very clear and the guide pointed out because of that a very distant view of Cuckolds LH was visible. I was able to see it with my binoculars but it was too far for any pictures.

There was an even more distant view of Ram's Island LH as well. It was difficult to make it out even with the binoculars.

We rode back to the Museum and as it was geting cloudy and dark we decided to skip the other LH's in the area.

Dennis

Excellent pictures Dennis and a great narrative. Some new lights for me to see as I've missed a few. Great ride on the boat trip, maybe we'll get to that one next year.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

As always Dennis, your photos & the extra time you take with the narrative are most enjoyed. I saw you posting the 'holding' posts and I was waiting with anticipation to see. Thank you for sharing with us.

Your Maine photos bring back wonderful and special memories of the Dave Hannum tour a bunch of us took October, 2006.

Judy

Judy,

Thanks. I can't remember who taught me that trick. I like to do that so all the photos are in line without responses in the middle. It makes it easier for somebody to follow things if they come to it after others have already commented.

I'm sure that Esther and I got to see some of the LH's on the Kennebec River on a trip to Maine in 1995 or 1997. I remember taking a very short ride on the Kennebec river while visiting the Maine Maritime museum but that visit was pre- lighthouse wackodom for us.

Dennis

Dennis,

My memory says it was Paul Brady who taught us that trick, or maybe Dave. It's a good trick.

Glad you got to see Bill. Good timing.

Looking forward to seeing much more of these same lights, cause...I'm moving there in 2 weeks!

Judy

Dennis, Great photo's and narrative!!!

Seems like you accomplished a lot for "short trip to the Portland, ME area".

Happy 34th Wedding Anniversary !!!

Fabulous pics, Den! Great narration too! Thank you for taking all the time it took to share your adventure with us.

Bob

Great to see these pictures. It seems I only get as far as Portland on my trips. Good story line to accompany pics.

Dennis, actually I was talking about posting by "reserving" enough consecutive posts for all your photos so that the rest of us don't start posting before you're finished.

Wasn't it fun photographing Pemaquid from all those angles. I think it is as photogenic as Portland Head.

And a Happy, Happy Anniversary to you and Esther!

Judy

Judy,

Thanks. It was a great weekend to celebrate our anniversary and help to start my nephew off on the same path.

Sorry about my misunderstanding your point- I believe Dave was the first to mention it if not the first to actually save posts to contain more pictures, etc.

Paul does the same as well, though.

Dennis

I haven't done the actual counting but I believe that between this last trip and our trip last month to WA/ BC we have cracked the 300 lighthouses visited mark. If not it's very close to it.

Dennis

All of them are beautiful pictures, but the first "reflection" picture of Pemaquid is truly exceptional.

Thanks. I took the same photo back in 1995 when I was at Pemaquid for the first time.

I prefer the one with both the reflection and the real deal in the photo- but that's me.

Dennis

Thanks for taking us along on your trip, Dennis, and sharing your great pics. Looks like you and Esther had a beautiful weekend.

And, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to you!

Dennis,

Ditto what everyone else has said. THanks for sharing.

Sandy

Dave & Sandy,

Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy writing the story and posting the photos- and I also enjoy seeing when others do the same.

Dennis

I'm a little slow responding Dennis but thanks for sharing your trip with the rest of us. I know how long it takes to resize and post photos but I sure enjoy seeing the beautiful lighthouse pictures and reading about others lighthousing trips. Thanks again.