TRIP #5, 2014--Eclectic Day

An Eclectic Day of Travel Activities

Andy tries on the L.L.Bean
boot outside the store in Freeport.

A few miles down the road from our motel was the headquarters for L.L.Bean with a complex of stores.
For an hour we browsed through the displays, including a trout pond and a native fish of Maine aquarium tank, both with live fish; a stuffed Russian bear; two stuffed moose who died in mortal combat, antlers locked; five and six-man canoes; and just about every animal that could be hunted, including American mink and Russian musk ox.

Two stuffed moose, originally found dead in a Maine
backyard, provide one of the fascinating store displays.

The complex had amazing collections of classy clothing, attractive home goods, creative sporting needs, and unique foods.  I could have spent two fortunes. Andy said we didn't need anything!  "But dear," I said sweetly, "they ship free anywhere in the U.S.  If you bought a kayak, you wouldn't have to carry it on the roof of  Little Red."  He wasn't moved.

Chief Passamaquoddy rules
the road on U.S.#1.

Outside the Conundrum Bistro stood the 40-foot statue of Chief Passamaquoddy, affectionately known by locals as Big Freeport Indian.  With his full-feathered headdress and holding spear and shield, the chief has been greeting visitors to Freeport, Maine, for more than 45 years.  "He doesn't look particularly happy," said Andy.
"You're right," I agreed.  "But the bistro wine bar is closed, so no wonder."

Hopping from rock to rock along the
breakwater, we explore Spring Point Light.

Andy wasn't particularly happy either.  The adjoining shops that advertised Maine-made gifts and products only carried outdoor clothing and antiques.  He wanted unique craft-type souvenirs and art.
Originally named Purpooduck, the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse is part of a park that extends for a mile of oceanfront along the shoreline of South Portland.  This lighthouse was approved by Congress in 1895, after numerous ship wrecks in bad weather. Purpooduck was an Indian word meaning, "a point of land that juts out into the water and is infrequently visited," the Indian name given to the whole peninsula.

Carved on the top with leaves, the Portland Breakwater
Lighthouse is one-of-a-kind in the world.

The Portland Breakwater Lighthouse on Cushing's Point was built in 1855, the only one of its kind in the world.  Originally at the end of a 1,990-foot breakwater, it protected South Portland's inner harbor from storms. Also called Bug Light, probably because it is so small, it guided ships from Casco Bay through the entrance to Portland Harbor. This steel structure with thick coats of white paint was designed to look like a Choragic monument of Lysicrates from the fourth century near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.  The decorated top is reminiscent of Corinthian columns.  At one time a keeper's house was attached.
In 1941, the families who lived on Cushing's Point and called it "the best home in the world" were displaced to make way for a shipyard. And from 1941 to 1945, the 140 acres was the site of 60 buildings, all dedicated to ship building for World War II.  "We had one thing in mind," said an employee of the time. "Produce to win."

The artistic sculpture of a giant ship pays tribute to all those
from Maine who sacrificed homes and lives in the
shipbuilding industry.

First, in 1941, once the families were removed and their homes leveled, the shipyard owners built a 1,500-foot coffer dam to keep water out of the ship building basin. It started with 1,000 employees and soon swelled to 30,000 workers.  At maximum capacity the shipyards employed 18,000.  Snow, ice and temperatures of as low as -10, -20, and even -30 degrees below zero were no excuse to stop working.  It was a test of worker character like no other.
The shipyards could construct up to 13 ships at once.  Here workers completed 266 cargo vessels, 30 ocean class vessels for the British and 236 Liberty Ships for the U.S.  Since many of the Liberty ships only had a maximum speed of 11 knots, they sailed in convoys of at least 50 or 60 since German subs could only carry a limited number of torpedoes.  The workers had to build ships faster than German subs could sink them in order to keep troops in Europe supplied.  When World War II ended, shipbuilding at Cushing's Point was no longer needed.

Autumn colors predominate at Portland Head Lighthouse,
even though temperatures plummet into the 50s.

Our next stop was Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, started in 1787.  In the hour we spent here in Fort Williams Park, the wind shifted.  "It's a storm off the coast, but it's blowing straight east," said Andy.  As we circled the lighthouse for views of the craggy rock ledges below and the red sumac and black-eyed Susans surrounding the base, the wind picked up to more than 30 m.p.h. sustained.  Heads down, we plowed forward as temperatures suddenly dropped about 20 degrees.

Caught in an updraft, a sea gull swoops
into the picture at Portland Head Light.

Sea gulls caught the drafts and with wings spread literally hung in midair.  Andy saw a poor monarch butterfly get blown tumbling across the field until it could take refuge in a thicket of wild roses.  Flags, extended straight out, whipped madly.  "Where in the world did this come from so fast?" asked Andy.  We dashed back to the car for jackets.  "We're going to get rain,"  But we never did.
Near the lighthouse and a part of the Fort Williams Park was the site of old Fort Williams.  Established in 1750 as Portland Harbor, the site was the closest harbor from the colonies to Europe. In 1873, Portland Head became the headquarters for harbor defense with six gun batteries that carried two guns each. During World War I and early in World War II, Fort Williams served as a coastal artillery post called Battery Blair after Francis P. Blair, a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War.


This lighthouse on Two Lights Road
is actually a private home.

In 1930, National Guard encampments here turned the area into an American town within a town, complete with library, movie theater and swimming pool.  A few years later, the CCC chose this site as the state headquarters for training. Men ages 18 to 25 spent weeks here before being assigned to one of Maine's 28 Civilian Conservation Corps camps.  Now the whole area was a huge grassy park.  By the time we climbed down from the gun placements and walked back to the car, we were freezing.  It was 58 degrees, and the wind howled.A street named Two Lights caught Andy's attention.  "Let's see what we can find," he said. "It's not on the map, but the name sounds like lighthouses."  Sure enough.  At the end of the point were two lighthouses converted into beautiful private homes.  Wind whipped unmercifully as we climbed up on the rocks for pictures. Amazing what people with some ingenuity can accomplish!  Yes, I meant ALL of us!

Downtown South Portland has a character all its own.

South Portland has a really cool downtown.  Right on the water, it has lots of character.  We parked at a meter and for a few coins had an hour to walk the cobblestone streets, browse in the shops and check out the Fish Market.  Fresh lobster meat tails were selling for $49.95 a pound.  Just shows how much is wasted when you buy the whole animal!  And how little meat you get from one lobster!  But the selection of fish was amazing, and the whole ambiance of this oceanfront fishing town, absolutely fascinating.