Monhegan Island, Maine

Shelly and I continued our adventuring of Maine last weekend with a boat ride out to one of the most commonly painted islands in the state, Monhegan.  I work on a few islands in Maine and, therefore, had an idea in my mind as to what this one would be like.  I couldn't be more wrong...it was not "a mix of Vinalhaven and the Cranberry Isles."
First of all, this island is a big rock sticking out of the ocean, whereas the others tend to be flat and more like the coast of the mainland.  And this place really is just like an old fishing village, despite the fact that it's very popular with artists and tourists.  Here there are very, very few big old grand houses or land available to build them.  This place is just a step back in time.
We had a nice few hours out there just doing what we do, walking around and seeing the sights, which included a lighthouse, of course.  We ate at a "quaint" little shack, where I had a very good fish chowder and Shelly had local crab cakes.
There is a smaller version of Monhegan (which is funny to say given that Monhegan is only .7 by 1.7 miles) call Manana, which nearly touches Monhegan.  It is currently uninhabited but I encourage you to Google "The hermit of Manana" for a very interesting human interest story.
It's an hour-long boat ride out, and there are always seals to see as well as other little islands dotting the way out.  On the way back we got a neat view of the Marshall Point Lighthouse that we visited last year.  We finished our day with a lobster dinner at the Dip Net Restaurant right on the docks in Port Clyde.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  And never hesitate to ask questions.

Lunch.  Nearly every building here looks like a fishing shack.

There are just a couple of gravel one-lane roads on the island.

From Lobster Cove looking back at the artist Jamie Wyeth's house.

Library

Capt John Smith was everywhere apparently

It was a steep hike to get up here to the lighthouse.  I'm getting better at taking selfies.  Note the road.

From the lighthouse back down to the village.  Yes, that's all of it.  And the island of Manana

Nice dingy

Looking back up at the lighthouse

The white sign says to call Rusty on the radio in the box if you want to go to Manana.

Oh, I can't believe I forgot to mention there's a brewery on the island with a tasting room.  We stopped in for a cold refreshment on our way back from viewing the shipwreck at Lobster Cove, and the blonde ale I had was lovely.  Please click on the pics...they're much better that way.

Covered Bridges

Thought you might find these rare beauties as charming as I find them.  Most of the following pictures were taken during our trip to the White Mountain area of New Hampshire a couple weeks ago, although one of these was taken in Guilford, Maine a couple of years ago. 

If you'd like to see all of the pictures we took of that beautiful area, you can click this link to FB.  You'll also see all of the pictures of these bridges and the areas around them.
I love old and simple architecture, and the older I get, the more I appreciate these relics of a time long passed.  They're also a good excuse to get out for a little trip, and see some pretty areas that no one probably notices anymore.  If you do, think about what it might have been like to drive a car over one of these decades ago when most bridges were like this.  Remember to yield.

The Albany Bridge in Albany, NH.

This one in Bartlett, NH you can't drive through because it's used as a seasonal gift shop.

 Jackson, NH.

 These two of the Saco River Bridge in NH.  If you could see through the trees, you'd be able to see the Swift River Bridge.

Swift River Bridge.
The next few are of an old, and now very rare, train covered bridge in Lincoln, NH.

The next one we saw on the way home in Fryeburg, Maine, and it was two miles down a dirt road, although still being used to go who knows where.

Lastly, we went to see this one in Corinth, Maine, about 30 miles from where I live.

As you can see, this one is rare in that it's completely enclosed on the sides.  Thanks for indulging.

Bermuda 2015

Some of you may know this already but my darling Shelly was born in Bermuda, the eldest child of a young Air Force enlisted man and his wife.  She lived there in two different residences for three years but has not been back since -- until this past week.
You may also know that I work outside quite a bit and commute on crappy winter roads great distances.  I barely got through last winter without losing my mind and so we promised ourselves that not only was I going to get a break from winter, we were going to do it in Bermuda.
We had an absolutely fabulous time.  I fell in love with the place.  She was already in love with it...she just didn't know it until she got there.  You could see how strong the connection was for her.  We were able to find one of the houses she lived in.  We will be returning. 
I'm not a beach and sand, lay in the sun kinda of person but there's plenty, plenty to do there for history, culture, architecture and foodie buffs like me, plus there's a couple lighthouses, which you know we love, and the caverns.
If you haven't already, please click through the pictures and fall in love with it too.  Don't skip the video of the town crier and then one of me helping to dunk the nag.  What great fun.
Our Bermuda photos

The above link is to the Facebook photo album, which is supposed to be able to be seen by anyone, even if you don't have a Facebook account. RJ, let me know if you can't view this album and I'll post them all on here as well

Apparently the vids are not within that album. So I've uploaded them to YouTube


Having issues getting the other one posted here because I didn't take it.  I'll post this now and then post an update with the other video.

