Category Archives: Travel

Portland by Sea

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I chose a good cruise. One of the passengers on the trolley said that I should make sure to sit on the right side (starboard side)  facing the bow if I wanted to get good shots of the lighthouses. I kept that in mind as we boarded. Guess what the ship is called…The Islander! That’s the same name of the boat that I was on for the Puffin Cruise in Bar Harbor!

I climbed to the upper deck  seating myself about mid-way back. (Is that called mid-ship?) It was tricky because the benches were not bolted to the deck. Everyone had a tendency to put their hand on the seat back for balance and were caught off guard when the bench moved!

I didn’t miss any lighthouses by taking the afternoon cruise. We saw plenty including Portland Head Light, Spring Point Ledge Light, Portland Breakwater Light and Ram Island Ledge Light.

They told us the history of the forts that line the bay and the breakwater that was built to protect the pipeline to Canada.

History and folk-lore was sprinkled throughout the cruise. The day was beautiful. One of our last places to visit was a tiny rocky island ( I use the term island loosely) where the harbor seals like to haul out and sun themselves.

The island was loaded with seals, seals on the land,  seals in the water and then something I’ve never seen before, a seal jumped in a graceful arc looking so much like a dolphin that there was a collective gasp. Then every one of us began to bemoan the fact that none of us had the camera ready,( and there were lots of cameras)  it was so unexpected.

Too soon we were heading back to the dock. It was a great time. But I still had more of the afternoon and I knew just what I wanted to do.

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Portland by Land

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Maine is a really beautiful state. I’ve read about Portland in many travel magazines and had good intentions of taking the Down’easter from Boston to spend the day. Of course it’s one of those things still on my bucket list. So finding myself staying in the Super 8 on the Portland Line I decided that the city deserved at least one day to see what it’s all about.

Based on the directions the desk clerk gave me the previous night I figured asking more directions was useless. “Right down the road”  and “just a little way” weren’t very helpful. The just a little way was over 3 miles! I guess I’ve gotten away from my rural roots.

Anyway with the help of my trusty GPS I managed to navigate the street maze down to the waterfront. I found a parking lot that was pretty reasonable where I could pay hourly or have a discount by paying for the whole day. I took the day option and handed over a $10.00. I found a spot to park in the lot that was right on the waterfront. I recognized the spot as one I’d seen in an article about Portland.

I snapped some pictures and wandered back to the main street. There was a trolley tour right nearby and those of you who have followed my blog for any length of time know I always take the trolley tours. They are a great way to get familiar with an area.

Known as the “Discovery”  trolley you can take a land tour or opt for a land and sea combo ticket. That was my choice. More on the sea  later.

The Land part of the sightseeing  is a 90 minute narrated tour and we had a wonderful driver/guide. She was humorous without being forced and had a wealth of knowledge about the city.

The tour took us by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s childhood home, a stop at Portland Head Light, and loads of other landmarks.

The city of Portland is like a Phoenix, it keeps rising from the ashes. The driver pointed out where time after time the city burned and then was rebuilt. We drove slowly by beautiful stately homes, mansions if you will and a park with views of Portland Harbor.

Back at the trolley stop I picked up a hot dog from a street vendor. I had a choice…red or brown! I was puzzled and must have shown it because the vendor quickly told me I would prefer the “brown”. Sure enough, that was the kind of hot dog I was expecting. She showed me the red ones. I don’t know if they taste different but the casing was definitely red!

My snack out of the way I shopped a little in one of the gift shops picking up a sweatshirt to wear on the boat then headed to the boarding section of the dock. There were several options for the “Sea” part of the combo. One was a harbor cruise in the afternoon, my choice, and the other option was the Sunset Lighthouse cruise which sounded nice but I didn’t want to be hanging around all afternoon. There was too much to see.

While I waited I made the acquaintance  of a “Crusty” native Mainer and some of his friends.

If you take the lobster boat cruise you get to pull your own traps and then take your catch to dinner. The restaurant next door will steam them up for you.

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The “Nubble”

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Around 8:30 pm we could begin to see the lights glowing on the lighthouse. I’m not sure when they came on. It was too light to notice them before then.

