Monday, May 5, 2025

Y is for Yet another post about Maine, Day 5

 We recently took a family trip to Maine, and I am chronicling our travels here. Today's report is from our fifth day of the trip.

The paddle in the foreground was Ward's.

The morning was cold, but not too cold for Ward to go rowing with my brother-in-law's rowing crew. The rain had finally stopped, but the first order of business for the row was bailing out the boats - they were kept upright on their trailers. They rowed for an hour or so, and Ward thoroughly enjoyed it. He was rower number three in a six-man crew with a seventh as coxswain, and he said it was a good workout. If we lived nearer to water, he might look for a crew to join.

The day was sunny with mild temperatures, so we set off again to see some sights. We decided on Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. The lighthouse and museum were not open yet for the season, but it was an interesting place to explore nonetheless. 

Portland Head Light was commissioned by George Washington and completed in 1781, and the current keeper's house was built in 1891. The lighthouse became automated in 1989, and the Coast Guard maintains its signals today.

The lighthouse is located in Fort Williams Park. This is one of the remaining structures of Fort Williams. The Fort was active from 1872 to 1964, and the Army eventually sold it to the town of Cape Elizabeth, which turned it into a park.

Also located in the park were the remains of the Goddard mansion. The mansion was completed in 1858 for John Goddard and was part of a hotel complex he built. Eventually, it became part of the fort and was used for housing enlisted men.


While we found the buildings interesting, we really enjoyed walking along the rocky shoreline.

That evening, Wally and Theo treated everyone to an Indian dinner. A good choice that everyone liked.

Until next time...



6 comments:

  1. Rowing sounds really fun. I think I'd worry that I couldn't keep up with more experienced rowers, though.

    What a gorgeous picture of Portland Head. Wandering around the shoreline would have kept my family busy for hours. Did you find any interesting rocks? I teased my husband about weighing down our vehicle with his rock finds when we traveled by Lake Superior last fall.

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    1. Ward's in good shape with good core strength, so he did pretty well. Apparently, he caught onto feathering quickly, which usually takes a few practices to get. I was happy to stay in the warm house while they were out at 6:30 am in the cold.
      If you only knew how many rocks we have in our basement, let along the big rock pile we have outside. I try not to collect any more unless they are unique. Or fossils. It's hard for me to resist a fossil, but Maine is not a fossil hunting place. Now that I think about it, we have gone mineral hunting there before.

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  2. What a beautiful place, and so much history too.

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    1. Maine is a beautiful. This part of Maine is the port closest to Europe, so it has been important in both good times and bad for our country for a very long time.

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  3. Maine sounds like a lovely place to visit. I once read a novel set in Maine (back when I was in Sri Lanka) and wanted to visit it, but, haven't done so yet.

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    1. Maine is far away from CA, so it would be a far visit for you. Do you remember the name of the novel you read?

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What do you think?