It's the urge. Almost exactly one year ago, I was getting ready for my great pilgrimage to Maine, aka "The Spring Break that is Totally NOT Cancun." It was one of the most amazing trips I've ever done, as those of you who followed along remember.

(Note: I will put the link here tomorrow, I changed my site around some and need to rebuild some stuff.)

But...it's time to go back. To see Maine in summer. I need to do boat trips. I need to get photos without snow. I need to see the other side of Maine.

We'd probably be looking at mid-late August for this trip. The first half of the summer is going to have a lot of lighthousing in the Mid-Atlantic for me. I know I won't have the pleasure of those wide-open, cop-less roads I had in March 2009, but I shall cope.

The goals: revisit what I've seen and loved. See new places, new lights. Explore the coast, even parts that don't have lighthouses.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to go, but with my work schedule this summer, I'm probably restricted to a long-week frame -- leave NJ on a Friday, return two Sundays later. Thus only one week of work missed, but maximise the days gone.

The goal here is to see lights closer-up, to experience places better. Tours, cruises, museums, boat trips. The question is...in a long week...what's to do...and what's to save? I'm not imagining I can, reasonably, fill in all 64 in one trip.

The budget is about $1000. I'm planning on camping whenever possible. The flipside is that I'll be taking my '93 Range Rover, which gets 15-18 MPG on premium. I can cook for myself, and eat out when it's worth it. I'd rather spend the money on boat trips.

So...give me ideas...I'm all open...I don't really have much figured out now, even though I've done a lot of research.

You have to watch those urges...thats what had me fighting a snowstorm. Isn't August the black fly season in Maine? My best suggestion is work on getting in "meander mode". Only have a few things that you really want to do...and make the rest up as you go along.

If you are going to look at other parts of Maine, you might think about a visit to the Moosehead Lake area. August will be moose season and you might get some good images.

Boat trips - there is one in Portland that will let you see some of the harbor lights from the water. Not a real long trip, and they go several times per day Casco Bay Cruise . They say you see the twin lights, but you only will if you have a real long lens. They don't do past Portland Head unless they have changed the route (and the 90 min length would say they haven't). Still worth the time, hopefully they will have a new person narrating (he never stopped talking . . .). Very reasonable at $18.

There was a company that did a lighthouse cruise of the Kennebec River. You can check to see if they are still running, but their website hasn't been updated for quite some time. Long Reach Cruises .

Monhegan Boat Line is another possibility for a cruise to pick up a few lights from the water.

Maine Maritime Museum in Bath might have a cruise of some type. They used to allow the Long Reach people to use their dock as I recall.

Of course, I would also check with the folks at the Maine Lighthouse Museum for more ideas.

I'll look forward to your planning and trip blog.

I did the Portland Harbour Lighthouse Cruise last October. Good value for $18. Halfway Rock is a long way off and you also see Cape Elizabeth in the distance once you pass Portland Head and turn towards Ram's Island Ledge.

http://www.portlanddiscovery.com/tours/lighthouse-lovers-cruise/