For the next hour while it got darker and darker I worked to get that special shot.

Finally when it was almost too dark to see the rocks under foot I packed up and headed back to Portland and bed..Here’s the result. It was a fun challenge.

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.

A Murphy’s Law kind of day

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Well here I am heading back up north to Maine. Twice in one season! Actually this trip was planned before JR suggested we go to Bar Harbor and Acadia. This trip is a totally “working” vacation. By that I mean I am heading  north to take photos that I hope will be good enough to sell.

Twice each year the lighthouse at Cape Neddick is adorned with white lights, outlining the houses and tower. The first event is known as “Christmas in July” and the second is the Annual Lighting of the Nubble at Christmas time in December. When I heard about that I thought WOW…that would be really cool to take pictures of and it will be a lot nicer in July than December with the cold winds blowing off the ocean. You see, I am a wimpy photographer. I wonder if there’d be a market for “Diary of a Wimpy Photographer”? Just joking.

Another iconic lighthouse that I keep hearing about is Pemaquid Lighthouse so I thought I could set up a little trip that would let me take in both locations.

I checked mapquest for locations of each  lighthouse and of course, they are nowhere near each other . I decided to compromise by staying in a location mid way between the two…Portland.

A search of motels through Hotels .com snagged me a good deal at the Super 8 in Westbrook, a suburb of Portland. This was all done weeks before I planned to go so the motel was all paid for. I only had to worry about gas, meals and any extras I might want to do.

It seemed like everything that could go wrong did on the morning of my departure. I finally threw my hands in the air and said I’m done, I’m out of here. So what if the kitchen floor didn’t get mopped . It will still be there when I get home. I put all my stuff from my messy desk in a pile, tossed some treats to the cats and ran before I got side tracked with something more that screamed for my attention.

As I went out the door I realized I didn’t have the power cord for my laptop and the battery was dead…see what I mean? The power cord was at the office in Plymouth so I decided to detour to the office and then head up RT 3 through Boston to pick up RT 95 N. On the way I would stop at Ritz Camera in Hingham (It’s right off one of the exits on RT 3) and pick up some pictures I’d ordered so I wouldn’t have to stop there when I came home.

Well the power cord was quick enough. I got in and out with minimal explanation and in less than 10 minutes. Next stop Ritz Camera.

Now you have to understand that I love the Ritz Camera Store in Hingham. I think every one of the people who work there are great and I recommend them every chance I get. I can see huge improvements in my pictures with their guidance and support so I am not being critical when I tell you what happened next. I share this only as an example of how my day was going.

First I had a terrible time finding a parking spot. The store is in a mall but it felt like the whole mall was slammed. When I got into the store it was wall to wall with people. All of the picture kiosks were taken and every associate was helping customers. They all waved but they are used to me “hanging out” so there was no urgency on their part to get to me. Besides , I should wait my turn. Finally one  person broke free long enough to ask me if I wanted help. While they were looking for the pictures I ordered  another associate called out that they weren’t ready. Could I wait an hour? They were really backed up!

I told them no I was leaving for Maine and I’d get them on the way back. Well now everyone wanted to know where in Maine, what pictures did I plan to take and so on. I finally got out and back on the road. The pictures will be waiting for me on my return but guess what…a fender bender had traffic at a stand- still and I wasn’t even in Boston!

Eventually I got through the traffic jam and maybe since traffic was so slow south of the city, it made for pretty clear sailing through Boston proper. I made good time the rest of the way arriving in Portland about an hour after I planned, 3pm instead of 2pm. Not bad considering.

The Super 8 was right off the highway. Perfect! The desk clerk was really nice and friendly. The motel was undergoing some renovation but they still had a pool, offered a continental breakfast and had fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies right there when I came in! Fresh coffee was brewing all day.

The room was nice too. It was fairly large with a king sized bed right at the end of the hall so it was pretty quiet. Only one other room near me.

I picked up some maps of the area tossed my suitcase down, grabbed the camera  and headed out to explore a little and find someplace for dinner. My “working” vacation was officially underway.