Pemaquid Point and more

A lovely day, we drove up  through cute little town of Damariscotta, then all the way down the next peninsula to the tip, to Pemaquid Point Light. In a pretty park setting,  the keepers house contains a museum, and you can climb the tower for a view, but on such a lovely day, there were lots of folks gathered, set up in lawn chairs to enjoy the view, and of course, line up for the tower!  We were satisfied with the view from below, and venturing out of the rocks.  Clem did point out a sign to me when I went a bit far, that lives had been lost!  I could see waves crashing, so didn't go as far as I might have after that!

Beyond the light was Williamstown Fort, .......(add more)

Fort William Henry at Pemiquid Point, was originally built in 1692, and though the tower there now is a  replica, the excavation sites are real and fascinating.  Colonial Pemiquid is said to be older than the Pilgrim village, which over the years had been filled in as the land was used for farming.  Archeological digs have uncovered fragments of materials which prove its age, and various foundations from buildings. Listed on National Register.

After exploring the fort and museum,  we could not resist stopping for an afternoon treat at one of the hundreds of ice creams stands!  They are everywhere in Maine!  Many serve Gifford's Ice Cream Stand Ice cream, which has a huge list of delicious flavors.   Yum!

Yummy Giffords Ice Cream!

A quick photo op stop for this roadside installation at a diner on way back from York gives me 319! 

Not really the weather for it, but wanted to use the sausage I had purchased, so we had a yummy sausage and pepper dinner out at the picnic table! 

Clem built the whirly he had bought the day before in Booth Bay Harbor.  Very cute!

We spent our final day in Boothbay, making a quick trip to Bath, more to pick up a prescription than anything, but seeing the Ironworks and the shipbuilding operation with gigantic cranes along the waterfront.  Along the way, we wanted to see Wiscasset, "Maine's prettiest little town", but the traffic was so backed up, we settled for what we could see driving through.  Pretty town of old houses and buildings, and home to Red's Eats, apparently world famous lobster rolls!  Wow!  People were lined up around the building, and still arriving, and I had to wonder if they could really be THAT good!  Apparently, I am told, but we drove on by....in both directions!  No way Clem wanted to get out of the traffic line to sit in another line!

Red's famous lobster rolls in Wiscasset

We did make a stop at Edgecomb Pottery near our campsite, and marveled at the beautiful crystalline glazes that graced the pottery.  I bought a small piece, but it was hard to choose!

Edgecomb Pottery began in the red one room school house to the left

   

                      


We returned to enjoy the rest of the nice day at our campsite, and were visited by our neighbor Jeff, the retired local sheriff's deputy, and his wife Jean, who sat and chatted with us.  They spend the season, but have a house in  Sarasota, and invited us to come and stay and hookup the motorhome there anytime we are on that coast!  Nice guy....knows all the ins and outs, and is happy to share.  

It had rained overnight and into the morning, but cleared in time for us to hook up in the sun, and set off to our next destination, Wells, a fairly short drive away, and yet too far to explore from Boothbay.  

A lovely day for whoopie pies and fairy houses!

Wednesday, August 9

Another seriously chilly start to a beautiful day!  We actually turned the heat on for a few minutes to take the chill off!  But by 8;30 it was warm and wonderful, and though there is a shuttle to take us into Boothbay Harbor, and we had been warned that we would not find parking, we decided to go early and take the car, and just go someplace else if we couldn't park, since there are other things we wanted to do here.

Apparently early enough to beat the crowds, we had no problem finding a parking spot, right across from the town square, where a local craft fair was set up.....on a Wednesday!  I usually manage to hit these towns the day after their fairs!  So we strolled around, and I started chatting with one vendor, who it turns out is a full time RVer, and we started swapping stories!  But we could hardly get away!  But it was fun....to a point...and we finally excused ourselves and headed for the shops.

Captain Sawyers Place

Hilly, and full of shops and restaurants, and old buildings, in addition to a busy harbor, a lovely spot, and huge tourist draw. Although I have to say it did not seem overly busy or crowded.

 A big red building up a steep hill had tons of whirligigs and streamers blowing in the wind, and of course it called to me.  When I saw "new age", I was hesitant but glad we ventured inside, when clem saw a yard whirly that was a golf cart.  The place was jam packed with so much stuff, and the floors were scattered with glitter!  I roamed the isles filled with hanging sun catchers and what not.....why did I not take a photo??......and we found the whirly, which Clem bought for our house!  He does surprise me sometimes!

We walked the stores, shopped the goods, and walked the 1901 footbridge across the water, where a 1902 tiny house was situated.  At various times a shop, and a vacation home, we were amazed that anyone would want to vacation there on the footbridge with people looking in your windows!

Such a beautiful day, we had a leisurely lunch at a spot near the water, then headed for Wicked Whoopies, which I had spotted earlier.  Featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, and the like, they were indeed wicked good!!

A GIANT whoopee, that would make a cute birthday cake!

Lots of flavors, in addition to the classic

 I restrained myself and bought a mini, but Clem could not resist the peanut butter filled one, which came only in the regular size.  Tempted to buy them and fill the freezer, but I decided to think about it! Might not be such a good idea to have them so readily available!










A Botanical Garden of some renown was nearby, and wanting to take full advantage of the glorious day, we decided to check it out.  But not before a stop for another "interesting installation".....a giant old salt fisherman in slicker!  Reported to be 15 feet tall, it was soon apparent that he was much taller than that, since I came about to his knee.  A good find!

