Thursday, July 8, 2021

A day of Lighthouses

 6/23/21

 After the yukky weather day we had yesterday, today was sunny and beautiful, but the heat is back. Never happy uh?

The first light we saw was from a viewpoint not far from the campground. It is Goat Island Light, aptly named because that is the name of the Island. Smart uh?? Goat Island is located off the coast directly in front of the Bush Compound, when the Bushes were in office, the Secret Service stayed in the lightkeepers house on the island. They had a wonderful view of the compound, the cliffs and the water



The next light on Phil’s list was Cape Elizabeth Lights (Two Lights). These are now private residences, so could not get to close, but with Phil’s camera zoom, he got some pretty good shots.

This is the second of the Two Lights (Cape Elizabeth), it's signal would have been distinct because of the two slits the light shined through.
The first light of the Two Lights sits right on the water.

 From there we drove out to Portland Head Lighthouse and state park today. Got my Lighthouse Passport Book stamped. Stood at the rail and just watched the waves crash on the rocks for a while. This was one of the most accessible lights we have been to. Ram Island Ledge Light is just offshore from Portland Head.

 Portland Breakwater Light or Bug Light as it is commonly known, is located in Portland Harbor. On the other side of the harbor is Spring Point Light, looks just like Bug Light, but a little shorter.

 Behind the Breakwater Park is a building that looks very much like a lighthouse but it is not a light. It is the Portland Observatory & Signal Tower, built in 1807 by an enterprising gentleman who knew that ship owners couldn’t see their ships coming into port until they rounded in inner most breakwater. The signal tower could see ships as far away as 30 miles (on a good day). With the use of signal flags the ships would identify themselves and then he could notify the owners that their ships were on the way into port. For this service, he charged the ship owners $5/year.

Ram Island Light, just offshore from Portland Head Light
Portland Head Light

Spring Point Light
Portland Breakwater Light (Bug Light)


Portland Observatory & Signal Tower
Our Campsites at Red Apple Campground, while here, we ordered Lobsters (1-1/2 lb) to be delivered, cooked, to our campsite at 5:30. YUMMY!!!!


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