Day Three in Massachusetts

The third day was a charm again.
The day was bright and sunny and the wind was calm. A perfect day to take a lighthouse cruise.
We left her around ten o'clock and we spent time shopping and exploring. We visited Rockport and Manchester.

They are beautiful New England towns with many beautiful homes with well kept yards, lovely beaches, quaint shops and narrow streets.We found Niles beach in East Gloucester and we spent about a half hour there looking for sea glass. We parked along the road in a spot that was supposed to be for residents with permits so we dared not stay long.

Next we headed to Gloucester, we wanted to get a parking spot and get our cruise tickets. I learned that Gloucester has no knowledge of the lighthouse passport program and so I did not get any stamps today.

We ate our lunch at a little park at the Public Landing dock. Before we knew it the time had come to board the King Eider.

She had a full load and the captain Steve was also the narrator. He did an excellent job of maneuvering the boat and informing us of the history of the area as well as the history of the 6 lighthouses that we saw.
We travelled around Cape Ann from Gloucester Harbor  past Rockport, north around Halibut Point State Park, and finally up Annisquam River and back into Gloucester Harbor. We had real good views of  Ten Pound Island Lighthouse, Eastern Point Lighthouse, Thacher Island Twin Lighthouses,Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse and finally the Annisquam Harbour lighthouse.

The day was great, sunny, warm and with calm seas, the only thing missing was lighthouse stamps for my passport.:-(
After we docked Ken and I returned to the truck and went on the hunt for a good seafood place to have supper. We were sooooooooo successful! We ate at Mile one Marker Restaurant. The mile one refers to the fact that it is on Mile one of the intracoastal Waterway which stretched 4500 Kl from the Atlantic to the Gulf coast. The food was fabulous. Ken had scallops and I had clams. We were seated outside on a beautiful patio and we were right on the marina so we could see so many of the beautiful people enjoying sunset and cocktails on the decks of their yachts.

This will be our last view of the ocean for awhile because we are heading west in the morning.

Gloucester

We are in Massachusetts in a place called Cape Ann.
We have been exploring the area and tomorrow we go on a cruise to see 6 more
lighthouses.
Today was cool and foggy so we drove around checking out some of the little villages in the area. They all have British names like Manchester, Essex , Rockport and Gloucester. The area is very old and the planning was done in the age of horse and carriage. The streets are very narrow and twisty and the houses are very close to the edge of the roads. They had not imagined King Cab Dodge Diesel trucks trying to maneuver down them.
As with the rest of the New England area there are many beautiful classic old homes.
We were shocked to learn that most of thee beaches must be driven to and there is a $20.00 charge to park your vehicle so you can walk to the shore. Believe me Ken is not impressed
In downtown Gloucester they have a beautiful memorial to all of the seamen lost in the area. There is a statue and there are plaques listing the names of over five thousand seamen who were lost in the area and the year that they perished.

Pointedly there is also a statue of a young widow with 2 small children looking out to sea, waiting for her husband to return. The display is beautiful. We spent some time there walking the beach and looking for sea glass.

We went to the cinema to see The Butler this afternoon and now we are relaxing for the evening.
Will report on the cruise tomorrow.

Three Days Was A Good Idea

August 27,2013

Three days was a good idea.

When we signed into this campground at Patten Pond we intended to stay 2 nights. But since it was a Passport America campground we decided to stay for a third night. That turned out to be a very good idea.

The morning was spent relaxing and having a pancake breakfast complete with a sounding smoke detector. That aside it was a very nice morning.

I packed a picnic lunch and we headed out. Ken researched and found out that there were two lighthouses quite close by.  The first one we went to was the Fort Point Light Station. I knew it was not opened to the public and I knew that the keepers house was now a Coast Guard residence but that is all I knew.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the light station was in a state park and that the park was a historical site. The  fort was build because of the tensions between the English and the French in 1759 and it played an integral part in the revolutionary war in 1775. The light station was established in 1836 as an aid to navigation for the ships travelling from Penobscot and Bangor and Castine. There were boards telling of this history and we could see the remains of fortress walls and moats.

The light is very well maintained and the grounds had picnic tables where we could sit and enjoy the amazing views of the bay. I was so pleased to find a passport station on the grounds. A passport station is a place where there is a stamp and a stamp pad and you can stamp your own lighthouse  passport.

There was a bell tower just a short distance from the light.  The bell and the mechanism used to ring the bell were still there. There also was a diagram showing how the fog bell was rung. This was the first time we had seen such a setup, the first one in 287 lighthouses.!! We took lots of pictures.