The gardens of the Coastal  Maine Botanical Garden were full of beautiful flowers, and delightful to walk around, and I loved the little fairy houses.  They had what might be an entire fairy garden, but it was a 20 minute walk from the main area  ( I forgot how many acres the place entailed, but it was substantial!) , and Clem was in no mood for an additional 40 minute walk, so we called it a day!

Oops....should have straightened this photo before uploading! The little house was supposedly a fairy house workshop, and had several on little shelves when you opened the door.  Cute.

Fairy houses in little house

On to the Boothbay area

I didn’t think I would ever say I was excited to do laundry, but I couldn’t wait to get set up in our new campground and start a load!  Not that we are running out of clothes as much as running out of space to put the dirty ones!  And I am tired of taking GI showers and being so carful to not fill our tanks, as we have not had sewer.   Pretty spoiled!  

It was not as cold overnight, but it rained a lot, with that rhythmic beating on the roof.  There was a predicted break at 9AM, and  we hurried to hook up the car and pull out before it started up again!  Not a long drive, we got into Shore Hills campground on the Boothbay peninsula, passing a couple of cute little towns that I have on my list to explore,  and set up in time for lunch. 

 I discovered the Boothbay Railway Village was practically across the street, and the rain had stopped, so we had lunch and went for a visit.  What a neat place!  We took a  ride on a narrow gauge train to the other side of the property and then spent several hours exploring all the buildings containing one man’s accumulation of not only train collectibles, but antique cars and farm equipment, outboard motors, combustion engines, toys, and even salt and pepper shakers!  Not to mention the cool old buildings and train depots, dismantled and rebuilt on the property.  The town hall and chapel are still used in their new location!  

Narrow gauge steam engine

Our visit included a ride on a narrow gauge passenger train, pulled by an (Edaville RR engine on loan from MA!), and we boarded the closed car due to temps, and got some photo ops of the pretty car. 

The cars were chosen for their significance in history, and were beautiful. 

 One of the many buildings of the village was this cute gas station.

I loved the Richfield pump, mainly because my Dad's Atlantic Station became Atlantic Richfield. 

One building contained a  model train layout, where I spotted this miniature of the huge fisherman we went to see!  Here he is in his original state, with sardine can, rather than the lobster trap he now holds. Clem enjoyed not only the layout, but chatting with the folks who were there working on it. 

On the layout....almost looks real in the photo! 

Another train depot, which contained some interesting history of the railroads and Maine.

Really old salt and pepper shakers!  Makes me want to get my collection out!

An interesting little tid bit about Mary's Little Lamb mounted in a one room school house! We had visited the supposed site of the schoolhouse, as well as the birthplace of the author, in Massachusetts, but apparently the authorship is questionable!  Who knew?!

We were pretty excited to be able to watch the evening news!  Then we took a walk around the campground and discovered it is quite large, and has some beautiful sites in the woods, which go all the way down to the river's edge! We chatted with a woman walking her dog who is here from Arizona  to find some cool temps, and had last week been to Eastport, where we stayed two stops ago.  I asked if she had met “Bob”.......oh yes!!  He tried to talk them into staying longer because her husband liked to take photos!  Too funny!  

Last Days in Searsport exploring with the Reichardts.

Saturday was rainy and one of those ugly days, and we stayed in and read and relaxed.  But Sunday Jim called to see if we wanted to do something, and of course we were ready to go!  Jim drove us on familiar roads, but to places we had not seen, like Lookout Point, high on a hil, where we could see far and clear and lots of islands and towns, including Camden harbor. 

 Then a stunning winery , the Cellar Door.  Wine, tastings, gifts, and  stunning decor and views.....would be a great place for a celebration, were it not in Maine!


 As the story goes, a hobo, a traveler looking for work nearly 100 years ago, visited our farm in Lincolnville. He was welcomed. He felt safe. Upon his departure, he carved in the barn door a “hobo symbol” to let fellow travelers know they would find hospitality here.

       We went to the harbor where Andre the seals statue is located, as well as remainder of lime kilns, which were once a large part of the industry in the area, and trains dropped the raw material down into the hoppers from above. 

 Andre the seal, abandoned at birth, raised and trained by a local, and forever memorialized as the honorary harbor master!  















Next camei my idea for a tiny detour, to search out marker for where Captain Hanson Gregory was born, which is now in a church yard!  We never would have found it, had I not had a map on my Roadside Attraction app! Jim found this one interesting enough to send photos to friends, and I bet it will be on his tour from now on!!

Legend has it that Capt. Gregory invented the " donut" because he liked to snack on dough, and would impale the blob on the rungs of his ships wheel.....hence, the doughnut!  

A man came out of the chapel....it WAS Sunday Morning!!!....and asked if we had taken our photo with it, and heard the legend.  We came to find it, I said.  Well.....you have!!  

Lunch at the Whales Tooth, a cute little place in another quaint harbor town, was delicious, and Jim regaled us with tales of the ruthlessness of lobster men, who fiercely guarded their territory, and some went missing mysteriously!

After we left Jim and Joan, we took a quick side trip to Bangor, really just  to see the Paul Bunyon statue, but we also visited a garden cemetery, said to be modeled after the famous one in Boston, and walked around for a while until Clem had had enough!

Last day before our departure,  and the overnight temperatures had dipped VERY low, causing me to find another blanket in the night, and bundle up in the still cold morning!  But it finally warmed, and Joan wanted us to see friends Carolyn and Larry’s lake house, which  they built themselves, so we did that, then all to Finz for dinner before saying goodbye.  It has been a fun time, and a great visit in Searsport, but we will be glad to have sewer and wifi and better cell reception at our next stop!