A Journey to New England

My first trip to the land of Hahbahs and Lobstahs took me first to Atlanta where I met up with my oft times travel mate, Sharon Campbell. From there we flew on to Portland, Maine to spent the week with our friends, Jill and Ed.

I met Jill Cyr and her father, Ed Gillander, on my ’05 trip to Scotland. They live in the lovely town of Portland, Maine, where Jill works with Marriott Hotels. Working in the hospitality industry means but one thing – when you visit Jill, you are treated like royalty. Arriving in my room at the local Marriott Townhome Suites, I found a bag of goodies that included homemade cookies and cake (sugar free of course), cheese, crackers, a framed picture of all of us from a our Estes Park trip and even two stuffed
squeaky lobsters for my dear Dusty and my new found Sally.

We arrived Sunday evening and were taken directly to dinner where we began a week of almost exclusively Maine seafood. The local fare included haddock, scallops, oysters, steamer clams (or steemahs, as the locals would say) and, of course, lobstah (or lobster as we would say). And don’t let me forget, fried clams. Now, I’ve eaten fried clams, or at least I thought I had. However, Maine fried clams are something sweet

About 1.3 miles off the coast of Portland Head lies the 90 foot Ram Island Ledge Light. Built in 1905, Ram Island (the island, not the lighthouse) is only visible at low tide. While we were in Maine, the island and lighthouse, which had been on the auction block for some time, sold to a private bidder for $190,000. I’m not sure what the new owner plans to do with it, but it’ll have to wait till the tides out.

From Ft. Williams, we proceeded up the coast to the Two Lights State Park, an area of rocky headlands, granite ledges, and ocean trails. We walked through paths of wild sea roses, sumacs and bayberries looking out over the Casco Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Jill even found a lone thistle growing amongst the rocky soil, a sign we took of a good week to come.
Next stop was the Portland Harbor. As you can see, the harbor was one picture after another…including more lighthouses.

We had an excellent lunch at Dimillo’s, a floating restaurant in downtown Portland. While I had the stuffed quahaug clams, Jill got the fried fisherman’s platter which included fried clams that she did not want. How fortunate for me! This is where I discovered real fried clams. Yum, yum!

After lunch we took a brief walking tour of downtown Portland. As we passed something called $3 Deweys, Jill gave the following explanation for the quaint name. In Portland’s early days, when sailors, who had been at sea far too long, made a brief stop at Portland, they would frequent the local red light district (naturally). Here, depending on the level of their libido and the depth of their purse, they could receive a $1 Lookie, a $2 Feelie or a $3 Dewey. (I just wonder what a sailor with $6 would do – one of each or a Double Dewey? Hmmmm.)
Portland Head Light
Ram Island Ledge Light
After lunch, Ed and Jill decided we should make a visit to the Portland Observatory. Now, being an amateur astronomer of sorts myself, I immediately perked up at the thought of visiting a real one. However, I soon learned that, rather than a stellar observatory, this was a maritime observatory. Built in 1807 by Captain Lemuel Moody, it is the last surviving such structure in the U.S. Built on Munjoy Hill, it has excellent views of both the open Atlantic and the harbor wharfs and its sole purpose was to espy incoming vessels up to 30 miles at sea and signal such to its owner on the wharf. This
was accomplished by utilizing a two flag signal system – one designating the ship’s owner and the second designating the type of ship (barque, schooner, etc.). The building itself is octagonal with a cupola observatory and looks much like a lighthouse. It is of timber frame construction and actually “floats” on its foundation. Standing 86 feet tall it rises 222 feet above sea level. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National History Landmark. I must say that, of all of the landmarks we visited on the trip, I found this to be the most interesting and entertaining. (Perhaps it’s the engineer in me.)

For dinner, we dined at J’s Oyster Bar. Here I was introduced to “steamahs” (steamer clams). Ed explained that the proper way to eat these little morsels is to pull them from their shell by the foot, swish them in the hot broth provided (which Jill described as just seawater) to clean them of grit, pull the meat off between your teeth and discard the foot. It takes a heaping bucket of these critters to make a meal. Fortunately, Sharon and I each got a “baker’s” dozen of the local oysters. This was 14-16 of the little jewels that, unlike gulf oysters, are quite salty right out of the shell.

