You can't tell someone you live in Maine without being asked about the lighthouses, and I guess you can't really go anywhere in coastal Maine without seeing the whole lot of them anyway. Yes, the lighthouses are alive and abound here - more than 60 of them. Lisa and I encountered our first lighthouse while we were still just visiting Maine - Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse in South Portland. Under a brilliant setting sky with Portland beginning to glow across the Bay, we decided Maine was a pretty great place. It was one of our last days visiting and I had been meaning to call a friend of a friend, Chip, who lived in town. As I was reminding myself to do this we walked out along the rocks to the lighthouse where a young couple sat. I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if that was Chip? I wonder if that's Chip?" I then turned to Lisa and exclaimed, "Wouldn't it be funny if that was Chip? I wonder if that's Chip?" We then turned toward the shadowed figure A N D .... well, it was Chip. He said he hadn't visited that spot in about four years! Uncanny! Since moving here, we've been wondering whether to call him back or try and run into him unannounced at other historic landmarks (we'll give him a call).
Perhaps the most infamous of all the lighthouses is the Portland Head Light, built between 1787 to 1791 under the directive of the early American poster-boy himself, George Washington. Two hundred eighteen years later, Lisa and I have joined the ranks of visiting the "most photographed lighthouse in America," quite unavoidably. It's actually pretty impressive, and the cliffs are exactly what come to mind when you think New England coast and then say, "New England Coast" to your family and relatives from the midwest. I particularly enjoy the painted lettering on one of the rocks nearby, stating, " Annie C. Maguire Shipwrecked Here, Christmas Eve 1886, R.D." Apparently, everyone aboard the British ship survived despite a massive storm carrying the vessel away piece by piece. The waves and rocks all along the coast are absolutely incredible in their smashing and exploding power. Lisa and I frequently see notices in the more public areas concerning "rogue waves," unexpected wave monstrosities that swallow up the unexpected rogue wave "viewer." Fortunately we still remain, oh worried families! There are countless other lighthouses up and down the coast - we've seen several more since the initial writing of this very blog! From the Bug Light in South Portland to the Marshall Point Light in Port Clyde, we've seen a few. But the tales that go with them will have to wait for future blogs....
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