04 August 2025 – Monday
(Catching up on last year’s travels)
0919 72,207 74°F Left Wyndham, Maine
0940 72,263 77°F Portland, Maine
Our first Portland stop was at Deering Oaks Park for a walk around the pond. Bees were busy around the flowers and seagulls had taken over a miniature island house. The 55 acre park was donated as a “public breathing space” by the Deering Family in 1885.
1047 72,268 79°F
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Portland Head Lighthouse
Lots of parking available here, much of it with lovely views like this.
We weren’t alone, as the summer weather brought out all kinds of visitors, even on a Monday morning.
The oldest lighthouse in Maine, Portland Head has been guiding ships into the city harbor since 1791. This light marks the southwestern side of a narrow channel.
The northeastern side has been marked by the 72′ tall Ram Island Ledge Light since 1905. Despite haze from Canadian wildfire smoke, Ram Island was visible from Portland Head.
Rocks and ledges here have claimed many ships over the years.
The tower is 80′ tall and stands 101′ above the Atlantic.
Huge fog horns sound warnings when the lighthouse isn’t visible.
Behind this door we found an excellent museum housed within the lighthouse keeper’s quarters. At only $2 for adults or $1 for children it is well worth visiting.
History exhibits are organized in chronological order. Here are a few samples of what lies within…
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
At his death in 1882, Portland native Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of America’s most popular poets. Growing up in Portland, he often visited Portland Head Light, and his 1849 poem “The Lighthouse” reflects this experience. Longfellow was a professor of modern languages and literature at Bowdoin College and Harvard, and among his many poems are “The Village Blacksmith,” “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” and “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
For my IBM friends, the company made important products before the age of computers.
No lighthouse visit is complete without viewing a fresnel lens. You can gauge the size against Beth’s 5’6″ height.
Outside the museum, we found this memorial paying tribute to a ship and crew torpedoed just off shore by a German submarine in 1945.
Looking back on the building as we left, the symmetry of the keepers quarters was obvious. Two families were housed in mirror image apartments, with each keeper responsible for a 12 hour shift.
Boats of all sorts were cruising the waters around Portland Head. Several lobster boats were earning extra revenue by taking tourists out on the water.
A few luxury yachts headed out into the Atlantic. This one was registered in Palm Beach, Florida.
Portland Head Lighthouse Park ranks highly among our favorite lighthouse stops.
Image inspired by the poster we saw in the lighthouse museum.
1317 72,271 Bug Light Park
The 1875 Portland Breakwater Light (a/k/a Bug Light)is much smaller than Portland Head Light, but is still an important marker for boats transiting in and out of Portland.
An easy, level walk from the parking lot, Bug Light offers great views of harbor traffic and the unused 1865 Fort Gorges.
The park also offers a tribute to those that constructed and served on Liberty Ships.
Posters inside the ship skeleton offer information about the 2,700 of these “ugly ducklings” built to deliver cargo to Europe during World War II.
Lighthouse lovers need to visit Maine. This map shows the fifty-three lighthouses along the 3,478 miles of the Maine coast.
I could spend all day looking at boats along the Portland waterfront, but we have an appointment in Augusta tomorrow, so it’s time to head north.
1426 72,301 Topsham, Maine
1532 72,333 Manchester, Maine
Driveway camping with cousin Randy
Portland area stops
This was our second trip to Portland, and it proved we need to return and see more of the city.