If I could describe Tuesday in two words, it was “hahbah day” (or “harbor day” in regular American). We started with breakfast at Becky’s Diner, a well known local eatery and
A Lone Thistle at Two Lights State Park
A Young Osprey (Sea Eagle) Nesting in
Portland Harbor
Portland Breakwater Light (Portland Harbor)
Ft. Gorges (Portland Harbor)
$3 Deweys
Portland Harbor from the Observatory
The Observatory from Portland Harbor
recommended should you visit Portland. Our first stop was the lovely harbor at Kennebunkport. We drove through the town and out to the “Bush Compound”, summer home of George H. W. Bush, 41st president of these United States. The flag was flying signifying that “hisself” was in residence. We then took a walking tour of downtown Kennebunkport which, like many of the small harbor towns, is very touristy. In one store window I was confronted by a large tee shirt featuring George Bush (junior) with the caption “Miss me yet? How’s that hopey-changey thing workin’ out for ya?” Tempted though I was, I passed on this (not so rare) find.

From Kennebunkport, we proceeded south to York Harbor. Our goal was to meet up with our Scottish
friends, Bob and Marnie Campbell (no relation to Sharon). Bob and Marnie “live” in New Jersey but spend most of the year motoring about in their RV. They make an annual trip to York Harbor and then on to the New Hampshire Scottish Games at Loon Mountain. We found them at their usual spot on the shore of Lobster Cove (how appropriate). After a beer or two with the waves lapping the rocks below, Bob serenaded with a few wee tunes on his pipes. While Bob has only been playing the pipes four years or so, he has become quite good. He plays with an amateur Irish pipe band back in Joisey.

After our concert, we dove into the main attraction for the evening – chowdah and lobstah. Someone decided that Bob and I, due to our height and girth (his height,
my girth) could each wrastle a two and a half pound lobster into submission. While Bob had the advantage of having blown on a dead piggy to work up an appetite, I had no such benefit. I must sadly say that, in this case, the lobster won. Finally, we had to take leave of the lovely Marnie and my brother of a different mother, Bob and head back to Portland. Though I had lost the lobster battle, I went to my rest knowing that I had won the day!

Wednesday proved to be more of a day of culture and refinement that the previous two days. We proceeded up I-295 to the town of Brunswick and the home of Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain. Being a good southern boy, I have visited a number of the homes of Confederate officers and battle sites, but I believe this is the first Union officer I have met. Gen. Chamberlain fought in many major Civil War conflicts including Antietam, Shepherdstown Ford, Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville, Gettysburg , Petersburg and Cold Harbor and was present at the surrender of the Confederate forces at Appomattox. In the movie Gettysburg, he was portrayed quite convincingly by Jeff Daniels. For his actions at Gettysburg at the battle on Little Round Top, he was awarded the CMH. At Appomattox he was given the honor of commanding the troops that formally accepted the surrender of the Confederate army. Joshua Chamberlain later wrote his account of Appomattox in "Passing of the Armies". In the book, he tells of his salute to the defeated Confederate Army and their noble response. On the wall of his home hangs a replica of one of the
A Happy Man at
J’s Oyster Bar
Ed and I with the Bush Compound in the Background
Confederate battle flags that he received on this occasion.

Across from Gen. Chamberlain’s home is the campus of Bowdoin College. Among its alumni can be counted not only Gen. Chamberlain but also President Franklin Pierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Harriet Beecher Stowe began writing “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in Appleton Hall on the Bowdoin campus. Just down the lane is the cemetery and family plot of Gen. Chamberlain.

Leaving Brunswick, we headed up US1 to the town of Wiscasset where we dined on Maine’s finest lobster roll at Red’s Eats. Whilst in Wiscasset, we visited Castle Tucker, a Regency-style mansion built in 1807 overlooking the Sheepscot River. It is an interesting
story of the rise and fall of wealth in what was at one time the largest port north of Boston.

