NEW ENGLAND BLOG September 25th, 2023 - PORTLAND, ME

 

9/25/23– Got some much needed sleep to make up for the drive up here. I feel refreshed, coffee’d up and ready to get the day started.

I peak at the weather as it shows partly cloudy skies around noon, so we allow ourselves plenty of time to settle before heading out to the lighthouses. It takes 26 minutes to arrive at the Two Lights Lighthouses, which we park farther down at On The Rocks restaurant to get a nice view from a distance. The light house is not accessible to the public so this is the next best thing with free parking.

What a way to start as the blue skies are out with the waves crashing over the rocks providing a perfect setting. The wind is also light enough to not feel too cold while close to the water.

Next up is Portland Head Light. The parking fee is $5 for 2 hours, which seems plenty of time to explore, and the view of the lighthouse is quite awesome. This is what I imagined when coming to Portland. I waste no time in jumping over the fence and climb down to the shoreline to get some pictures, much to my wife’s amusement. As I come back, she tells me several people were talking about how cool I looked jumping from boulder to boulder trying to find the perfect spot.

We walk the path to get a close up view and find a small museum (which we didn’t go into due to it being very overcrowded) and a small gift shop. However, it’s on the other side of the lighthouse where we find the best view (one that we almost missed as we thought about heading back toward the car).

On our way out we see an abandoned mansion and park nearby to explore. The Goddard Mansion was completed in 1858 for a wealthy lumber businessman and later used as military housing for married enlisted men in 1898. It’s in ruins today so not much to see other than a view of the outside.

We then drive about 10 minutes to Spring Point Ledge. There isn’t any parking, other than for staff, and figure since it’s after 4pm that it won’t be an issue. Luckily the lighthouse isn’t too far away, but we do have to trek over a long road of rocks to get to the base. It takes some maneuvering but we make it without slipping or falling.

Feeling hungry, we get some sub sandwiches and take them to Breakwater Lighthouse at Bug Light Park. Again parking is free with a pleasant stroll around, although we do put on our jackets this time as the wind is picking up. We get our photos and wait another half hour for the sun to set hoping for an iconic shot. Unfortunately, the cloud cover is a bit much, but am able to get a decent sunset view over the city.

What an excellent and fun filled time. We laughed, we loved and held each other’s hand seemingly all day. The only issue we had was noticing a rattling sound under our car which concerns me a bit. Will have to contact a Toyota dealership tomorrow to check it out, and get an oil change while I’m at it.

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