The park covers 120 acres and is on a long peninsula with panoramic views of Penobscot Bay so we had our picnic here at one of the many wonderful picnic spots. Next we spent about an hour enjoying the ocean and looking for treasures along the beach. It was a surreal afternoon.

The day was very hot so we traveled in air conditioning to the next lighthouse, the Dice Head Light.

We knew that the keepers house here was a private residence and we had no idea how close we would be able to get and we knew nothing about Castine where it is located.

Getting there took us through beautiful Maine country side and again we were so impressed with the architecture of the area. Many different styles are represented even the older style of building the home and the barn all in one structure. We saw many mansions belonging to the one percent.

The lighthouse was in good condition and we took several pictures but respected the privacy of the owners and did not trespass. There was not a passport station here however.

 On the way to the light house we saw several large building that appeared to be part of a university campus. So of course we had to investigate. We discovered that this is the home of the Maine Naval Academy. There were numerous residences and university buildings, a students center,  and all of the other things you would expect to see on a large university campus and yet here it was out in the middle of the small village of Castine.

“One of America’s most historic small towns Castine traces its beginnings to a French fur trading station established in 1814.

Seafaring nations long coveted the rocky heights above Dice Head, which dominates the entrance to Penobscot River. Over the years the flags of four nations fluttered above forts here and several battles were fought for possession of the town.”

We drove to the dock and here was “ The State of Maine” a training vessel, and many small boats. In the town we saw many GI Joe types and there were several boards commemorating some of the battles that were fought here.

We were in awe of all that we saw and were so surprised that we had not known about it previously.

By then evening was fast approaching so we returned to the campground feeling so glad that we had stayed in Maine for another day.

Three days really was a great idea.

Oh No Not Rain!

Monday August 26

Oh no, Not Rain!

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain. It was a light rain but it was rain and we didn’t want rain today. We have booked a cruise to see lighthouses. But this was 6:30 and the cruise was supposed to begin at 9:30.

We had breakfast; gathered together warm clothes and cameras and away we went. We planned to arrive early because we had seen how scarce parking was yesterday. It was a smart move. Many vehicles were there already but we did get parking and just as we got into Bar Harbor the rain stopped. Keeping fingers crossed can work sometimes.

Soon it was time to board The Bay King III.The Bay King is a 90 foot with 2800 horsepower jet powered catamaran and she cruises at 24 knots.

The group was small but all were lighthouse enthusiasts. When we booked we were told we would either be taking the Great Duck Island Loop or the Inshore Route depending on the wind and the weather. I would find out that we were doing the inshore route. I was happy later because the anti nausea medicine had to come to my rescue around eleven.

The tour began at 9:30 and ended at 12:15 or so. We had a wonderful narrator on board and he pointed out so many things as we travelled. He explained about the geology of Acadia National Park, and how so many features are because of an ice age and the movement of glaciers.

He told us that if you were to stretch out all of the shoreline of the many islands and the mainland of the State  of Maine you would have enough shoreline to take you all of the way to the Pacific Ocean and almost all of the way back .

He informed us of the importance of the lobster industry in what he jokingly referred to as Lobster Fishing 101. Today we can buy a whole lobster for under 6 dollars here in Bar harbor.

He pointed out the many mansions along the bay. These homes cost millions of dollars and are used only a month or two each year. He pointed out Anchorage owned by the Fords; the Breakwater Estate owned by Pulitzer;  Skylands owned by Martha Stewart; as well as properties owned by the Rockefellers and the Carnegies. Such opulence in one place!

But for Ken and I the best part was the close up views of Egg Rock Lighthouse; Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse; Bear Island Lighthouse; Winter Harbor Lighthouse and Baker Island Lighthouse. Our guide told us the history of these lights and the captain of the ship made certain the spin around so we could get a grand view of each and every light. We are now at 287 lighthouses visited and photographed.

Before we knew it the ship was headed back into shore and we had to disembark. But before we left the ship I was given 5 stamps for my lighthouse passport.

We had lunch and stomped around many of the little shops in the area. We got another magnet and a Xmas ornament to add to our collection. The bonus was finding the Lang lighthouse calendar for 2014. It fits our calendar and it is often very hard to find.

Then we headed back to the campground.  On the way we stopped at a couple of antique shops; a roadside blueberry stand, a spot that sold firewood and last but not least we got groceries.

Another grand day and another great adventure comes to an end,

Oxygen??

Sunday August 25^th

Oxygen??

