Pemaquid Point

After we headed north from Freeport we made a decent detour so that we could stop by what we had been told was a beautiful lighthouse at Pemaquid Point.

Commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1827, this Maine lighthouse has the Fisherman’s Museum on the first floor in the Keepers House, and there is the possibility of renting the apartment on the second floor. The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park is located at the entrance to Muscongus Bay and Johns Bay, in the town of Bristol. The Town of Bristol purchased the park property from the Coast Guard in 1940 with the exception of the light tower. Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park is managed by the Bristol Parks Commission.
--from Visit Maine website

While we arrived just as the park itself opened the lighthouse is operated independently by a group of volunteers and opened later, so we had a while to wander the grounds (which definitely wasn't time wasted).

We saw some good Lupine flowers not too far from the parking lot.  During our time in Maine these became some of my favorite flowers.

Don't worry, this isn't the lighthouse.  This is a bell house built in 1897 to house the fog bell.

Walking beyond the lighthouse you get to a series of rocks before the ocean.

 The view was absolutely spectacular and I couldn't stop taking pictures.

 This was actually a 360º photograph that I took as I was taking in the view and thinking of how best to remember it later.

 The waves kept crashing and splashing against the rocks and further enhancing the view.

 From below the lighthouse looked especially picturesque.

 More waves just begged for pictures.

 The rocks were so intriguing to look at with their long cracks, pools, and tiny plants growing at certain points.

While still waiting for the lighthouse to open we visited the Fishermen's Museum in the building at the base of the lighthouse.

 This lighthouse light makes it look like the light inside is very large.

 But when you take a peek inside you can see that it is relatively small.

Do you know how a lobster trap works?

A handy sheet of paper explained the intricacies of the trap.  Though when I read The Lobster Coast after our visit to Maine I learned that nobody actually knows why the lobsters wander into traps in some areas and not in others.

The rooms of the museum were very full with many different things to see.

Outside I got a few more pictures of the ocean.

Of the rocks.

Of unusual patterns in the rocks.

We even saw a sailboat just off the shore.

Finally we got back to the lighthouse and waited just a few more minutes for the volunteer to arrive so that it could open.

The stairs were narrow, but nothing compared to climbing the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston.

At the top the views were great.

 I got a close-up view of the light.

 The coast looked great from atop the lighthouse.

 So many people were waiting that we couldn't take too long.  Before too long we headed back down the stairs.

Once we got everyone loaded up in the car we headed north towards our next destination, the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Fort Knox.  All of the pictures from Pemaquid Point can be found in this album.

~Matt

Nubble Point

We knew that we wanted to see lighthouses in Maine and Nubble Point is one of the first ones that you can see.  It also happens to be right next to a restaurant where lobster rolls are sold, and we wanted to try one, so we figured we could kill two birds with one stone at this stop.

According to the Town of York's website the lighthouse (officially named the Cape Neddick Light Station) was completed in the summer of 1874.  It was manned by the Lighthouse Service until the Coast Guard took control in 1939.  Then the last keepers left in 1987 when the light became fully automated.  Finally in 1997 the site was granted to York to preserve and protect its heritage.  The municipality then developed the park that sits on the mainland just opposite the island and provides a great view of the lighthouse.

The parking lot is quite small, but thankfully we were able to find a parking space.

It was a great season to see flowers.

 The lighthouse is amazingly picturesque, sitting just off the coast.  On this day the bits of blue sky provided some nice contrast with the clouds.

 The park land was apparently donated almost a hundred years ago.

 I managed to capture this gull mid-flight after it jumped off the rock.

 The rocky coast of Maine is truly beautiful.

 From this angle you can see the poles on the mainland.  Apparently there was a line running out to the island to which a basket was attached, and according to the park's website "[a]round 1967, Coast Guard keeper David Winchester put his two children in the bucket each morning to send them on their way to school."

 This panoramic view gives you a good idea of what the shore looks like.

 The park also includes a small gift shop/visitor center.

 The inside isn't large, but they have some cool products.  We ended up buying a really nice pint glass to add to our collection.

If you're driving into Maine and can find a parking space it is worth your time to stop and enjoy a view of the lighthouse.  You can see all of the pictures in the album here.

~Matt