Fortieth Lighthouse Expedition

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October 10 - 17, 2002 -- Maine with U.S. Lighthouse Society

We were very excited to once again travel to Maine. This was our third trip to this beautiful state. It was on our second trip in 1986 with our children, David & Andrea (who were teenagers at the time) that we were infected by the lighthouse "bug." That trip can be found on the web site as The Maiden Journey. Since we are often asked how we got interested in lighthouses, you may enjoy reading "how it all began." On this, our Fortieth Trip, we revisited several lighthouses from the 1986 trip. However, we have found that with the ever increasing interest in this subject, many lighthouses are enjoying the tender loving care of renovation. After sixteen years we were truly excited to once again visit the lights we had seen before and looked forward to the new ones on this trip. ~ Don & Diana Carter

October 10, 2002, Thursday

7:10 am

We left home, it was very foggy!

8:40 am

Crossed the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. It was still very foggy and we really couldn't see much.

11:55 am

We crossed the Peace Bridge from Niagara Falls, Canada to Buffalo, NY. We were fortunate at both crossings and were not delayed.

12:45 pm

Stopped for lunch at a Burger King.

1:20 pm

Back on the NY Thruway.

5:00 pm

Arrived at the Red Roof Inn in Albany, NY.

6:00 pm

We walked next door to the Olive Garden for dinner.

October 11, 2002, Friday

8:25 am

We left the Red Roof Inn in Albany, NY.

9:10 am

Crossed the NY/VT state line. We were very disappointed that the fall color change was so late this year. We saw very little in the way of fall color.

9:20 am

Stopped at a FULL SERVICE gas station in Bennington, VT. It's been a long time since we've had that kind of service, and it was still the cheapest gas in town!

9:55 am

Stopped for breakfast and snacks in Wilmington, VT. Shortly after, we stopped on the top of Hog Back Mountain to take a picture.

10:45 am

We stopped at a gift shop in Brattleboro, VT. We wanted to take pure Vermont Maple Syrup home to family and friends.

10:55 am

We crossed the VT/NH state line. We saw just a spattering of tree color.

12:35 pm

Stopped just east of Concord, NY at Mr. Mike's Deli for some sandwiches for lunch and left about 12:55.

1:35 pm

We crossed the NH/ME state line.

2:20 pm

Arrived at the Lighthouse Depot store in Wells, ME. It was nice to see the place where we have sent so much money to their catalogue department! Much to our surprise, Dave Snyder from the US Lighthouse Society and some other members from the tour pulled into the parking lot the same time we did. Dave had offered to rent a van and take some of the early arrivals for the tour to some lights south of Portland which were not included on the tour schedule. Of course, with the Lighthouse Depot store on their way, they felt compelled to stop. Our timing just couldn't have been better if we had planned it! We managed to find a few things in the store which we didn't already have.

3:25 pm

We left Wells, ME and headed south.

4:00 pm

Arrived at the Cape Neddick Light, also known as the "Nubble." It was built in 1879. Even with directions, this light is not very easy to find. It was very windy and the weather was not very nice. Don got some pictures and we left fifteen minutes later.

5:15 pm

Arrived at the Portland Hilton Garden Inn located near the Portland airport.

5:45 pm

Dave Snyder drove the van and nineteen of us had dinner at DiMillo's Floating Restaurant in downtown Portland. DiMillo's was once a car ferry and has been turned into a very nice restaurant. It was fun to meet up with some of the people on the tour.

9:20 pm

We arrived back at the Hilton.

October 12, 2002, Saturday

7:00 am

We had breakfast in the hotel dining room.

8:15 am

We boarded the tour bus. Our driver was Andy and he has been the driver for the Maine tour for the past several years.

Traveling with us were: Jerry & Donna Adrian from Greenfield, WI; Frank & Peggy Almquist from Kingston, NY; Steve Astillero from Medford, OR; Ray Astillero from Jericho, VT; Brian & Phyllis Barrett from Sacramento, CA; Tom & Lynn Baumgarten from Tomah, WI; Brian & Cindy Deans from Berkeley, CA; Lennie Forkas from Gold Beach, OR; Greg Giesen from Highlands Ranch, CO; Richard & Gloria Huffman from Hickory, NC; Mike & Patty Kaiser from Spencerport, NY; Ray & Susan Knight from Gaston, SC; Connie Mays from Parkton, MD; Jesse & Genette McKnight from Bunnell, FL; Shirley Rhoten from Parkton, MD; James Rouse from Lansdowne, PA; Doug & Leigh Shuck from West Friendship, MD; Jean Smallwood from Penn Valley, CA; Bill Stone from Lansdowne, PA; Wil & Cheryl Styron from Suffolk, VA; Lee & Dolores Thacher from Oakland, CA; Jim & Barb Vukovich from Flint, MI; Bruce & Lori Yates from Tomah, WI; Gene Zsuffa & Betty Christy from Glen Rock, NH; and of course, Dave Snyder, our tour leader, from the USLHS, San Francisco, CA.