Our final stop of the day was on Mount Battie that rises 800 feet above the town of Camden and Sherman Cove in West Penobscot Bay. We arrived near sundown and were treated to a delightful view of tri-masted schooners sailing on the Bay. A group of locals had gathered at the summit to await the setting sun. They had setup a table with food, warm drink and other libations and generally seemed to be enjoying themselves.

As Thursday dawned, we prepared to leave Portland and make our way to Loon Mountain, located high in the
also famous as the location of the highest measured wind gust on the Earth’s surface at 231mph! On the day we were there, it was a balmy 34ºF with winds out of the west at 12mph. Maximum gusts the previous 24 hours had reached 78mph, but, alas, during our visit were rather docile.

As we approached Mt. Washington, Sharon related the story that, just after WWII, the Bretton Woods monetary conference took place at the Mt. Washington Hotel that established, among other things, the World Bank. Whilst there, many of the participants travelled to the top of Mt. Washington on the Cog Railway. By unanimous agreement, we decided that we, too, would invest part of our monetary fortunes and follow in their foot steps. (At 62
With the Campbells at Lobster Cove, York Harbor
Red’s Eats in Wiscasset - Best Lobster Roll in the State
Sherman Cove and West Penobscot Bay from Mt. Battie
Jackson Covered Bridge
Brakeman on the Cog Railway
The Presidential Range from the Cog Railway
awaited to reboard our coach, I took a gander at the engine which, in the current craze of “green”, has been converted to run on biodiesel!

As the day lengthened we slowly made our way back down the mountain. The Brakeman explained that his time had finally come as the train does not “motor” down the mountain but “digs in it’s heels” and does it’s best to descend at a slow, but secure, rate. As he explained, should the Engineer have problems with his end of the train, he would simply pull the pin and allow the Engine to make it’s way down as best it could.

Finally we reached the base of the mountain, climbed back into our Tahoe and made our way to Loon Mountain. Thus ended our travels in Maine and New Hampshire. The remainder of our time in New England was spent at the New Hampshire Highland Games. For a pictorial summary of the next three days, go to Beatonites ‘10.
Ed, Jill and Me at
the Summit.
(note our sherpa
guide on the right.)
Looking down into the clouds from the Summit of Mt.
Washington.  The Atlantic is in the distance.
bucks a head, 57 for seniors, the investment is not insignificant but well worth it.)

The CR employs up to 10 locomotives with hourly departures. The round trip is approximately three hours with about an hour of time at the summit. On this day we began the uphill journey in clear sunshine. However, as we approached the summit, clouds began to roll in. I was glad to have my coat and hat though a pair of good gloves would have been welcome. We wandered around the summit looking down on the world as the clouds allowed even getting the occasional view of the Atlantic. A small museum recounted the history of the area and a video showing a man attempting to take breakfast in the high wind ran in a continuous loop. As we
White Mountains of New Hampshire. Along the way we planned two stops. The first was at the Jackson, NH, Covered Bridge.

From there we headed towards the highest point in the northeast, Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is one of the thirteen mountains that make up the Presidential Range. At 6288 feet, Mt. Washington, lies along the Appalachian Trial that stretches from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. (I have stood at the highest point of the AT which is just below Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smokey Mountians on the TN-NC border at the elevation of 6625 feet. I have personally traversed well over 50 feet of the AT at various points in my lifetime!) Mt. Washington is
and delicate, with an overtone of oyster…I can truly say that I have now eaten fried clams.

Jill and Ed had Monday mapped out and it was “lighthouse day”. Our first stop was Ft. Williams Park, home of the Portland Head Light, the first lighthouse in America built by the federal government. Built in the late 18th century, it lies as the head of Portland Bay, thus its name. It is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the US, stands 80 feet tall (101 feet above water) and is on the National Register of Historical Places.
A Journey to New England