This past weekend the family and I headed north east to Maine to visit my father. Normally when we visit him we don’t go out and do things. We stay home and hang out. This time, however, we had pre-planned a trip to Portland to see some lighthouses. This is a great family activity, because lighthouses are awesome and kids love them.
It was a forty minute drive from my Dad’s house to South Portland where we began our search, and our first stop was the Portland Head Light. Technically in Cape Elizabeth, this lighthouse is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Maine, which means there were at least 10-20 other people there. Luckily we still got a good parking spot and made our way over to the actual lighthouse.
We couldn’t go inside the actual lighthouse, although we could have gone into the adjacent building for a fee. We opted to just stay outside and walk around, until the fog horn started going off in our ears. At that point we hit the gift shop for some gummy lobsters and other exciting souvenirs. The other cool thing about this lighthouse was that it had some cool observation spots in the nearby hills, so we climbed around those for a while too until we decided we wanted to find another lighthouse.
Our next stop was just up the shore at the Spring Point Ledge Light. It is possible to climb up this one, but you have to be 55″ tall to do it, due to the ladders and whatnot that you have to get up. Since we had two small children with us that couldn’t do it, we didn’t do it either. But it was still a pretty neat looking lighthouse from the ground. And someone was having a wedding on the grounds as well, so we decided we would crash it and get free lunch. Sadly, it seemed to be more of a dinner thing, so we didn’t get any food as they weren’t set up yet.
The coolest thing about this lighthouse, besides the interesting shape, is that it sits at the end of a breakwater that is extremely fun to climb around on. Just getting out to the lighthouse became its own adventure. Ruby made it all the way out with only a little help, and all the way back by herself. Edward tried very hard to make us let him do it himself too, but with only a little success.
Our last stop was the Bug Light, more properly called the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse. They call it the Bug Light because it is tiny and very cute, much like most bugs you will meet. This one was also at the end of a breakwater of sorts, but much smaller and so smooth that Edward really could walk it on his own.
There are a few other lighthouses in the area, but some are out on islands and inaccessible (Ram Island Light) and some are just in other places, like those at Two Lights State Park, and we were tired so we went home. But even just outside of the Portland area there are plenty of other lighthouses to find, so we will definitely have something to do the next time we head up to Maine for a visit. And hopefully next time it won’t be so hot. I’m thinking fall or winter…