Turtle Tales: Lighthouses of Maine, Day 1

We arose early this morning to begin our lighthouse quest in Maine. Our first stop was to see the Whaleback Lighthouse in Point Kittery, Maine. This lighthouse sits in a park on the Maine side of the Piscataqua River. This lighthouse was erected at the mouth of the river to mark the entrance to the Portsmouth Harbor, and is still operational. The light is a LED beacon operated by solar power. From this view point we were able to see the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse which is located on the New Hampshire side of the river, on the ruins of Fort Constitution. The lighthouse was built in 1804 and is still active today, maintained by the U.S, Coast Guard.

The next lighthouse visited was the Cape Neddick/Nubble Lighthouse in York Beach, Maine. This is an amazing lighthouse set in an awesome location on the coast of Maine. The conical cast-iron sections of the lighthouse were made in Portland, Maine and transported by the USS Myrtle to its location in 1879. This is an amazing lighthouse setting! It was a beautiful day and there were many people visiting this lighthouse!

From the Nubble Light we drove to Cape Porpoise in Kennebunk Beach, Maine to see the Goat Island Lighthouse. The light is located one mile off shore on Goat Island. It was erected in 1833, is supposedly haunted by a former keeper named Richard Curtis. He drowned while out in a boat with his dogs, and after that, strange things began to happen in the lighthouse! A visitor heard voices that told her he (Curtis) was alright and the voice kept repeating that one of the dogs made it. Items gone missing would eventually turn up on the kitchen table. Then one day, the new keeper remembers "it was cold, and I was exhausted, so I sat in Richards easy chair and said Dicky, give me some heat", there was an old electric heater that much to the keepers surprise turned on, and it hadn't worked in years!

Onward and forward to Biddeford Pool to see the Wood Island Lighthouse. This required a hike of about 3/4 of a mile , one way, to view. This lighthouse was on the lighthouse "doomsday" list for some time but it is now in the hands of the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation and funds are being raised to continue restoration of the lighthouse which was originally built in 1807, to mark the entrance to the Saco River.

We then drove to Cape Elizabeth to view the Two Lights. The Cape Elizabeth lighthouse marks the approach to Portsmouth Harbor. It was built in 1828. That same year they decided to build another lighthouse on the Cape. (Cape Elizabeth West). One would have a rotating light (West), and one would have a fixed light (East). The reason for the lights was to warn of the rocks entering Portland Harbor where from 1780-1990, 98 vessels wrecked on the rocks.

The drive from the lighthouse in Point Kittery, Maine to Cape Elizabeth was on local back roads which allowed us to go through many quaint beach communities, most teeming with Memorial Day weekend tourists! Amazingly to us, with temperatures in the lower 50's all day, many tourist were in shorts, tank tops and flip-flops. Is this Maine's version of summer?

We did stop for lunch in Cape Porpoise (Kennebunk Beach) and enjoyed clam chowder, a clam cake, Atlantic fried shrimp (small) and blueberry pie! Although it was somewhat pricey, it was delicious! Hopefully LOBSTER is on the menu tomorrow! Yes!

Whaleback Lighthouse, Maine