Category Archives: lighthouses

Sohier Park

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I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do . I had it in my head to spend a whole day in York, Me., go to  York’s Wild Kingdom during the day and then to the lighthouse at night but as I drove around Portland I found I kept getting all twisted around. I finally decided to drive back to York and get the lighthouse pictures now so I would have more flexibility the rest of my visit.

On the way back I stopped at a roadside fish market. They had the section where the sold the fish and around to the side was a window where you could order cooked seafood.

There were picnic tables where you could sit and eat. I decided this was the place to try out for dinner, Tom’s Fried Clams.

I bet you can’t guess what I what I ordered? Yup, scallops. It isn’t getting old yet. These were good but a bit different. The portion was huge. I couldn’t finish it. Believe me I tried because scallops are too special to waste. They came with french fries but they could have kept those in the kitchen. I was too full to enjoy them. I didn’t even get an ice cream!

Tummy filled it was time to work my way over to the lighthouse.

Christmas in July is always the kickoff for the annual  York Days Celebration. The “Nubble” Lighthouse is outlined in white lights. The event is held in Sohier Park. It didn’t occur to me to that this might mean more than just Christmas lights.

I headed over early in hopes of finding parking and was surprised to find myself in a traffic jam as I approached the park.

Eventually I arrived and lucked out when a parked car backed out right in front of me opening up a parking spot. Once out of the car it became clear why it was so packed. There was a concert in the park. What I could hear was excellent but unless you were right near the performers the music was drowned out by the pounding surf.

I started wandering around the rocks trying to scope out spots to set up.

I was hoping to get a slightly different angle but it soon became clear why all of the photos I’ve seen of the light are the same. There are utility lines that block a clear view of the light. Because of that everyone gravitates to the same area for pictures.

I saw scuba divers heading into the water. Boy does that take me back. I dove these same waters 30 years ago. Watching them made me miss it. Maybe someday I’ll re-certify.

With several hours to wait for dark I amused myself taking pictures of the surf and the gulls. I wasn’t the only one.

The Summit

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Because of the time and because we were thirsty and hungry at this point, we skipped  some of the scenic turn offs after the Bubble Rock adventure and just headed for the summit. I can’t say we made a Bee line because the road was still quite twisty as it wound around the mountain.

The views were amazing. It’s easy to see why this is a National park.

Finally turning the last corner we saw the parking area for the summit of Cadillac Mountain. It  really is a “bald” summit. There’s no tree cover to speak of,  just a cap of rocks.

The snack bar had some ice cream and snack foods like nuts and power bars and some local treats like blueberry candy but no real food. Not even hot dogs.  It did have restrooms however and that was almost as much of a priority at this point as food.

I bought a fruit drink and a water  and met JR at the car. We took out the cooler and found a rock to sit on while we had out “makeshift” lunch. My left over french toast was coming in handy. It wasn’t bad cold.

Properly refreshed we wandered over the rocks taking in the magnificent views of Frenchman’s Bay.

With virtually no shade, staying on the summit for the rest of the day in the hot sun wasn’t an option. We decided to move on and return for a sunset visit.

When we planned the trip I said I wanted to see the lighthouses. JR said they were all in the park. Now he spread a map out and only one lighthouse showed up. So with JR navigating and me driving we set off back down the mountain the see if we could find this one lighthouse.

Pretty soon we had crossed out of the park and were passing through little towns and rural fields. Eventually we reached Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.

We were able to walk right down to it but didn’t see any paths or trails around it. Since I have been back I have learned that there is a trail to the rocks below.  The pictures I had seen of this light were all taken from out to sea. If I ever get back to that area again I will have to look into that.

Having found the lighthouse we could put a “mission accomplished ” stamp on that part of the trip.

Time to head back to the motel and grab a quick shower before we headed out for dinner.

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Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

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I am so excited I just have to share this news! In my part of the world one of the biggest newspapers is the  Boston Globe. I like the “Globe” and browsing the Sunday Travel Section recently I saw a new feature called “The Sight”. Apparently this alternates with “The Rave”.  “The Sight” is a reader submitted photo of something seen or experienced on a trip. “The Rave” is a 150 word story about an experience on a trip.

I thought it over and decided to submit a picture to “The Sight”. At first I was disappointed because all of the pictures being published were from exotic places, not the good old USA. I figured my little picture didn’t have much chance if they wanted foreign travel.

Well, just as I had given up an email came in confirming who took the picture and where the photographer lived. That was easy. Me and Taunton Ma.

Bingo. I got a response right back thanking me and telling me my picture will run in the Travel section of this Sunday’s Globe. WOW! My feet have not hit the ground since.

I know not everyone is from  here so I’m including the picture right here. You may recognize it as a cropped picture of the lighthouse that currently graces the header of this blog. It’s the North Lighthouse on Block Island.

So I guess I can now add that I had a photo published by the “Globe” to my photo credits. 🙂

And that’s enough bragging for one day!

Fog, a Lighthouse and Seals

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The Captain raised the anchor and turned our little vessel into the wind for the last leg of our 3 hour tour. There wasn’t much to see except grey, choppy seas and fog. The naturalist said we were about an hour out from Egg Rock Island, our next destination.

Hmmmm an hour and heading into the wind with wet clothes??? Not a good idea. I could see hypothermia being a problem so even though I didn’t want to go into the cabin I didn’t have much choice. I took a seat way up front by the “snack bar” (I use that term loosely) which also happened to be where the heater was located. The sick folks were all huddled in the back. Oh I have been there and done that. I know how miserable they were feeling.

I was almost dried out and semi warm when one of the few children still mobile popped into the cabin too. He felt that heat and glued himself to the grate effectively blocking the heat for anyone else in the room but at least he was warm and he is a child…women and children first and all..I took the high road and kept my mouth shut. If someone else wanted to tell him to move they could but it wasn’t going to be me. 🙂

In spite of the situation, once I warmed up the hour passed fairly quickly. I chatted with the Naturalist about the type of seals and tried to avoid looking in the back.  Eventually the Naturalist went outside. When he came back he announced that Egg Rock Island was in sight. Time to go back into the wind, spray, fog and cold.

Egg Rock Island is a big nesting site for many types of sea gulls. Its pretty flat and open without much cover. Consequently it is like an all you can eat buffet for passing eagles.

Our guide told me that last year there were so many eagles that not one sea-gull chick survived from that nesting season. They were all eaten by eagles. He said sometimes it was really hard to watch. Nature is beautiful but also cruel. Every creature is just struggling to survive. We didn’t see any eagles today  but judging from the number of gulls soaring over and around the island losing one season of chicks didn’t put much strain on the population.

As we came closer to the island we could see what looked like grey boulders only they moved. These were the seals of Egg Rock. The Island is a major haul out for Northern Grey seals and harbor seals.

We didn’t stop here, just slowly motored past then it was back to the harbor.

As we entered the outer harbor the sea changed again. Here the fog rolled back and the sun was out.

We passed a beautiful island with a cliff face.

Our guide said that the Navy used it for target practice. The “subs” used to come into the harbor and shoot torpedos at the cliff face where it dropped into the water.

Looking back I could see the line of demarcation between the foggy sea and the sunny inner harbor.

Back at the dock I let the sufferers off first. I enjoyed the trip. I doubt if the weather is always this bad but if anyone else plans to take this tour I recommend taking extra sweatshirts and even oilskins or rain gear…and of course your medication of choice for seasickness. You may have blue skies and fair sailing but you never know and it’s better to be prepared.