Built to serve

Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea, and on its outer point, some miles away, the lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, a pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.   ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We are leaving the Portland area in a few days and have been working out our travel plans.  There are lighthouses all along the coast that we would still like to see, but we also want to spend time in both Bar Harbor and Bangor.  To work out the logistics, we decided to take a daytrip today to see the lighthouses in and around Rockland, Maine, about two hours north of Portland.

This is Owls Head Lighthouse.  It is located in Owls Head State Park outside of Owls Head, Maine.  The city got its name not from an extraordinarily large amount of owls that inhabit the area, but because the promontory the lighthouse sets atop looks like an owl's head when seen from the water.  The lighthouse sets at the top of an 80-foot bluff overlooking Penobscot Bay.  The lighthouse is 30-feet tall and was built in 1825.  

Left, another view of the lighthouse; bottom right, view of Penobscot Bay;
top right, the grave of Spot, the lighthouse dog.

The small picture is of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse.  The lighthouse sets nearly a mile out in the ocean.  To reach the lighthouse, one must walk 4,364 feet over stacked granite stones.  A total of 768,774 tons of stone went into this breakwater.  The plan for the breakwater was approved in 1890 and completed in 1899.  After a few severe storms, it was determined the height of the breakwater needed to be increased.  A four-foot-high cap was added in 1901.

Consort and I, and the wee mangy mongrels, walked the 7/8ths of a mile to reach the lighthouse.  It was an easy walk compared with the breakwater at Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse.  At Spring Point Ledge, there were pretty large gaps between the stones.  At Rockland Breakwater, the stones were pushed tightly together.  The breakwater at Spring Point Ledge is 900 feet long; Rockland Breakwater is nearly five times longer.

About three-fourths of the way out to the lighthouse, waves began washing over the breakwater stones.  Consort and I were not sure whether this was normal and thought maybe the tide was coming in.  We were nearly to the lighthouse and so decided to continue to wade through the water to reach our destination.  We were amused by the novelty of the situation.  If it was the tide coming in, it continued to come in as we spent time perusing the lighthouse.  As we walked back to the shore, there were places where the water washing over the breakwater was about a foot deep.  The short video clip should give you a visual of what we encountered.

The walk out to the lighthouse

 

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in the harbor of Rockland, Maine

Marshall Point Lighthouse,  Port Clyde, Maine, built 1832

Marshall Point Lighthouse was featured in the movie Forrest Gump.  Tom Hanks, who played the main character Forrest, concludes his cross-country run at Marshall Point Lighthouse.  

There was a little kid with his dad at the lighthouse waiting for a photo op.  He was about ten years old and had a large collection of Funko POP! movie characters.  He brought his Forrest Gump character on the family vacay and insisted they stop at the lighthouse for a picture.  He was an interesting little guy.

There was another ten-year-old boy who kept me company as I walked out the breakwater to the Rockland lighthouse.  We had an in-depth discussion about Minecraft, Fortnite, and the new Mario Brothers only for Nintendo Switch.  Sighhh, I really miss my grandsons!

Marshall Point Lighthouse

More beautiful houses

The rocks! They're beautiful!  We've decided they are granite

Seagulls and cormorants

Notes from the day.

*We did not stop for seafood today.  I thought it best to give consort a break from all the strange foods I've insisted he try.  

*We saw quite a few signs advertising, "Lawn Sales."  No yard sales, no garage sales.  New Englanders take care of business on the lawn.

*Most of the streets going through downtown business areas in these towns and cities are named Maine Street.  Love!

*We saw a sign placed at an intersection while we were waiting at a stoplight.  It was advertising a bean supper the Odd Fellows were hosting in one of the towns we drove through.  What made the sign so unusual was that it said the bean supper would be a drive-thru supper.  I think that gives a whole new meaning to the expression, Gas and Go.