Steve Astillero and his brother, Ray, are professional photographers. We were delighted to purchase a book which features some of their work: American Lighthouses, A Historic Pictorial Journey and Steve's Pacific Coast Lighthouses 2003 Calendar.

8:40 am

We arrived at the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouses (also called Two Lights) which is privately owned. The twin towers were built in 1874. The keeper's dwelling of the still active east light was razed in 1999 and a new home was built by the owners in 2000. We left at 9:10.

9:25 am

We arrived at the Portland Head Light, once named the most photographed lighthouse in the country. It was built in 1790. This is a very popular tourist spot and we arrived at the same time as seven other busses! We toured the museum and Don climbed the tower. We could see the Ram Island Ledge Light, built in 1904, out in the water. We left at 10:35.

10:45 am

Arrived at the Spring Point Ledge Light. Rusty & Patti Nelson (USLS members we met on Trip #39 to Isle Royale) are very active in the restoration of this light and were here to give us the tour. It was built in 1897. It was a very long walk out on the rocky breakwater to get to the light. We also took the museum tour. We left at 12:05.

12:10 pm

Just a short distance away was the Portland Breakwater Light, also known as the "Bug Light." It was active from 1875 to 1942. It was restored in 2001 and relit in 2002. We left at 12:25.

1:30 pm

We arrived at the Wiscasset Yacht Club for lunch. It was catered by Sarah's restaurant and we had a wonderful lunch. We were also able to purchase the children's book, The Sea Chest, written by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Mary GrandPre', the illustrator of the Harry Potter books. It's a story of the legend of the Hendricks Head Light which we visited right after lunch. We left at 2:40.

3:15 pm

Arrived at the Hendricks Head Light. This light is located on Southport Island and is privately owned by the Russell family. The current tower was built in 1875. We left at 4:05.

4:25 pm

We were dropped off in Boothbay Harbor to wander and shop for about 45 min. Following that, we headed to Rockport.

6:30 pm

Arrived at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. This beautiful resort is considered the premier oceanfront resort in Maine. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to wandering the grounds the entire time we were there. From the windows we could, however, see the beautiful golf course by the ocean.

7:00 pm

We had a wonderful soft shell lobster buffet dinner at the hotel. Don was attacked by one of the lobsters, but we won't go into that. After dinner Ted Panyatoff gave a long presentation about the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. There have been extensive renovations at this light. We purchased his book, The Lighthouse at Rockland Breakwater. Courtney Thompson was also in attendance. Her book, Maine Lighthouses, A Pictorial Guide is a real treasure. We were delighted to have both of the authors sign our copies of their books.

October 13, 2002, Sunday

7:00 am

We had a wonderful buffet breakfast in the hotel dining room.

8:05 am

We boarded the bus and left for Boothbay Harbor.

9:10 am

Arrived in Boothbay Harbor and walked down to Pier One to catch our tour boat.

9:30 am

We boarded Cap'n FISH's Pink Lady which was our cruise boat for the day. He has several boats with which he does scenic nature and whale watch cruises, but today he was our lighthouse guide. The weather was not great, but we were still able to take the boat out into Booth Bay as well as the Kennebec River to view the following lights:

9:45 am

We saw Burnt Island Light built in 1821. It is on the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor.

10:00 am

Next was Ram Island Light built in 1883.

10:15 am

Then we saw The Cuckolds Light built in 1892.

10:40 am

We saw Hendricks Head Light, which we had toured yesterday, from the water.

11:30 am

We viewed the Bath Iron Works where large ships are still built.

11:35 am

We saw Doubling Point Light built in 1898 as were the rest of the lights we passed in the Kennebec River.

11:40 am

We saw the Kennebec River Range Lights (also known as the Doubling Point Range Lights). After passing this light we saw a bald eagle and seals.

11:55 am

We passed Squirrel Point Light.

12:05 pm

We passed Perkins Island Lighthouse. Due to the rough water further out in the bay, we did not venture out to Pond Island Light as originally planned. We traveled back up the Kennebec River to Bath, passing all the river lights again on the way.

