Portland, Maine

This is Breakwater Lighthouse on the coast at Portland, Maine.  It was built in 1875 and is considered one of Maine's most elegant lighthouses because of the architecture; it was modeled after an ancient Greek monument.  It has been nicknamed Bug Light due to its small size.  It is the smallest lighthouse in Maine.

We left New Hampshire this morning and headed southeast, then north to Maine.  On our way out of New Hampshire, we stopped at Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls where we picked up New Hampshire's iconic regional food:  Apple cider donuts.  The donuts were really good with a strong apple cider flavor.  Applecrest is a working farm growing a variety of vegetables that they sell in their store.  There is an incredible bakery onsite that made the whole store a Disneyland for the nose.  There were apples, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries that can be purchased fresh or in pies and breads, muffins and scones, or jams and jellies, just to name a few of the savory items for sale.  If you are so inclined, you may go out into the fields and pick your own fruits and vegetables.  If you're someone who doesn't care to exert his or herself, you can purchase the fresh produce already harvested in the store.  I have always wanted to go blueberry picking, but we were pressed for time this morning and ended up buying a quart of "already picked" blueberries in the store.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)  The blueberries are some of the best I've ever eaten.

Even the vegetables are interesting here!

The iconic regional food for Maine is the Lobster Roll.  

We were glad we tried it, but it was definitely a "one and done."

We are anchored about four miles outside of Portland at the Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough, Maine.  There is a lot in the southeastern corner of Maine that we'd like to see, so we're going to stay put for a couple of weeks.  

We have traveled through Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine in the last seven days.  We've seen a lot, and possibly eaten even more, thanks to the iconic food bender.  We were only in Pennsylvania for about five minutes.  I didn't even know we'd passed through until consort pointed it out.  We plan to spend a little more time in both Ohio and Pennsylvania when we leave Maine.  New York was beautiful, but has outrageous tolls.  We paid $45 for the privilege of using their turnpike.  

Vermont was eye-poppingly beautiful.  However, we made an astronomical mistake in our choice of routes crossing Vermont; we chose the scenic drive through the mountains.  If you were in a little car, especially a convertible, the drive would be lovely with knockout views -- even before the leaves change colors.  We were, of course, in the Ford F350 dually pulling a 40-foot fifth wheel.  At 35 miles an hour over mountains and through small, quaint towns, we truly saw beauty, but we were not enjoying our scenic drive.  At the earliest possible moment, we exited the scenic route and went back to the main highways.

There haven't been a lot of things in my life that I have felt I must see or do.  I'm a pretty simplistic, stay-at-home kind of gal.  (I guess that's why I had to bring my house with me while traveling.)  Coming to Maine has been a lifelong dream for me, and I've just got to say thank you to Consort for making it all happen.  He has been making my dreams come true ever since he asked me to marry him almost 40 years ago.  He is my cherished soulmate.  

Possibly my next home, but only if I can get one of my two Navy brothers to captain the boat.
Consort and I would be much too busy sunbathing and enjoying adult beverages.

Signage as you enter the state of Maine:
Maine, welcome home! The way life should be.