Pemaquid

Our plan for yesterday was to take a "ferry" boat out to Monhegan Island, spend about five hours there, including seeing the lighthouse and having lunch.  If we couldn't get on the boat, we'd fall back to plan B, which as you'll see became plan A.
It was only Friday night when we realized the boats that go out there require reservations.  So we decided Friday night that we'd just go see the Pemaquid lighthouse and tick off three more State Parks from our passport.   We had been to Pemaquid probably close to 20 years ago, but those pictures are long lost from an old hard drive crash.
We had a very good time, except for my frustration with the traffic and the fact that we couldn't get near one of the State Parks because of a damn wedding.  So we'll make reservations to go to Monhegan Island another time and see the Colonial Pemaquid Historic site at the same time.  So far we have seen 34 out of the 48 State Parks in this passport.  We're having fun and hope you enjoy the handful of pics I took yesterday.

From inside Fort Edgecomb looking at Westport Island

Fort Edgecomb

Shelly at Pemaquid

Shelly at Damariscotta Lake State Park

As I was picking the pictures to post I saw a few I hadn't shared from previous little trips.  So here's a little bonus.  First, these next four pictures were taking in Camden a few weeks ago when I drove down there to see these exact replicas of the Nina and Pinta.  It's amazing people sailed across the Atlantic in these little boats, and the crew slept on the deck.  Whilst in Camden I had to stop at Cappy's for the best clam chowdah anywhere, washed down with an always-excellent Shipyard Ale.

Then a couple of weeks ago we drove north to a part of Maine where no one lives and the only couple of roads are owned by paper companies.  It is literally in the middle of the wilderness but there's a small State Park there.  The only pictures I bothered to take were the two below of a new friend we made along the way.

Mount Kineo

In our pursuit of getting out State Park Passport book stamped at all the State Parks in Maine, yesterday we struck out for one that has been on my bucket list my whole life...Mount Kineo.  The biggest reason I'd never been there is because for all intents and purposes Mount Kineo is an island in Moosehead Lake.
In its heyday Kineo was a summer destination for the very wealthy, those who take the summer off and spend it at a New England resort.  There are a few of those remaining like Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  You can click this link to see what the Mount Kineo Hotel looked like and also so you can compare the area then to the pictures I took yesterday with the hotel gone.  (Wish I could have seen it)
So our journey began by driving an hour plus to Greenville, at the bottom of the enormous Moosehead Lake.  Arriving at lunch time we just happened upon a food truck selling authentic French crepes.  Authentic?  Yes, the lady making them had a very distinct French Canadian accent, something not so uncommon in Maine.
Then we drove another 20 minutes up along the western side of Moosehead to the tiny town of Rockwood, which sits about halfway up the lake and is where you can catch the shuttle boat over to Kineo.  These first few pics are taken from Rockwood.

It's not as difficult to get to this beautiful place as I thought.  It's 10 bucks apiece for a roundtrip ticket to the island, about 10 minutes each way.   Yes, after a 15 minute walk to the bottom of the trailhead up the mountain, up indeed we did go.  I am so proud of Shelly because she did climb this sucker with me.  The following pictures are taken by yours truly at various vantage points along the rim looking back onto the spit of land where the hotel once stood and now has some very nice private summer residences and a little golf course.

Looking back at Rockwood

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that we saw many Peregrine falcons soaring along these cliffs.  Once I saw seven of them together.  The last couple of photos were taken from spots where I was able to look down on the falcons flying.  Alas, I could never get them on film.
The last picture from yesterday is taken from the deck of the clubhouse while having a well-deserved beer.

As a bonus for you, if you'd like more, go below the fold and see a few pictures we took last weekend at Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde.  You may recognize this lighthouse if you've ever seen a little-known movie called Forest Gump.