A little Engine that Could

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Back on terra firma I realized I was hungry. A pizza place across from the wharf seemed like a quick solution. The pizza was good but it was the 2nd most expensive pizza I’ve ever had. The most expensive was in Honolulu, Hawaii.  But this was 2 slices and a soft drink…$10.00 +. So if you enjoy a slice at Bill’s Pizza expect it to cost you.

So pizza break under my belt I retrieved the car and headed out to find Fore St. I was looking for Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. I found Fore Street but I couldn’t seem to find the museum. Up and down the street I went then I spotted it. It was just a little sign and it looked like a kind of beat up neighborhood. I followed the signs as the pot-holed driveway wound between run down commercial buildings. I finally pulled into a dirt parking lot that seemed to be the end of the road.

A train sat on the tracks next to the parking lot, the engineer  leaning out of the cab talking to another man. I trotted over and asked if I had found the museum. Assured that I was in the right place the engineer said this was the last run of the day and directed me to the museum to purchase a ticket to ride.

The museum was located in another beat up commercial building. I grabbed a ticket and climbed aboard.

The open air car I was in had wooden benches that ran the length of the car. You sat facing out of the windows on the side of the car. I didn’t have long to wait before the “All aboard” sounded and the train began to move.

The conductor came around to punch our tickets explaining to the children how each conductor had their own punch so you could tell who the conductor was on a run by the shape of the hole in the ticket.

Once all of the tickets were punched we were told a little bit about the railroad. Our conductor was a retired history teacher so he loved this part of the trip when he could  teach again.

The railroad is a “narrow gauge” railroad. All of the cars they have were purchased from Edaville Railroad when it shut down at one time. Edaville is in Carver, MA right near where I live  and almost closed last year  (again) but thankfully it was resurrected  and some real changes are being made. But Edaville has had an up and down history and during one of the down points much of their “rolling stock” was sold off. It seems that this little railroad in Maine  was the beneficiary of Edaville’s misfortune.

The trip took us along Casco Bay, past lovely parks and into a more disreputable section where we came to a stop and everyone piled out. A man was walking his dog but other than that there was nothing here.

The bridge ahead was unsafe so the trip stops there.

A high point of the stop was the osprey nest on top of the bridge supports. There were 3 osprey perched there watching us watch them.

After the brief stop they loaded us back on the train and back we went to the rail yard.

I took a few minutes to explore the little museum.

There were full-sized rail cars, trunks, signal lights and miniature trains, all things train related. A railfan would love this place. The train even had  the “little red caboose”.

As it was time for them to close up, I wrapped up  my visit. I still had to figure out how to get back out of there.

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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