I have a theory! I think oxygen is a tranquilizer.

Why do I think that? Well it seems to me that every time I am in a rural area with lots of trees and water and therefore lots of oxygen I am calm and contented. I wonder if research has been done on the number of people living in the country taking tranquilizers;  compared to the number of people in the city taking them. This thought occured to me this afternoon.

We had a grand day. We drove from Hilltop Campground to Patten Pond Campground in Ellsworth Maine. It is a very nice park and then we got unhooked and settled, had lunch and headed for Bar Harbor.

I had never been to Bar Harbor and I did not know what a tourist place it was. There were 2 cruise ships in the harbor and the streets were full of tourists. It reminded me of the Alaskan communities and how crowded they are when cruise ships are in. But the vehicles on the street were from all over North America. We checked on our lighthouse cruise for tomorrow and then we got out of town.

This area of Maine is so very beautiful; almost every side road leads to another port. These small harbors today were dotted with ships of all sizes. The smallest skiff and the most expensive yacht sat side by side, bobbing in the gentle breeze, enjoying this wonderful day that Mother Nature has provided.

We stopped at one beach and we got out of the truck. The little harbor has many vessels and there are people playing in the water and the sand. We strolled along searching for treasures. Our treasure is sea glass. Ken and I stroll in the soft air enjoying the gentle breeze and breathing deeply so can capture all of the sea air possible. Between the both of us we probable found 50 pieces, most were very small but treasures none the less.

After the stop at the beach Ken explored more of the country roads. The houses are beautiful and so varied. There is nothing ticky tacky about these communities. Some homes are huge classic structures from more than a hundred years ago, with gingerbread and turrets and widow walks. Others are new and modern with lots of glass. There is everything in between.

There are many Inns and B&B’s and small eating places, antique shops and so much more. I can’t wait to explore even more of this area tomorrow.

This evening we are both feeling rested and contented.

 I wonder if it is the oxygen.

An Awesome Day

Today was totally awesome.

It was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky and the air was so clear that it almost sparkled.

After breakfast we packed a lunch and headed for New Brunswick, yes New Brunswick. We wanted to visit the lights on Campobello Island and it is in New Brunswick, Canada.

 So passports in hand, away we went. Crossing the border was not a problem and the first stop was at the Mulholland lighthouse which is just on the other side of the bridge to Campobello. The light stands in Roosevelt park and it is freshly painted and in great condition. We took lots of pictures and Ken looked for sea glass. We had the little park almost to ourselves. It was so peaceful and the view across the Lubec channel was wonderful.

This was about noon and we were tempted to eat our lunch there but we decided to continue on to the East Quoddy light.

There were other cars there and of course the tide was not low so we could not get out to the light. But we had good views of it anyway. The clear air was amazing and we could see for miles around.

We had our lunch at one of the picnic tables and enjoyed the spectacular views. We drove around the island, visiting several small fishing ports.

Around three thirty we crossed the bridge back into Maine. Again the border crossing was trouble free. We stopped in Lubec this time and the experience was memorable indeed.

The tide had turned and you could see the rip tides so clearly.

The water boiled and the seals and the gulls were fishing successfully. Soon a pair of bald eagles appeared and after surveying the situation for awhile they began to fish also.

We watched this from the patio of Frank’s restaurant on Main street. Ken had chowder and I had a cold drink. We were enthralled by the display in front of us. The water in the channel bubbled and boiled and the action of the water seemed to be bringing the fish to the surface, much to the delight of the feeding wildlife and the people watching. The air was so clear and Campobello shone in the afternoon sun.

Next stop West Quoddy.

I know I have been there before but that was many years ago and I did not have a lighthouse passport at that time.

We drove there, took some pictures, I got my stamps and we then headed back to the campground.

The drive was wonderful, what an amazing day this had been.

Adventure at Sea!

The Ada C.Lore is a 118 foot Chesapeake Bay Oyster Schooner. She was originally built in 1923 in Dorchester, New Jersey and her purpose was to dredge for oysters under sail on the Delaware River. She has been completely restored to her former glory. These boats were very maneuverable and because of their shallow draft they were very well adapted to work the waters and inlets of the Maryland coast. The Ada C. Lore is one of only three remaining historic Chesapeake Bay oyster schooners in the United States.

Like many of the fishing vessels of today she is now engaged in tourism. You can charter her for a private function or you can take a romantic sunset cruise or you can go whale watching which is what we did.