12:45 pm

Arrived at the dock in Bath near a park. We had our picnic lunch there. Our box lunch, again from Sarah's, was very good. It began raining. Left at 1:30.

2:40 pm

We arrived at Pemaquid Point Light. We toured the museum and tower. By this time it was raining much harder and that was very disappointing. The rocks around the Pemaquid lighthouse are beautiful and wonderful for climbing to get various photos of the lighthouse. Even though the rain made that very difficult, Don was out on the rocks anyway. The stone tower was built in 1835 and replaced an earlier tower. We left at 3:25.

4:35 pm

We got back to Rockland and those who wanted to brave the elements (about half the group) walked out on the breakwater to the Rockland Breakwater Light which was built in 1902. Diana was still not feeling all that well (she's had pneumonia all this trip), so she decided not to take the walk, but Don went. Ted Panayotoff met us and walked out to the light with us. It had stopped raining by the time we reached the breakwater, but it still took about a half hour for the .8 mile walk. Ted gave us a tour and answered questions. Most of us climbed the tower. The group left there about 5:30 and reached the Samoset Resort at 6:00.

4:45 pm

The other half of the group (including Diana) were driven back to the resort and had that little extra time in the gift shop and to relax before dinner.

6:30 pm

We met for dinner in the hotel.

8:00 pm

Elaine Jones was our guest speaker for the night. She discussed the renovations and educational programs at the Burnt Island Lighthouse which we had seen earlier in the day on the cruise. Her talk was very informative and interesting, and she was very enthusiastic. Every lighthouse needs an Elaine! Following dinner and Elaine's presentation, we set up a table in the dining room to play cards. As has become the custom, we played TIC with Dave, Lori, Bruce, Lynn and Tom. We're not sure who actually won the card game, but Bruce will probably say he did!

October 14, 2002, Monday

7:00 am

Breakfast in the Samoset dining room.

8:05 am

We left the resort, went to the pier area in Rockland and boarded the Elizabeth Ann for our cruise on the Penobscot Bay. It was sunny but still cold and windy. Another day on choppy waters.

8:40 am

The boat left the pier.

8:50 am

We passed the Rockland Breakwater Light. We could get much better pictures of the light from the boat than we were able to get from the breakwater the night before.

9:10 am

We saw the Indian Island Light which was built in 1850. Along this shore were several mansions and estates used as "summer" homes.

9:40 am

We passed the Curtis Island Light. The current tower was built in 1896. This was the first one built in Camden Harbor.

10:25 am

The next light was Grindle Point Light on Isleboro. The original was built in 1851 and rebuilt in 1874.

11:35 am

Next was Dice Head Light (sometimes spelled Dyce Head) at the entrance of the Penobscot River near the town of Casteen. It was built in 1828. We had our box lunches on the boat in the harbor and then continued on.

1:20 pm

The Pumpkin Island Light was next. It was built in 1852. This light can be seen from land from Little Deer Island at the end of Eggemoggin Road.

2:00 pm

We passed Eagle Island Light built in 1839.

2:35 pm

Next was the Deer Island Thorofare Light (also known as the Mark Island Light) which was built in 1857. We got so close to this light, we thought we might run aground.

3:15 pm

Goose Rocks Light (commonly called a "spark plug" light) was next. It was built in 1890.

3:40 pm

We stopped in the town of North Haven on the island of Vinalhaven. It is a quaint little Maine island village. It is a very active tourist spot in the summer. However, today, it was pretty much deserted. We wandered around town for a bit, and then settled in the one gift shop which was still open. She did quite a bit of business in the very short time we were there. We boarded the boat and left at 4:35.

4:45 pm

We passed Browns Head Light, built in 1832, which is on the island of Vinalhaven. It was one of the last Maine lighthouses to be automated, in 1987.

5:25 pm

We viewed Owls Head Lighthouse from the water. This light is located at the entrance to Rockland Harbor. Unfortunately, the sun was setting directly behind the lighthouse, making it almost impossible to get good pictures. Don suggested to Dave that we should have gone by this light in the morning so the sun would be on the tower and buildings. Something to consider for future trips.

5:40 pm

We passed the Rockland Breakwater Light again and the boat docked at 5:55.

