Maine is known for their lighthouses, or as the locals say – lights, so we drove to ‘Two Lights’. We could only find one light but that was okay. Most times when you think of a lighthouse, you picture in your mind a tall structure with a light at the top. We were surprised to see lighthouses that were on top of buildings and not very high at all. We climbed around the rocks which to us looked like petrified wood. But what do we know about geology. It was getting dark so we headed back to Scarborough and did a little shopping for our whale watching trip.

We got a call early the next morning from the whale watching tour operator saying the tour was cancelled due to weather. We looked outside and it was raining and raining hard. Talk about disappointment. Now what? We ate breakfast at IHOP (duh) then headed north. We stopped in Freeport – a big outlet store shopping area – and went to LL Bean, The North Face and a couple other places. The rain wasn’t letting up. You could tell who was a tourist and who was a local. Locals had the right gear for the weather. Tourists were getting soaking wet with their tennis shoes and little umbrellas.

Boothbay was the next stop. We drove down the peninsula to South Island. Despite the rain we got out of the car and walked to the dock. A woman and a man were launching a dinghy. She told us they were celebrating its first launch. She even had a bottle of champagne. They didn’t seem to mind the rain one single bit.

After we left there we drove to Damariscotta. How do you say that anyway? We stopped at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and explored the area. Then it was on to Rockland and Owl’s Head Light. The fog was heavy so the foghorn was blowing. There was a warning at the bottom of the stairs saying stay away 100 feet if the horn was blowing. We ignored that warning and went on up. It was LOUD but we had a good view of the fog :-)  We noticed that a couple was visiting the same lighthouses as us and I guess they noticed us too. They told us they were on their honeymoon and their goal was to see all the lighthouses in Maine and the edge of Canada. What a way to spend your honeymoon.

We left the Light and went to Rockland marina to check out the Windjammers. Talk about cool boats. We hope to do a Windjammer cruise someday. While on the dock we saw a seagull eating what looked like a baby shark. Yuck! We didn’t get too close.

We had dinner at ‘The Landing’ restaurant and wished we had eaten somewhere else. It’s not that the food was bad. Our taste buds had something else in mind but it was a long way back to Portland and we were tired and hungry. We had planned on going out in Portland that evening to check out the nightlife but by the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and ate breakfast at – you guessed it – IHOP. It was very, very foggy outside but we went to Portland Head Light anyway. We could barely make out the lighthouse as we made our way up the path. It was Memorial Day and there was a guy playing the bagpipes. Pretty but sad music. We took a few pictures of the lighthouse and hoped they would come out okay. See the picture on this page to get an idea of how foggy it was.

Later we went into Portland. We walked around the marina (Long Wharf) and along the cobblestone streets. It was sort of what we had in mind for an East Coast town but not quite. I think we need to visit Cape Cod to get that New England village feeling.

We ate lunch at a place called Gritty McDuff’s. Check it out if you’re in Portland. After lunch it was time to turn the car in and catch our flight back home. Despite all the rain we still had a great trip.

Pemaquid Point Light

Carol at Long Wharf in Portland

Coastline along Marginal Way

Owl's Head Light

Two Lights (we only saw one)

The Lobster Man

Pemaquid Point Light view from the shore

Sarah and the Atlantic Ocean

Portland Head Light (talk about foggy)

Windjammers in Rockland