We have been whale watching before but this trip would take us past the East Quoddy Lighthouse and at least 2 other small lights and that was motivation enough to sign up.

The cruise left Eastport Pier at 1:30 and the day was bright and sunny. It was warm on the land but because we knew it would be different on the water we took fleeces and windbreakers with us. It was a wise move.

As we pull away the sailors begin to raise the main sail and we are offered the chance to take part. I jump at their offer and soon I am pulling on the rope as hard as I can. I last until the sail is about ¾ of the way to the top of the mast, then someone else jumps in and I sit and pant for the next few minutes. This was so much fun and was a new experience for me.

This area of the coast is dotted with many small islands and almost immediately we are in Canadian waters. The first lighthouse we see is the small marker on Cherry Island. It is a while column and is on the end of this small island.

At first it appears as if the whales have decided to hide but soon we see a Minke whale. It swims around near the boat to the delight of all.

Soon the Deer Island light comes into view. It is also a small white column but we are able to get some good pictures. Deer Island has a full time population of about 800 people, most of whom work in the fishing industry. This island and Cherry Island and Campobello are all part of New Brunswick.

Soon we are treated to another whale appearance as well as porpoise and seals and many seabirds. The sun is shining, the sea is calm and the day is glorious. My anti-nausea medicine stays in my purse.

Now comes our main reason for taking this cruise; the East Quoddy Lighthouse. We sail through Head Harbour Passage and as we round the point the lighthouse comes into view. She is beautiful!!

The paint is fresh and bright and she is beautiful. There are several out buildings. Because it is late afternoon the light is perfect. As we get closer our cameras get into full gear and we are busy snapping photo after photo. Each view seems to be better than the previous one. Between the two of us I am sure we took over 80 pictures. We see the bridge and the ladders that we would have to use to get this close if we had gone by land instead of sea. This light is accessible only at low tide and this week the timing is not right so this cruise was a second choice. In fact it turned out to be the best choice, we could never have gotten these photos from the land. As we sail away our cameras are still clicking.

On our return one of the seamen explained the phenomenon of Old Sow, the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. It is truly amazing to see the waters go from perfectly flat to boiling violently.

This effect is created by currents from opposite directions meeting and coming up to the surface. The effect is like a pot of boiling water. We saw several vortexes of different sizes.  We were told the powered vessels need not be concerned but man powered vessels may not be able to escape the effect. Here is what research had to say.

“Tremendous water turbulence occurs locally in the greater Old Sow area, but it does not usually constitute a navigation hazard for motorized vessels with experienced operators at the helm; however, small craft — especially vessels with keels (sailboats) and human-powered vessels — are warned to avoid these waters when the tide is running.”

Soon the pier came into sight and our adventure on the Ada C. Lore had come to an end.

Next Stop Fundy!

We left Nova Scotia and headed for Fundy National Park in New Brunswick.
This is a very special area and no matter how many times I go there I am spellbound by its wonder.ONE HUNDRED BILLION TONS of water rushes in and out of the bay twice a day, every day. This is more than the total amount of water flowing into the oceans of the world from all of the rivers combined.
To see a ship sitting high and dry on mud with water nowhere to be found continues to amaze me. I have seen the waters of the bay rush in and then back out many many times but Oh My, it is still hard to believe.

The main reason for the stop in Fundy was to visit Cape Enrage lighthouse. It is a nice one which stands high on a cliff. Unfortunately it is being turned into a bit of a tourist trap with rappelling and zip lining etc. But we did enjoy seeing it.

While travelling and seeing the area we discovered another cute lighthouse. It was in a very nice park and as part of their display they showed how the big sailing ships were built. The park was called Shipyard Park and the lighthouse was named Anderson Hollow Lighthouse.

On the Road Again

We left Truro on Sunday morning. Several people told us to make certain to stop at the Masstown market so that is where we headed. They have a lighthouse there. Actually it is a café and not a lighthouse but it is fun. 

We could not believe how crowded it was, parking was at a premium. We did find a place to park and we soon learned why it was and is so popular. It is like a giant super market and Farmers market all rolled into one.

I could not believe my eyes when I discovered that they had WILD Nova Scotia blueberries for sale. What memories they brought back!! They are so incredibly tasty, much nicer that the cultivated highbush berries.Of course I had to buy a quart.They would be part of breakfast for the next several days.

Next we headed for Nappan and the farm of friends; Diane and Victor Bacon.

 We spent the next three days there being treated like royalty and remembering happy times. We even learned a new card game.

On Wednesday morning we headed for Fundy National Park