After attending a funeral near Philadelphia, my wife and I thought we would drive down the coast. But where do we start? We could drive straight east and hit the Jersey coast, but we don't make it this far north very often why not head up to Maine? So, we headed off on our 6 hour drive to Maine. We quickly learned that 70 miles does not equal one hour of driving time on the east coast. (That's a pretty good rule in our part of the country.) 12 hours later, we arrived in Portland. Here are the first pictures of our adventure. (Remember, I'm no professional photographer!)

Portland Head.



Since it was our first trip to Maine, we were surprised to see two lighthouses for the price of one.

Portland Head with Ram Island Ledge in background.



A Closer Shot of Ram Island Ledge

As you might have noticed I am from Texas, where we also have the 70 miles = 1 hour of driving rule. I learned the east coast rules my first time out. Your comment made me laugh and remember our first trip to Maine. Your pictures are great. Keep them coming. Terry

Lou,

Very nice pictures. I'm glad you got a nice clear day so you could actual tell without any tweaking that there is another Lighthouse by portland Head.

I bet you drove straight up I-95 to Portland. Am I right?

Keep those pictures coming.

Dennis

Lou - I'll bet next time you head north you will have a bit more time for sightseeing, as you now know how long it takes to travel in these parts. Thanks for posting the pictures to share with all of us. By-th-way, it is Ram 'Island' Ledge Lighthouse just off the coast from Portland Head. Portland Head is one of my favorite places to be. Keep the pictures coming Lou, I look forward to seeing some more, and Happy Lighthousing!

Ron
(CT Keeper)

Thanks for the heads up on "Ram Island Ledge". I went back and fixed it.

No, we didn't take I-95 straight up. We took a BIG loop way around New York City. More out of the way than we thought, but some pretty country.

On our way south down the coast we stopped in York, ME (a neat little town), and saw Cape Neddick. I kept looking for the guy in the window from the Harbour Lights LE, but I never saw him!

Cape Neddick.



A Closer Shot of Cape Neddick.



The rocks in the foreground of the second picture really made me appreciate the rocks on the Harbour Lights LE.

Lou,

Looks like the already took the 350 (350th anniversary of the York area being settled )sign and Christmas Lights from Nubble.

When we were up there it was one day before the Annual Christmas In July Celebration.

Believe it or not it probably would have taken longer if you went on I-95 through NYC and CT.

Dennis

Actually, we were there at the end of May. I'm a little slow getting the pictures scanned, and I didn't find the forums until July.

We skipped down the coast from Maine to Maryland on I-95. We wanted to stay on the coast, but after 2 days we were already way behind schedule and way over budget. We did take the time to stop at the museum at Hooper Strait (which is a dead ringer for Middle Bay, AL). Unfortunately, the museum and lighthouse were closed because of a concert on the lawn. We did get a couple of pictures, though.

Hooper Strait.

Well, that explains that.

It doesn't matter when they were tkaen they still look great.

We got to Hooper Strait last November along with a number of Lights in the Chesapeake area.

Dennis

I couldn't have hit the 350 with my driver anyway!

Lou,
Fantastic pictures. Amy and I one day will make a trip up the coast to Maine and see some of the lights you have photographed. Thanks for showing the pictures.

Rich

...but wait; there's more! After a 30 minute visit with some friends in D.C. (who we were supposed to stay with 2 nights earlier!), we headed over toward the coast in Maryland (I got ahead of myself with the pictures, Hooper Strait should have come in here.) We moved down the coast to check out the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Unfortunately, we didn't make it until after dark. By the way, there's an Anchor Inn a little to the north of the bridge. DO NOT STAY THERE. Trust me on this one. When we got into Norfolk, VA at about 11:30 or so, we found out it was fleet weekend or something like that. We searched for a hotel for almost 5 hours with no luck. We finally decided to continue south where we found a room in Elizabeth City at 5:30 a.m.! What a day. Luckily I was able to talk my wife into a couple more lighthouses before we ended our trip.

Rich,

Make sure you plan for the right time of year- Maine has more than one season.

Seriously, though. September or May are probably the best months if you want a little room to breathe. June, July and August are beautiful, but everybody knows that and kids are out of school.

Dennis

Lou, thanks for posting the shots, they are very good! Always enjoy them. Portland Head has been one of our favorites, was last there in '84!

I was able to get one extra day on the trip, and it was worth it. We headed for the outer banks and a couple of unforgettable stops. First, we stopped at Bodie Island. I guess everyone else was at the beach. There were only about 4 cars there.

Bodie Island with a pretty cool sky.



Another of Bodie Island closer to the tower.

Finally that afternoon, we got to the one we took the drive for. Unfortunately, we had no idea that stair repairs were going on, but we still enjoyed seeing the one that towers over the rest. We talked to the woman in the visitors center all about the move, the stairs and the overdue paint job they are waiting for. I used up what was left of my film and finished up a great day.

Cape Hatteras.