6:10 pm

Arrived at the Samoset Inn and had dinner in the hotel dining room. After dinner, Dave had a drawing for a lot of lighthouse "stuff" that had been donated by U.S. Lighthouse Society member, Marie Tilson. There were also some Harbor Lights pieces donated by Harbor Lights, and lighthouse calendars and screen savers donated by Steve Astillero. It was a fun time, and a lot people won something, so many went away happy. Diana picked a lighthouse ornament, and won one of the calendars, so she was definitely happy. Following the formal festivities, we again played cards, with Dave, Lori and Bruce joining us. This time Dave won, even though he says he never gets to win.

October 15, 2002, Tuesday

7:00 am

Assembled for our final breakfast at the Samoset. We truly enjoyed our three night stay and the delicious food served there.

8:00 am

We boarded the bus and left the Samoset Inn Resort at 8:20.

8:30 am

Arrived at the Shore Village Museum for a tour by director, Ken Black. We were amazed at all the lighthouse items they have on display including many Fresnel lenses. The museum will be moved within the next year and they will have quite a task ahead of them. We left at 10:15.

10:30 am

Arrived at Owls Head Lighthouse which was built in 1856. It was at this lighthouse in 1986 that we picked up the brochure about the US Lighthouse Society and shortly after became members. We took our group picture on the stairs leading to the tower. We also had our picture taken at a spot along the trail ... the same spot we had our picture taken in 1986. Left at 11:15.

11:30 am

We stopped at the Forrest Hill Cemetery to see the grave of Abbie Burgess. You can read about her heroic acts as a young girl at The Matinicus Rock Lighthouse in the book Keep the Light Burning, Abbie. There is a beautiful bronze lighthouse at the gravesite. We left at 11:45.

12:10 pm

Arrived at Marshall Point Lighthouse and museum near Port Clyde. It was built in 1832. The keeper's dwelling here has undergone great renovations since our last visit in 1986. The museum is now located in the house. You may remember this light from the movie Forrest Gump. Forrest ran out onto the walkway on his run from coast to coast. We were told that Tom Hanks ran the length of the walkway many times before they were satisfied they had the shots they needed. Another celebrity from this lighthouse is Nellie, The Lighthouse Dog. She and her master Robert Ensor had many wonderful adventures at the Marshall Point Light and you can read about them in several books. Nellie has since died and Molly has taken her place. Molly and her master were there to greet us. We had our picnic lunch there. It was a bit cool but the sun was shinning. Left at 2:00.

4:40 pm

Arrived at the Portland airport to drop off some of our tour buddies.

4:50 pm

Arrived at the Hilton where we had spent our first night of the tour. We said goodbye to some of the tour group as several were renting cars and heading in different directions that evening or early in the morning.

6:30 pm

We went to dinner with several of the tour members at a local Mexican restaurant, and returned to the Hilton.

October 16, 2002, Wednesday

8:45 am

Left the Hilton Garden Inn in Portland, ME after breakfast. We decided to take a more northern route home in hopes of seeing a little more fall color.

10:02 am

We crossed the ME/NH state line. We stopped a couple of places to get pictures. It was overcast, started to rain, and the color was still not near peak.

11:50 am

Crossed the NH/VT state line.

12:25 pm

Had lunch in Quechee, VT and left at 12:50.

2:07 pm

We crossed the VT/NY state line.

7:09 pm

Stopped for dinner at a Wendy's in Rochester, NY.

7:45 pm

Arrived at the Red Roof Inn in Rochester, NY.

October 17, 2002, Thursday

7:50 am

Left the Red Roof Inn in Rochester, NY.

8:45 am

We got off the toll road in Buffalo, NY and had a difficult time finding a gas station. We lost lots of time driving around.

9:25 am

We reached the Peace Bridge. We crossed into Canada and then were in line for about 10 minutes at the inspection booth.

12:45 pm

We crossed the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia. We could see the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse from the bridge. It again took us a few minutes to pass through customs.

1:20 pm

Stopped for lunch at a McDonalds and left at 1:50 pm.

2:35 pm

Arrived HOME.

Our special thanks to Dave Snyder, the US Lighthouse Society and our tour buddies for a wonderful trip to Maine.

Trip Totals: 16 New Lighthouses, 11 revisited ones, 1698 car miles and lots of nautical and bus miles, 8 days.

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Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey

Conceived and Developed by David S. Carter

Photographs by Donald W. Carter

Text by Diana K. Carter, Donald W. Carter & David S. Carter

Copyright © 1995-2011 David S. Carter, Donald W. Carter, & Diana K. Carter. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, physical or electronic, in part or in full, without the express permission of the authors, is strictly prohibited.

This article was last modified on 5/28/2009.